As the final day of the Madness AQHA and NSBA show saw hot competition, we're reminded that sometimes it's the little victories that mean the most..
Worth The Wait
Sometimes it's not the bronze trophy but the little victories in life that mean the most.
They might not have been the class champions in the Three Year Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure, but there was a real sense of accomplishment for a little red roan mare and her rider.
When Cheyenne “Scoot” Augsburger showed her mare Lik A Rock in the class, it represented a three-year wait and a lifetime of bonding between the two. “She lost her mom when she was three months old,” Scoot said.
“She had a donkey with her, but they didn’t get along, so I spent a lot of time with her. I would read to her in her stall and I would run along in the pasture and she’d lope around me. I really would lead her around kind of like a dog on a leash, I’d trot her over poles, and I’d even bring her in the garage.”
Named Ginger by Scoot, the mare is by The Rock and out of Scoot’s first show horse, An Awesome Fantasy. “I put the first 80 days or so on her myself when we started her,” Scoot said. “She’s really a carbon copy of her mother. She has a lot of the same mannerisms and she feels and works a lot like her. I did all the work on her here at the Madness.
“It seems like I’ve waited a really long time to show her, and it was great to be able to come here and show. I’m not sure when we will get to show again, but I hope to get to show her in some more futurity classes and start on Trail with her. Eventually I want to show her in the All Around, but that’s a long way off.”
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Hillary Roberts and ‘Tex’ Win Three Year Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure
Hillary Roberts took WhatGosAround to another award and paycheck, winning the Three Year Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure Futurity. The duo earned $984 and bested a field of 14 horses for the win.
“It’s really gratifying to see the horses we’ve raised be successful,” Hillary said. “Whether we’re showing them or the ones we’ve sold to other people who are doing well with them, it’s a lot of fun.”
The gelding known as already has an impressive resume – he was the 2018 Congress Masters Western Pleasure champion as well as the AQHA Two Year Old Western Pleasure world champion with Andy Cochran.
“He’s so big and stout, but they change so much between their two and three year old years,” Hillary said. “We weren’t sure how he might do because he does grow fast, but he’s really developed into a big, pretty and soft horse. He’s very easy.”
Tex is by VS Flatline and out of Whatscookngoodlookin. “We really love the VS Flatline cross on Candy,” Hillary said. “It’s given us some really nice horses.”
The class placings included:
1st – What Goes Around, Hillary Roberts, $984
2nd – Chattanooga Lucy, Alicia Ritsema, $676.50
3rd - Vital Lines Are Red, Ray Arnona, $584.25
4th – Shootin The Breeze, Kathryn Frederick, $307.50
5/6 – Best Be In Line, Mason Dorsey, $261.38
5/6 – KM Betcha Im Best, Jaida Dreyer, $261.38
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Aaron Moses and Not Just An Illusion Win $10,000 Limited Horse Open Western Pleasure
A year ago almost to the day, Not Just An Illusion showed in his first AQHA show in Del Mar, California, with Anthony Montes showing him to a class win. A year later, on the other side of the country, Aaron Moses piloted the gelding to win the $10,000 Limited Horse Open Western Pleasure for owner Perry Jackson.
“I bought him from Jay Starnes as a three year old, and he had never been shown,” Perry said. “He’s by No Doubt Im Lazy and out of A Certain Illusion. Bruce Vickery saw him at a show in Florida riding around, and convinced me to buy him. He saw the potential with him to do the All Around, and that’s our long-term goal for him.”
Not Just An Illusion divides his time between Aaron Moses, Bruce Vickery and Anthony Montes – a task that isn’t too difficult since the trainers work out of the same barn. “It’s like one big family. Everyone supports each other and we all get along really well together,” Perry said.
“Bruce and Anthony have already started him on Trail and Western Riding,” he said. “I have been showing him in Select Amateur Western Pleasure and been doing pretty well. We’re qualified for the Select World Show, and I’m hoping by the end of the year to add the Trail and Western Riding as well.”
Perry talked about the importance of the addition of the $10,000 Limited Horse Western Pleasure. “This horse is really sort of a three year old, because although he’s four, he really hadn’t been shown,” he said. “It’s awesome to have a place for him to show and get in there without going into Junior Western Pleasure or a Western Pleasure Maturity with more experienced horses.”
The placings in the class were:
1st – Just An Illusion, Aaron Moses for Perry Jackson, $1,220.00
2nd – KM Nothin Better, Houston Huff for Masterson Farms, $915.00
3rd – Wambam Thank You Mam, Angie Cannizzaro for Robin Ochs Beall, $610.00
4/5 – Dont Know Dont Care, Kelby Hutchinson for Capall Creek Farm, $152.50
4/5 – She Isa Crowdpleaser, Karen Hornick for Matthew Main, $152.50.
To view complete show results for the Madness, please visit www.anequineproduction.com, or download the Horse Show Track App..
