The Premier Sires AQHA and NSBA show went from chasing raindrops to chasing the sun as the show schedule was rearranged to accommodate classes held over from Thursday due to inclement weather.
Longing Into The Morning
The day began early with Open and Open Color Western Longe Line which showed concurrently, and a deep group of yearlings filled the Stonelea Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. Ty Hornick showed KM Greys Anatomy to perfection, and was the unanimous choice of the judges in the Open class.
“She’s a full sibling to Snap Krackle Pop,” Ty said of the filly. “We picked her out as a weanling at Masterson Farms. She’s great minded and just so natural. The duo earned $1,932 for the first place finish for owner Peter Mead.
In the Open Color division, Calli Rouse showed Best Ingredient to the win and $1,054 for owner Joyce Conklin. “She’s by Lopin My Best, and this is her first show,” Calli said.
“We’ve had her since December. We call her Delila. She’s an easy horse, and she’s a phenomenal jogger. She’s really square, and she’s just such a pretty horse. We’re pretty excited about her.
In the Hunter Longe Line classes, Anthony Leier and owner Mark Owens had a huge day with their filly, Live And Learn. Known as Violet, the striking filly brought home four Hunter Longe Line trophies including the Breeders Open Hunter Longe Line, the Breeders Color Open Hunter Longe Line, the Breeders Non-Pro Hunter Longe Line and the Breeders Non-Pro Color Hunter Longe Line. She earned more than $4,000 for her four first place pay checks.
“Violet is by Living Large and out of an Allocate Your Assets mare,” Anthony said of the filly. “It’s really early for us to have one ready, but she was eligible for the Premier classes and she’s so good minded that we thought it would work.
“She’s so good legged and relaxed, and she can canter really slow. She’s so pretty and has so much chrome that it’s hard to miss her. We had been looking for a Color Longe Line horse for a while, and Kim and Shelley Donovan told us about her. We bought her off of a video of her playing in the pasture with about ten other weanlings in December.”
Premier Magazine Non-Pro Horsemanship
Deanna Green took Beez In The Trap to the win in the Premier Sires Premier Magazine Non-Pro Horsemanship. The duo bested 16 entries to earn the $1,750 first place payout.
“Bernice is six years old now, so it’s her first year as a Senior horse,” Deanna noted. “This was such a fun pattern. It had a lot of transitions and speed changes. She’s pretty quick with her changes, so she’s really fun to show in Horsemanship. Our goals are really just to get better. We’ve been together for three years now.”
Three Year Old Limited Open, Limited Horse Limited Rider Hunter Under Saddle
Three Hunter Under Saddle futurity classes were shown on Friday. The Premier Sires Breeders Three Year Old Limited Open Hunter Under Saddle saw She Looks Famous take the win with Scott Jones in the irons for Jennifer Rooks.
The Premier Sires Three Year Old Limited Hors Limited Rider Hunter Under Saddle saw 17 exhibitors, and Amanda Gately catch rode Last One Matters for Holly Taylor to first and a $10,000 payout.
“Marcie Budine raised this mare and she’s out of Marcie’s stallion, What Matters Most,” noted trainer Farley McLendon, who trained her. “We had her in the maiden class in Florida, and she’s just been getting better and better. She’s such a pretty trotter, and just floats across the ground when she canters. We didn’t have a Limited rider for this class until we got here, and I asked Amanda if she would ride her, and she did.”
In the Premier Sires Breeders Four Year Old Limited Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle, Ty Paris showed Al Right Already for her mother, Beckey Schooler, to first and a $1,000 first place prize. “We have only had him for about a month or two,” Ty said.
“We bought him from Rebekah Kazakevicius, and Beth Case had showed him in the Congress Masters, so he had been shown a little bit before we bought him. He’s a super fun horse. He has such a presence, and he has quite the personality. We’ll be showing in the Limited Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle Maturity classes this year.”
Western Winners
Western Pleasure riders won a number of large paychecks on Friday.
The Premier Sires Three Year Old Limited Horse Limited Rider Western Pleasure saw Becca Britton show KM Slot Machine for Libby Trucco, earning the $10,000 first prize. Becca’s husband Blake had shown the filly just a few weeks ago successfully at the Madness, earning reserve in the Intermediate division of the Limited Horse Western Pleasure there, as well as third in the Maiden Western Pleasure at the A Sudden Impulse Futurity.
“Blake said I needed to show Ace today,” laughed Becca. “He was really good for me today. Blake had him really ready. We love him and we feel very lucky to have him in the barn.
“We have had him for a while. We bought him in November as a two year old. He’s so pretty, and he can lope on and on. He wants to be a show horse.”
Amy Gumz and Best Seat N The South earned their second class of the 2021 Premier, taking the Breeders Four Year Old Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure, earning $1,220. Earlier in the week they were named the champions in the Limited division of the Premier Sires Four Year Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure.
Rusty Green and Cowgirl Take Me Away added to their winnings in the Premier Breeders Three Year Old Open Western Pleasure, taking first and $3,250. The duo had previously won the Madness Three Year Old Open Western Pleasure. Cowgirl Take Me Away is owned by Beth McNichol.
In the Color portion of the Breeders Three Year Old Western Pleasure, Gil Galyean showed VS Bettin On Red to the win for Superior Care Management, earning $1,250. “This is a real nice horse,” Gil said of his mount.
“It’s by VS Code Red, and Robby Herman, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, owns it. This is our second show together and it gets better every time we show. It has such a level top line and trots great. We’re planning to show in the Color classes for the rest of this year.”
The last Western Pleasure class of the day was truly a nightcap, as the last rays of sun faded while the Premier Sires Three Year Old and Older Novice Horse Western Pleasure was taking place in the Stonelea Arena. Judges’ cards were written by cell phone light and spectators added their golf cart headlights to the arena to help.
The unanimous choice of the judges for the class of 18 head was MadeFourIt, shown by Katy Jo Zuidema for Armellini and Oyer, earning $4,000.
“We started him last year. He was going to be my Congress Masters horse, and with COVID and everything, we didn’t get to show at the Congress, so we saved him to be a Novice horse this year,” Katy Jo said.
“Since he’s owned by Stephanie Armellini, who works for us, so it’s been real fun. On one hand it’s a lot less pressure because it’s not a paying customer, but on the other, it puts the pressure on you in a different way, because you want him to do well. We showed in Ocala and did OK, but he’s really starting to come together now.
“He’s does every gait great. He’s big and he’s the kind of horse we’re supposed to work for. He has a ton of All Around potential. The fact that he rode that well in a bridle in the dark, just makes you feel good.”
The stallion is by Machine Made and out of an RL Best Of Sudden/Sweet Talkin Chip mare.
The Premier continues through Sunday, June 6. To view complete show results, please visit Horse Show Tracker. To learn more about Premier Sires, please visit premiersires.com.
