There wasn’t much doubt about who the judges saw at the top of their cards in the Equine Chronicle Three Year Old and Older Maiden Western Pleasure Slot Class on Saturday night – Katy Jo Zuideman and Waffle House took a commanding hold on the composite with three firsts and a third among the judges, cinching the $25,000 first place prize. The class, which had 29 entries, was divided into two splits and a final before the winner could be announced.
“She’s an angel,” Katy Jo said of the mare known as Waffles. “I wasn’t even going to show her here. She stepped on a really long screw a month ago, and we had lost so much time getting to ride her. I really brought her here to ride her around to get ready for The Premier. But she rode pretty good the first day, and the next day she rode a little better. So I thought, bless her heart, why not show in the Maiden class?”
Waffles was bred by Dennis and Debbie Martin and is by The Born Legacy and out of BestSeatNTheHouse. “We bought her from Rusty and Katie Green in February. I was looking for our son JR’s next horse, and I just loved everything about her. She’s so big and pretty, and it’s easy for her. She doesn’t look like a three year old, she looks like an older horse.. She makes me look good. We’re so excited because she’s going to be a Versatility horse, and we’re really excited to see JR show her.”
Waffles is also special to Rusty and Katie. “Waffles was going to be Katie’s Virginia Maiden horse,” Rusty explained. “Katie Jo came over and said she was looking for a horse for JR, and she fell in love with her.”
“Waffles is so special because we’ve had both of her parents. “We bought The Born Legacy for. Alex Chavez, and we also had BestSeatNTheHouse. Waffles is so strong and reminds us so much of her dam,” Katie said. “What’s even more fun is that Waffles and Casey Willis’ horse Ginny From The Block (who were named reserve champions) rode side by side all spring, and to see them first and second in the class was really special for us.”
The complete class placings included:
Champions – Waffle House, Katy Jo Zuidema for Katy Jo and Tim Zuidema, $25,000
Reserve champions – Ginny From The Block, Casey Willis for Beth McNichol, $10,000
Third – VS Looks Like A Lady, Houston Huff for. Kristi Lynne Avery, $5,000
Fourth – When N Where, Aaron Moses for JVM Partnership, $3,500
Fifth – White Outt, Brian Ale for Duane and Mary Jo Gold, $3,000
Sixth – Straight Up Dirty, Kenny Lakins for Jen Smith, $2,500
Seventh - Sparkk Me Up, Angie Cannizzaro for Scott and Linda Berwick, $2,000
Eighth – Cool Like Thaat, Bret Parrish for Robert and Lisa Thomaier, $1,500
Ninth – A Lady To Envy, Jay Starnes for Fritz Leeman, $1,000
Tenth. – Home Made Cookie, Brian Cox for Kelly Goldinger, $500
“Lilly” and Daren Putnam Win Limited Division
In the Limited division of the Equine Chronicle Three Year Old and Older Maiden Western Pleasure Slot class, Darren Putnam showed HP Sure A Machine to the win for H & P Ranch’s Mariann Harrington and Joe Prause. The team earned $1,000 for the Limited win.
“She’s a Machine Made out of a Too Sleepy To Zip mare that we lost earlier this year named HP Surely Im Sleepy,” Darren said.
“We call her Lilly. I was really happy with her. She performed to the best of her ability. She was always a natural, and she was a very easy mare to train up. She was a trooper, even through the auction that they did during the tabulation of the results. Nothing bothered her, and you never know what they might do when they’ve never been shown before.”
It was the first show for 2023 for Darren, who manages the ranch and breeding operation of H & P Ranch and is the head trainer. “We’ve been so busy foaling out mares and breeding, that it’s tough to get away. We show the horses that we raise at H&P. Some of the other exhibitors were able to go to Florida or Arizona or other shows and ride their Maiden horses around, but this was our first trip, so I was especially pleased with how it went. We’ll continue to show her, and I know that Mariann plans to keep her as a broodmare once we’re done showing. We’re big believers in strong mare power.”
The reserve champion in the Limited division of the class was Cool Moving Lady, shown by Amanda Jackson for Ingrid Miller, earning $500.
The Madness concludes on Sunday, March 14, with Western Riding, Horsemanship and Western Pleasure classes, including the Three Year Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure and it’s Limited division. To view complete show results, please visit the Horse Show Tracker app or visit anequineproduction.com.
