A total purse of $37,982 will be up for grabs today as 14 unshown Western Pleasure contenders compete for the first time in the Hylton Maiden 3-Year-Old & Over Open Western Pleasure Class at the Spring Breakout AQHA Show in Lexington, Virginia.

The winner of the Hylton Maiden take home a check for $10,000 and an additional $1,000 will be presented to the highest placing Limited Rider and the highest placing Intermediate Rider. Bonus checks for $500 will also go to the Reserve Limited and Intermediate riders in the class.

Brooke Granzow, of Ames, Iowa, is very excited to watch her new horse compete for the first time today in the class with Illinois trainer Drew DeBuhr in the saddle. Brooke has never had a horse compete in the Hylton Maiden before and she’s looking forward to watching it from the stands.

Granzow and DeBuhr purchased Cuz Shes Worth It, a 2018 bay mare by Lazy Loper and out of Chip Happens, in October. 

“She was still green but showed good potential doing all three gears both directions,” Granzow said. “The thing we liked most about her is her eye appeal, she is a pretty mare. She’s very kind and tries really hard so once we got her home and started working her we progressively liked her more and more.”

Granzow said with all of the maiden Western Pleasure classes being offered this year they looked at all the options before deciding to debut Cuz Shes Worth It in the Hylton.

“The class is set up well, the entry fee is reasonable and the payout is good,” she explained.

Brooke will get her turn to show Cuz Shes Worth It in April at the Oil Can Classic in Tulsa, where she will compete in the Premier Sires 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure.

Indiana trainer Saul Sliss will show Come On Come In, a 2015 bay gelding by Machine Made out of Rhapsody In The Rain, that they purchased from breeders Richard and Betty Carr, of Bremen, Indiana.

“We love him,” said Saul’s wife Megan. “He is quirky but loves his job and he doesn’t give us any trouble.

Saul and Megan say they are thankful for the Hylton Maiden.

“We are excited for this horse to finally get in the show pen and we truly appreciate everyone involved,” Megan said.

Georgia trainer Jason English will compete today on Your Made For Me, a 2018 sorrel mare by Machine Made and out of Troubles A Blazin.

“To win today it will take consistency on my part and maintaining all the gaits properly,” he said.

The Hylton Maiden 3-Year-Old and Over Western Pleasure Class was introduced at the Reichert Celebration by (the late) Cecilia Hylton to encourage owners and trainers to refrain from pushing young show prospects. The class was moved to Lexington, Virginia (Hylton’s home state) in 2011 and was the highest paying Western Pleasure futurity class in the nation for many years. Hylton relinquished sponsorship of the class from 2018 to 2020, the year the event was moved to the Tar Heel Classic in Raleigh, North Carolina, due to Covid-19 restrictions. Cameron Van Sickle stepped in to help keep it alive for the Virginia Quarter Horse Association and with the help of Meghan Tierney and Samantha Schinness, the event has continued to thrive. Following Cecilia Hylton’s passing in February her family decided to honor her memory by resuming sponsorship of the class established in her name.

In addition to the cash awards in the class a custom silver money clip will be awarded to the highest placing male exhibitor and a custom Gold Creations necklace that belonged to Cecilia Hylton (both donated by the Hylton family) to the highest placing female exhibitor.

Those competing today include:

• Owning The Knight (Born To Be Blazing x RL Suddens Maggie), 2013 sorrel gelding, owned by Tanya Self, Greensboro, North Carolina, shown by Shane Young.

• Lil Bang Bang (Only In The Moonlite x A Good Cookie), 2017 brown mare, owned by William Aichele, Perkasie, Pennsylvania, shown by Jeff Long.

• She Roxanne Rolls (The Rock x Zippos Good Image), 2017 red roan mare, owned by Elizabeth Snow, Dobson, North Carolina, shown by Joy Wheeler.

• Your Made For Me (Machine Made x Troubles A Blazin), 2018 sorrel mare, owned by Ditty Up LLC, shown by Jason English.

• Just Me N My Martini (The Best Martini x Rhondas Good Machine), 2018 chestnut mare, owned and shown by Brent Garringer, Jeffersonville, Ohio.

• County Line Liquor (Invitation Only x JDZ Madison County), 2018 bay mare, owned by Chavez Enterprises LLC, Scottsdale, Arizona, shown by Randy Wilson.

• Batts About U (Batt Man x Good Baby Hotrod), 2018 bay gelding, owned by Randy/Laura Chenoweth, Beverly, West Virginia, shown by Bobby Dean.

• Am Made Hot (Machine Made x One Hot Rumors), 2018 bay mare, owned by Madison Mykolaitis, Mendon, Michigan, shown by Austin Gooding.

• Only Invite Cowgirls (Goodcoyboymargarita x Misty Eyed Invite), 2017 chestnut mare, owned by Megan Punt, Sioux City, Iowa, shown by Dillon Hatten.

• Cuz Shes Worth It (Lazy Loper x Chip Happens), 2018 bay mare, owned by Brooke Granzow, Ames, Iowa, shown by Drew DeBuhr.

• Come On Come In (Machine Made x Rhapsody In The Rain), 2015 bay gelding, owned by Doug/Debra Wetherell, Lin Grove, Iowa, shown by Saul Sliss.

• Uptown Mechanic (Mechanic x BP Miss Emma Dee), 2018 bay mare, owned and shown by Carrie Adler, Perry, Michigan.

• Its Code Outside (VS Code Blue x Potential Touch), 2018 bay stallion, owned by Bryan Reger, Volga, West Virginia, shown by Brian Cox.

• Lopin Up To Batt (Batt Man x Invited To Be Lazy), 2017 bay mare, owned by Scarlett Michael, Xenia, Ohio, shown by Ty Hornick.

Check out our candids from the Virginia Spring Breakout here: https://instrideedition.com/spring-breakout/