Taft Dickerson and Gone Viral in last year’s Hylton Maiden Slot Class.

Organizers say 18 horses and riders are entered in the Hylton Maiden 3-Year-Old and Over Western Pleasure Slot Class, being presented at 8 p.m., today, during the Spring Breakout/Dave Higgins Memorial Show in Lexington, Virginia. The class has a guaranteed payout of $74,000 with $25,000 going to the winner. A $2,500 bonus will be paid to the highest placing Limited rider and another $2,500 bonus will go to the highest placing Intermediate rider.

Andrew Groves, of Bluemont, Virginia, will be competing tonight for the first time in the Hylton Maiden slot class aboard Whisper To Me Cowboy, a 2015 bay gelding, sired by Original Cowboy and out of Whisper Flashy To Me, owned by Florence Arnold.

“It’s a great event,” he said. “I support anything that gives horseman a chance to wait on young horses that are not strong 2- year-olds.”

Cecilia Hylton, of Gainesville, Virginia, introduced the class at the Reichert Celebration many years ago and relocated it to her home state in 2011.

Hylton has long believed that young futurity horses should not be pushed just because trainers and owners are enticed by big futurity purses. She believes it is better to wait until the horses are physically and mentally mature to compete. To be eligible for the Hylton Maiden Class, horses must be at least 3 years old cannot have been shown in any event prior to the Hylton Maiden debut.

Rande Pittman will compete aboard I Am Ur Huckleberry, a 2015 bay stallion, sired by Lazy Loper out of Chexme Out Willy Good, she owns along with Terry Jackson.

“I decided to show given the timing of the event and my horse’s ability to perform,” she said. “By showing in April, we are able to compete for a maiden purse and then move toward Novice Horse events during the remainder of the show season.” 

Pittman said she believes it takes solid consistent preparation, a strong good minded horse and a village of supporters to win this event. 

“The Hylton Maiden is a good event for many reasons,” she said. “Personally, I believe it is a great way to showcase horses that are 3 years old and over. It gives us the opportunity to prepare and build a strong foundation in a show horse without forcing them into two year old futurity classes if they are not physically or mentally meant to do so.”

Last year, Bret Parrish piloted Pistol Packin Mann to a win, taking home a check for $25,000. The 2013 sorrel gelding by Machine Made and out of Shes Simply Southern, is owned by Richard Baumann, Dothan, Georgia.

Last year’s class had a total of 15 entries (13 showed) and paid out $68,750.

The following are entered. Scratches are pending.

• Made My Way, 2014 bay gelding, sired by Machine Made and out of Promote Miss Chip, owned by the Clifford Family and shown by Cody Parrish.

• Zip N Machine, 2014 chestnut gelding, sired by Machine Made and out of Made Ina Zip, owned by Adrienne Evans and shown by Bret Parrish.

• Expense Acct, 2014 bay roan stallion, sired by Zippos Mr Good Bar and out of She Looks Expensive, owned by Mary Webre and shown by Brian Baker.

• Slow Ya Roll, 2015 bay stallion, sired by VS Flatline and out of Potentially Rita, owned by Cheryl Mullikin and shown by Wade Black.

• Bettin The Goods, 2015 brown stallion, sired by Keeping It Good and out of Bettin With My Heart, owned by William & Lisa Wilkes and shown by Kenny Lakins.

• Made To Slay, 2015 bay gelding, sired by Machine Made and out of Southwestern Jewel, owned by Cameron Crenwelge and shown by Jason English.

• Two Ziplines, 2015 bay roan gelding, sired by VS Flatline and out of Two Dips Of Zip, owned by Katie Kopf and shown by Hunter Cash.

• The Dark Impulse, 2014 brown mare, sired by RL Best Of Sudden and out of Dark Jasmine, owned by Susan Simms and shown by Steve Reams.

• Heza Code Red, 2013 red roan gelding, sired by VS Code Red and out of Chips Cat A Lac, owned Tina Hykes and shown by Jim Chafin.

• RR Lookin Like Magic, 2015 sorrel mare, sired by Only In The Moonlite and out of Cool Lookin Lady, owned by Loretta Magnuson and shown by Gil Galyean.

• TalkinBouTonite, 2015 sorrel mare, sired by Nite Moves and out of Weretalkinradical, owned by Danny & Emma Desmond and shown by Ray Carmean.

• Eldorado Ltd, 2015 red roan stallion, sired by Zippos Mr Good Bar and out of Blondes Are Hot, owned by the Flohr/Gordon/Recchiuti Partnership and shown by Donnie Recchiuti.

• Ima Blazin Hot Chip, 2014 sorrel gelding, sired by Blazing Hot and out of Chip Appeal, owned by Tanya Hartman and shown by Jake Hartman.

• Bestyoulleverhave, 2015 bay stallion, sired by RL Best Of Sudden and out of Complete Pleasure, owned by Codi Tanner and shown by Tate Oakley

• Looking Presidential, 2015 sorrel gelding, sired by Presidential Order and out of Flashy Looking Lady, owned by Ruth Pottner and shown by Taft Dickerson.

• I Am Ur Huckleberry, 2015 bay stallion, sired by Lazy Loper out of Chexme Out Willy Good, owned by Rande Pittman & Terry Jackson and shown by Rande Pittman.

• Oughta B Good, 2015 bay mare, sired by Keeping It Good and out of This Chics Got Cash, owned Becky Milovich and shown by Jesse Jerik.

• Whisper To Me Cowboy, 2015 bay gelding, sired by Original Cowboy and out of Whisper Flashy To Me, owned by Florence Arnold and shown by Andrew Groves.

InStride Edition will present the class live on Facebook. Tune in at 8 p.m. to watch at https://www.facebook.com/InStrideEdition/