Over the course of three weeks at the All American Quarter Horse Congress hundreds of people ventured to the Rod Patrick booth in Congress Hall to try on a pair of their iconic boots. It wasn’t solely because of how beautiful and comfortable the boots were, but also because Amy Gumz of Gumz Farms was offering a chance to ride one of the industry’s most well-known stallions, It’s A Southern Thing (Moonpie), if you slipped your feet into a pair.

“It was really Shane (Dowdy) who came up with the idea to present a horse of this caliber to the public, says Gumz. “I thought it was really brave of Shane and Jamie to take on a task like this and for Bobby Smith, President of Rod Patrick Boots, to put his name to it.”

On October 23, Smith randomly drew a name from the 500-plus people who entered the contest and it was Alyssa Freeman of Sycamore, Illinois who was offered the chance of a lifetime, to not only ride a horse of Moonpie’s caliber, but to also get a lesson from the one and only Shane Dowdy. As a newly barred attorney, Freeman’s life is extremely hectic, but she knew when she entered she would do whatever it took to get back to Columbus for her ride.

“I had gone home and just about forgotten about the contest after signing up,” recalls Freeman. “After I found out I won I rearranged my schedule so I could drive the six and a half hours back to Columbus to ride him. I haven’t ridden much in the last few years what with going to law school and studying for the bar exam so I am thrilled to have such an amazing opportunity.”

After just a few minutes back in the saddle it was clear Freeman had never missed a beat. By the end of the “lesson” she was changing leads like a pro.

“We thought that it would be a great thing for the Western Pleasure industry for someone to get to not only ride a horse like Moonpie, but to also get a lesson from Shane,” says Jamie Dowdy. “If it were an amazing cutter or reiner people would jump at the chance so why not an amazing pleasure horse?”

It’s A Southern Thing is a 2010 bay stallion by Only In The Moonlite and out of Shesa Hot Cookie. He was the 2015 NSBA World Champion in Junior Western Riding and the NSBA Reserve World Champion in Junior Western Pleasure. He stands at Gumz Farms in Morganfield, Kentucky. For more information on this amazing stallion visit http://www.itsasouthernthing.net/