A friendship spanning 40 years is allowing Jeff Hoskins, of Nashville, Indiana, to realize his lifelong dream of showing at the Palomino World Show this year, for the very first time.

Hoskins has loved horses all his life. He grew up showing in the 4-H program and his children did the same. But when his wife passed away nearly a decade ago, Hoskins gave it all up to spend all his effort parenting the eight children they had between them. In 2017, the youngest graduated from High School and next year the last two of the children will both graduate from Indiana University.

“It became a question of what to do with me,” Hoskins explained. “I felt a little guilty at first but it was now my chance to do what I want to do.”

That’s where Melissa Quinlan, of Stillwater, Oklahoma, comes in.

Hoskins has known Melissa most his life. Before moving to Oklahoma from Indiana in 2005 she did a lot of 4-H workshops in Indiana and even judged Hoskins a few times. She was the first person he thought of when it came time to buy a horse. And Melissa didn’t let him down.

In December Hoskins bought Impress Me Tuesday, a 14-year-old sorrel Palomino Bred mare. Impress Me Tuesday is sired by Quinlan’s Palomino stallion, Tuesdays Gold and out of her son’s red roan mare and Indiana trainer Phillip McClellan for a tune up and to get some tuning up for himself.

Quinlan has been attending the Palomino World Show for years. She brought youth clients to compete every year from 1998 to 2004, when she sold everything and moved to Oklahoma. She returned in 2017 with her granddaughter, who was competing in her final year in youth and she showed Impress Me Tuesday. They returned in 2018 for Melissa’s granddaughter to compete in novice amateur division and Melissa showed in Amateur Color, Amateur Walk Trot Horsemanship and Walk Trot Western Pleasure with her current show partner, Tuesdays Gold Fox, a 2015 Palomino gelding.

She’s back this year showing Impress Me Tuesday in Amateur Color, Walk Trot Horsemanship, Walk Trot Western Pleasure, Hunter In Hand and Showmanship. But she’s also serving as captain of her friend’s cheering squad as he competes for the first time at a Palomino World Show in Palomino Bred Amateur Hunter Under Saddle, Equitation, Horsemanship, Showmanship and Western Pleasure.

But there have been challenges along the way. In May Hoskins had knee surgery and just two weeks ago had two stents put in following a heart attack.

“I feel good and even though I’m just getting started, I’ve been having the best experience,” he said. “My goal was just to do my best, have a good time and make new friends and It’s already more than I imagined it would be.”

The Open, Amateur and Challenged Horsemen classes got started on Sunday, following the conclusion of the Youth competition.

Results available from Sunday and Monday are as follows:

Open Division

Junior Trail: Queens Love Me, owned by Marley Anne McElwee, Lexington, Oklahoma, shown by David James.

Senior Trail: Skye Blue Magic, owned by Nina Christensen, Newport Beach, California, shown by Kayla McQuaig.

Pleasure Driving: Neatly Stung, owned by Lynn and Amanda Rohwedder and shown by Amanda Rohwedder Bayer.

Weanling Stallions: Dirty Lil renegade, owned by Richard Cameron, Aledo, Texas, shown by Lauren Williams.

Yearling Stallions: The Athalete, owned by Neil/India Champion, shown by Anna Horn.

2-Year-Old Stallions: FR Final Edition, owned by Dan Fox, Chino, California, shown by Jarrell Jackson.

3-Year-Old Stallions: Intended To Be, owned by Ricardo Rejon, Collinsville, Texas, shown by Chris Artensen.

Aged Stallions: Not Kiddin Me Mister, owned by John/Barbara Hoffer, Auburn, Kansas, shown by Joshua Larman.

Performance Halter Stallions: VS Code Of Gold, owned by Julie Schley, Sioux City, Iowa, shown by Pasley Puthoff.

Premier Halter Stallions: Intended To Be, owned by Ricardo Rejon, Collinsville, Texas, shown by Chris Artensen.

Open Hunter In Hand: Woohoo Its Gold, owned by Patty Hollis, Louisville, Kentucky, shown by Shawn Kristin Budke.

2-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure: VS Code Of Gold, owned by Julie Schley, Sioux City, Iowa, shown by Pasley Puthoff.

Junior Hunter Under Saddle: Only N Chrome, owned and shown by Britt Egan.

Senior Road Hack: Zip Thru The Stars, owned by Barbara Osborne, Americus, Georgia, shown by Louise Stewart Keen.

Amateur Division

Amateur Weanling Stallions: Dirty Lil Renegade and Richard Cameron, Aledo, Texas.

Amateur Yearling Stallons: The Athalete and India Champion, Dixon Mills, Alabama.

Amateur 2-Year-Old Stallions: FR FinalEdition and Dan Fox, Chino, Caifornia.

Amateur 3-Year-Old Stallions: Electrifyngtouchdown And Bennie Lynn Clawson, McConnells, South Carolina.

Amateur Aged Stallions: Not Kiddin Me Mister and Barbara Hoffer, Auburn, Kansas.

Premier Amateur Stallions: Not Kiddin Me Mister and Barbara Hoffer, Auburn, Kansas.

Amateur Palomino Bred Stallions: Too Hot To Touch and Yvonne Angry, McClelland, Pennsylvania.

Amateur Trail: Cowboysainteasytoluv, owned by Roxann Guthrie, Vassar, Michigan, shown by Kelsey Guthrie Rudy.

Novice Amateur Trail: Im Applecious and Laura Gunnell, Trenton, Michigan.

Amateur Select Trail: Playboys Shining and Sandy Bendele, Chandler, Oklahoma.

Amateur Pleasure Driving: Pleasure Driving: Neatly Stung, owned by Lynn and Amanda Rohwedder and shown by Amanda Rohwedder Bayer.

Amateur Hunter In Hand: Deliberately Dirty, owned and shown by Melissa Bachman.

Amateur Select Hunter Under Saddle: Power In The Details and Wendy Remus, Sleepy Eye, Minnesota

Amateur Walk Trot Hunter Under Saddle: Deliberately Dirty, owned and shown by Melissa Bachman, Lebanon, Tennessee.

Amateur Select Equitation: Reinvest In The Best and Julie Schley, Souix City, Iowa.

Amateur Walk Trot Equitation: Deliberately Dirty, owned and shown by Melissa Bachman, Lebanon, Tennessee.Amateur

Challenged Horsemen

Unassisted Walk Trot Showmanship: Setting The Stage and Mason Egant, Stable Strides.

Unassisted Showmanship: One Hot Amigo and Spencer Roberson, Stable Strides.

Unassisted Walk Trot Equitation: Fax Me A Treasure and Patrick McKenzie, Stable Strides.

Unassisted Equitation: One Hot Amigo and Spencer Roberson, Stable Strides.

Unassisted Walk Trot Hunter Under Saddle: Setting The Stage and Mason Egant, Stable Strides.

Unassisted Hunter Under Saddle: Make Me Feel Good and Stacy Johnson, Stable Strides.

Unassisted Walk Trot Trail: Justa Cruzin Carter and Laura Walizer.

Unassisted Trail: Make Me Feel Good and Stacey Johnson, Stable Strides.

Unassisted Walk Trot Western Pleasure: Ima Gold Cadillac and Cathy Nestler.

Unassisted Western Pleasure: Details N Assets and Erin Bates.

Unassisted Walk Trot Horsemanship: Setting The Stage and Mason Egant.

Unassisted Horsemanship: Make Me Feel Good and Stacey Johnson, Stable Strides.

Photos by Jeff Kirkbride, Corrine Borton and Courtney B. Ament