He’s only 32 years old but when Jay Starnes, of Summerton, South Carolina, walked out of the arena with a check for $50,000 for winning the 2013 Congress Masters Western Pleasure, it appears he walked into a place in history by becoming the first Western Pleasure rider to reach the $1 million in earnings mark.

According to Equi-Stat, the statistical division of Cowboy Publishing and the accepted source for statistical information in the performance show horse industry, Starnes’ Western Pleasure earnings, as of Nov. 6, were listed at $964,775.53. Add the $50,000 to that and Starnes now has earnings comfortably in excess of $1 million.

Equi-Stat lists Rusty Green, of Pilot Point, Texas, second as of Nov. 6, at $933,484.75 in total Western Pleasure earnings. Green’s biggest paychecks in 2013 included $23,069.95 for his Reserve Championship in the Masters Western Pleasure and $10,000 in the Open 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure Stakes Class at the Reichert Celebration. In addition, he won dozens of classes at some of the top shows and futurities in the country this year – including the National Snaffle Bit Association’s World Championship Show, Tom Powers Futurity, A Little Futurity and Reichert Celebration.

The 2013 Equi-Stat figures so far only include results from four shows – The Tom Powers Summer Triple Challenge Futurity in Berrien Springs, Michigan; the Western Pleasure Summer Slide and Celebration Futurity (formerly the Harvest Gold) in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada; the AQHA Amateur Select World Show, Amarillo, Texas; and the Easter Ohio Futurity in Columbus, Ohio.

Donna Timmons, assistant director at Equi-Stat said that it would be unlikely that when all other earnings from 2013 Western Pleasure events are finally added to the database and the 2013 Equi-Stat figures are final that Green could compile another $60,000-plus to top $1 million. But he too is very close.

Keith Whistle, who has not competed in a Western Pleasure event since 2010 holds the third place spot with $873,754.98 and Gil Galyean, of Purcell, Oklahoma is fourth with $857,277.16 in lifetime Western Pleasure earnings.

“I think it’s really neat,” Starnes says. “We have been keeping track for a little while now and thought this year might be ‘the year.’”

Equi-Stat is the statistical database for Quarter Horse News. It is widely known as the most complete statistical service in the world, offering detailed information and earnings from Cutting, Reining, Reined Cow Horse, Barrels as well as the Pleasure Industry (Western Pleasure, Hunter Under Saddle and Longe Line classes).

The earnings tracked by the National Snaffle Bit Association are included in Equi-Stat’s data, but Equi-Stat also includes earnings at non-sanctioned events. This is important to consider since the first few years slot classes issued $100,000 paychecks at events like the Reichert Celebration, the NSBA did not sanction the classes and therefore those winnings are not included in the association’s horse and rider statistics.

“In 1994 Equi-Stat started keeping track of lifetime earnings for horses and riders in Western Pleasure, Hunter Under Saddle and Longe Line,” Timmons said. ”We are not perfect, but we reach out to as many shows and futurities as we can from all over the world to provide as complete records as possible.”

For example, in 2012 Equi-Stat records included earnings in classes from over 79 events that accounted for over 6,500-plus entries “just in pleasure events,” according to Temple Read, who managers Equi-Stat.

The son of Jackie and Kathy Starnes, Jay was born into a life of show horses. While growing up Jay had a first hand look at running a training operation from his father. It was under his father’s discerning eye that he began showing horses. In the beginning Starnes did all of the training on his own horses while showing in Non-Pro events.

His first earnings, a check for $250, were recorded at the 1995 Jasmine Jubilee Circuit in Clemson, South Carolina, aboard Sassy Bo J Sands. Eight short years and several large slot classes later Starnes rounded out his $1,000,000 with a Masters win aboard Its Best To Be Hot, earning $50,000. Starnes is also the first exhibitor to repeat wins in the Masters. He won the very first Congress Masters Class aboard Flashy Looking Lady in 2005.

During his career Starnes has ridden such notable horses as VS Flatline, Won Lopin RV Machine, Only Rave Reviews, Hot Lopin Machine, Hes All The Rage and Hot Lopin Louise.

“I would really like to thank my wife, Kristy, first and foremost, for putting up with me and all that the horses entail,” says Starnes. “I would also like to thank my parents, Gil Galyean and Troy Oakley for all their guidance over the years and all of the customers who have trusted me with their horses.”

In 2003 Jay married the former Kristy Bell, herself a decorated youth and amateur competitor. The welcomed a son, Logan, in 2010 and now operate their own very successful training operation on 50 acres of the family’s property in Manning, South Carolina. The entire facility, which was originally cattle pastures, was designed and built by the Starnes family to meet the specific needs of a state- of-the-art training facility. The farm boasts a 20 stall heated show barn with two heated wash racks, tack room, multiple storage rooms and office. Several large pastures with run-in sheds, two turn-out lots for show horses, hay and horse trailer storage shed, six horse Drover Horse Walker, 60’ round pen and 120-by-200-foot riding arena are some of the many amenities available.