Keith Miller and Pretty Assets

Over $500,000 in cash and prizes is up for grabs this week as the National Snaffle Bit Association gathers in Tulsa, Oklahoma for its 11^th Annual World Championship Show. In addition to the World Show classes, the NSBA Breeders Championship Futurity and Stakes classes are on display through Sunday, Aug. 21.

Competition got under way on Sunday with a full slate of over fences classes. Linda Crothers piloted Go Big Sky to a victory in the Working Hunter Derby for owner Rodger Call to start this year’s event off. The 2001 gray gelding is sired by Skys Blue Boy out of Marks Favorite and was the winner of the Inaugural Huntfield Derby finals at the AQHA World Show in 2012. Later in the day Go Big Sky collected two more World Championship titles in 50 & Over Amateur Working Hunter and 50 & Over Amateur Hunter Hack with Call in the irons and he rounded out his show day with a win in Senior Hunter Hack for good measure.

In Working Hunter competition, What Matters Most claimed victory in Green with Ryan Painter in the irons for owner Marcie Budine while Lindsey Wilt-Perotti dominated the Amateur Division aboard Zip Up My Bloomers and Tuscany Blue Sky carried owner Addison Bowman to victory in Youth competition. Painter and What Matters Most returned to win Green Hunter Hack and then Painter climbed aboard Sin To Win to win the Junior Hunter Hack for owner Julie Dishman as well. Wilt-Perotti and Zip Up My Bloomers took charge of Amateur Hunter Hack and an American Paint Horse Association gelding by the name of Thanks For Zip En Me topped the Youth Hunter Hack class with owner Alexis Miller.

Equitation classes also filled Sunday’s schedule with Nicholas Furlong teaming with Executive Hotrodder to win Youth Equitation Over Fences. Nancy Gulick and Chocs De Boss claimed the 50 & Over Amateur Equitation while Jesilyn McCarroll and Do U Wanna Dance won their second consecutive World Championship title in Amateur Equitation.

Judging in three different arenas on Monday kept exhibitors busy on Monday. In the Ford Truck Arena Deanna Searles and Al Be Desirable started the day off right with a win in the BCF 4-6-Year-Old Open Hunter Under Saddle. Hayley Hartman piloted Al Fool Ya to a win in the BCF 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle. Pretty Assets claimed victory in the BCF 3-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle with owner Megan Tierney in the irons. Rebekah Kazakevicius and Not Just Anyhoo collected a World Championship title in the Maturity Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle. Attention then turned to Western events starting with the BCF 3-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure where Casey Willis piloted KM Suddenly So Easy to a win for owners Ken and Marilyn Masterson. The BCF 3-Year-Old Intermediate Open Western Pleasure title went to Jeff Long aboard Moonlightin for wife, Liz. Sharnai Thompson and Rock County Kid teamed to win the BCF 4 to 6-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure and Abby Rawlings rode A Lazy Holiday to victory in the Intermediate Division of that same class. Next to show were the contenders in the BCF 2-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure where Carli Stewart Armenta and Cherrie Bomb won both the Open and Intermediate divisions of that class. Whats Your Number won the BCF Limited 2-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure with Brittany Morgan in the saddle. Rusty Green and For One Night Only won a World Championship title in the Maturity Open Western Pleasure while Blair Townsend and KM WeKnowShesHot won the Intermediate Division for Masterson Farms. The BCF 3-Year-Old Limited Open Western Pleasure. The BCF Limited Open Western Pleasure Championship went to Cody Parrish and Lexus Made Lady, owned by Matt and Abi Tuiasosopo.

Liz Long and RR A Moonlite Stroll

Western Riders got a break as attention moved to the BCF 4 to 6-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle class where Boys Move Over collected a silver cup with Courtney Brockmueller in the irons. Then new dad Keith Miller, of North Carolina, piloted Pretty Assets, by Allocate Your Assets and out of Art I Pretty, to a win in the BCF Open 3-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle class.

“I think her soft canter is what makes her special,” Miller said.

BCF 2-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle honors went to Brockmueller and Give Me The Goods while Meg Whelan and Sleepin teamed to win the Intermediate Division of that class.

Danny Desmond and Im The Best closed out the day’s competition in the Ford Truck Arena by winning the $2,500 Limited Horse/Limited Rider Open Western Pleasure. The 2008 sorrel mare is by RL Best Of Sudden and out of Huntin Tee Time and is owned by Beth McNichol of Blairstown, New Jersey.

Meanwhile, in the Mustang Arena, John Norton and Smooth Details, sired by Next Detail and out of Zips Smooth Sally, were dominating the Hunter Longe Line classes. The pair collected wins in the BCF Non-Pro Hunter Longe Line, the Non-Pro Hunter Longe Line and the Limited Non-Pro Longe Line.

Novice Youth Western Pleasure followed on the schedule with Get Her Vitals, a 2010 sorrel mare by Invest N Vital Signs and out of Get Down Version winning the Gold trophy with Reily Jacobs Bell in the saddle. Katie Bussing, fresh off her fifth place finish in Western Pleasure at the AQHA Youth World Show, captured the top prize in Youth Western Pleasure aboard Cool Lookin Moonie.

“We’re always tweaking her, but she’s five now and much more mature. It’s all about taking those details she’s been learning and putting them all together come show day,” Bussing says of her show partner.

Hillary Roberts won the Amateur Western Pleasure aboard For One Night Only, a 2012 bay gelding sired by Invitation Only and out of Radical Zippette and the day concluded in the Mustang arena with Wade Black capturing a World Championship title on Huntin The Dream, for owner Eric Mendrysa. The 2012 gray gelding is sired by Huntin For Chocolate and out of Dont Skip Passion.

Trail dominated the schedule Monday morning in the Super Duty Arena. as Emma Brown got things started by winning Youth Trail on Some Hot Potential, a 2007 bay gelding by Invest In A Hot Star and out of Potential Fortune. Then Brynn Campbell teamed with Poison Rain to win the Novice Youth Trail.

Riders With Disabilities then took control of the arena to compete in Trail, Western Pleasure and Hunter Under saddle. The day concluded there with Olivia Tordoff, of Delaware, Ohio, and Too Blazing Cool winning Youth Hunter Under Saddle and Katie Adams riding Treasured Art to victory in Novice Youth Hunter Under Saddle. The last class of the day in the Super Duty Arena was Green Pattern Hunter Under saddle where Karen Graham piloted Karen Graham piloted Afraid Inthedark Too to victory for owner Mike Hawkins.

Ashley Frappier and Hot By Nature

Tuesday Competition

Was Meant To Be stayed true to his name as he started competition off Tuesday morning in the Ford Truck Arena with a win in the BCF 4 to 6-Year-Old Limited Open Hunter Under Saddle with Sandra Morgan in the irons. The 2012 gelding is sired by Good I Will Be and out of This Is Why Im Hot.

Ashley Frappier followed that up with a win in the BCF 3-Year-Old Limited Open Hunter Under saddle aboard Hot By Nature for owner Olivia Hoecker of Pine Meadow Quarter Horses.

“Well it was a total surprise,” Frappier said after the class. “I have been showing this mare at the summer futurities and have done well in the Novice Horse, Novice Rider classes (second at The Little Futurity and third at the Tom Powers Futurity). But I knew going into a big futurity class here at the NSBA World Show that the competition would be tuff.”

Frappier said she was happy with her ride and was hoping for a Top 10 placing on the 2013 mare by Hot N Blazing and out of Blue By Nature

“I never expected to win the whole thing, even as they were calling out the final placings,” she said. “We started Catalina in January when we moved down to Florida. So she has made so much progress in a short time. She is really great minded.”

The team will show again on Sunday in 3-Year-Old Limited Open Hunter Under Saddle and then at the Quarter Horse Congress in October.

Aint Got A Lot was declared the winner in the BCF 4 to 6-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle with Courtney Archer in the irons before the arena was turned over to the western riders.

Susan Roberts rode Johnnie On The Spot to victory in the 2-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure. Later in the day Rusty Green rode the bay mare by RL Best Of Sudden and out of Gimmie Invester to a win in the 2-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure. Justin Arrington, of Graceville, Florida, won the 2-Year-Old Intermediate Non-Pro Western Pleasure aboard RV Wonit Lopin Lady by Lazy Loper and Cheyenne Augsburger won the 2-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure with Unanimously Too Cool, by Hes A Cool Hotrod and out of Suddenly A Hotty. Sharnai Thompson won the Maturity Non-Pro Western Pleasure with 2014 NSBA Horse of the Year, Rock County Kid as Cheryl Mullikin took top honors in the Intermediate Division of the class with her new show partner, KM Call Me Honey. Mullikin shows under the guidance of Wade Black.

Emma Brown and Some Hot Potential

“Our ride was very good,” Mullikin said. “Wade said “BEST ride ever!’”

Mullikin said that “Honey Bee” is fun to ride and very reliable. Since the start of this year she has also been competing in Western Riding. They will next compete together at the AQHA Amateur Select World Show at the end of the month.

Rusty Green and For One Night Only won the BCF 4 to 6-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure and Mike Hawkins rode Extremely Dark Chips, by Extremely Hot Chips, to victory in the Intermediate Division of that class. Hillary Roberts rode Scoot Over, sired by RL Best Of Sudden, to victory in the BCF 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure while Justin Arrington won the Intermediate Division of the class aboard I Will Be A Good RV who is sired by Lazy Loper and out of I’ll Be Dun Wonit.

“I think that she did really good and listened well,” Arrington said of his ride. “She is just a 2-year-old, but is a good mare with a good feel. Our plan for her is to show at the Congress in the 2-year-old events.

As the afternoon schedule drew to a close in the Ford Truck arena Liz Long, of Siler City, North Carolina, rode RR A Moonlite Stroll to a big win in the $10,000 Limited Horse Non-Pro Western Pleasure Maturity.

“I felt good about my ride,” Liz said. “They had us enter at a moderate extension of the jog, so when you first go in like that I think it increases the degree of difficulty right from the start.”

RR A Moonlite Stroll is a 2012 by mare by Only In The Moonlite and out of RR A Matter Of Time.

“She is a very sweet mare that has just kept getting better every time we show her,” Liz said.

Jeff Long will show RR A Moonlite Stroll in the $10,000 Limited Horse Western Pleasure class here on Sunday and in the $10,000 Limited Horse Western Pleasure, Maturity Western Pleasure and Junior Western Pleasure at the Congress. Liz will also show her in the Non-Pro Western Pleasure Maturity and Amateur Western Pleasure there. From there they will head to the AQHA World Show to compete in Amateur Western Pleasure and Junior Western Pleasure.

Huntin For Certain closed out the day with a win in the 2-Year-Old Intermediate Open Western Pleasure with Drew DeBuhr in the saddle.

Cheryl Mullikin and KM Call Me Honey

In the Mustang Arena a buckskin filly by One Hot Krymsun won the BCF Color Longe Line Class. Terry Cross showed Krymsun Cappuccino to victory for owner Rebecca Hogan. Next up was Showmanship competition where Caroline Fredenburg won top honors in Novice Youth Showmanship with Zippos Hot Jet, a 2000 sorrel gelding by Zippos Mr Good Bar and out of EBG Prissy Lady. Mallory Vroegh followed with a win in a tough Youth Showmanship Class with her show partner, Krymsun Belle, a 2011 sorrel mare by One Hot Krymsun and out of Miss Mega Cash. To close out the day in the Mustang Arena Emma Brown and Some Hot Potential won their second World Championship – this time in Novice Youth Horsemanship. Kaylee Mellott and Only In Show Biz won Youth Horsemanship.

Meanwhile, in the Super Duty Arena Junior Trail opened the day with Jason Gilliam winning Junior Trail aboard No Question Im Lazy, owned by Kaleena Katz Weakley, who came back later in the day to win the BCF 4 to 6-Year-Old Non-Pro Trail and Brittany Morgan piloted Lil Bit Western to a win in Amateur Trail.

Sleepin won the Green Hunter Under Saddle with Keith Miller in the irons. The 2014 sorrel gelding by Too Sleepy To Zip and out of Lets Get Zipped, is owned by Meg Whelan,

“He is a great minded 2-year-old and really physical,” Miller said. “He has a great trot and canter. He’s very soft and effortless. He gave me a great ride but in a pen full of older, seasoned horses I had no idea how it would turn out.”

Huntin For Certain and Ashley Rytman teamed to win the Non-Pro Walk-Trot Hunter Under Saddle and Sherrie Gultz, of Stockton, New Jersey won the Amateur Select Hunter Under Saddle aboard PS Im Hot, a 17-hand bay mare by Signature Of Honor and out of Hot Surprise. Aint Gota Lota wrapped up the day’s performances with a win in Senior Hunter Under saddle with Beth case in the irons for owner Courtney Archer.

Tonight the NSBA hosts its annual awards banquet. In addition to honoring 2015 High-Point Champions the association will induct horses, riders and individuals into the Hall of Fame.

John Wainscott, who co-owned and stood Good Version is attending to accept the award for the 1990 bay stallion until his death in 2006, just six weeks following heart surgery.

“I‘ve been sick and I am not supposed to even be here but I will always do all I can to stand up for Vern,” he said. “He made my life. He made me a living. Every day he gave me a greeting and I owe more to him than anyone will ever know.”

Wainscott said what stuck out about Good Version was his consistency as a sire.

“He didn’t need World Champion mares to make great horses,” he said. “He was bionic minded. Overall he passed on good minds and the physical traits to stay sound.”

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