He didn’t know it at the time but when Mike Hershberger sent A Certain Illusion to South Carolina trainers Jay and Kristy Starnes 11 years ago, he was making a move that would have a lasting impact on both families for years to come.

Hershberger and the 2006 sorrel mare by Certain Potential out of Uncork The Magic, would go on to capture American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) World Championship titles in Amateur Select Western Pleasure and Performance Halter Mares over the next few years. In 2012 Hershberger stepped away from showing for a while and A Certain Illusion (Molly) was sold to Gavin Rawlings, another of Starnes’ customers.

Ironically, when Hershberger decided to return to competition last year it was with The Lopin Illusion (Sonny), a 2017 sorrel gelding out of Molly, by The Lopin Machine.

Since Rawlings owned both A Certain Illusion and The Lopin Machine at the time, crossing the two was a “no brainer.”

“Sonny was born and raised at our farm,” Kristy explained. “He was not the prettiest of babies and his odd blaze made him look even more awkward but he could move great.”

Kristy and Jay purchased the youngster themselves when he was a long yearling but his training under saddle didn’t begin until July of his 2-year-old year, due to an injury he sustained in January.

“Sonny is about a 50/50 mix of both the sire and dam,” Kristy said. “He got the freaky front leg and stretch loping of his dam and the deep hock, topline and jog of his daddy.”

The Lopin Illusion finally made his show debut in the 3-Year-Old & Over Maiden Horse Western Pleasure at the 2020 Madness, presented by the Southern Ohio Quarter Horse Association, where Kristy showed him to Reserve Championship honors.

“Because of a series of injuries, he really was only ridden for just under six months total very intermittently before he was shown,” she said. “But he’s smart and picked everything up very fast.”

Hershberger then purchased Sonny last August.

“We wanted to be sure he would hold up to the rigors of hauling to shows before we sold him,” Kristy explained. “We felt he would be a good fit for Mike as he has a lot of self-carriage and really wants to be a show horse who enjoys his job.”

That’s important to Hershberger who, because of the demands of his job (an accountant) can only show six months at the most out of each year.

Two months later Kristy and Sonny won the Overall Circuit Championship in L1 Western Pleasure at the Arizona Fall Championships in Scottsdale, Arizona.

And then it was Hershberger’s turn.

“Mike started showing him at the Fun In The Sun Futurity in Venice, Florida,” Kristy said. “They had multiple wins in Select Western Pleasure with some of the best competition in the country.”

Sonny won the $10,000 Western Pleasure Maturity with Jay Starnes in the saddle there as well.

For the rest of the 2021 show season Hershberger will show Sonny in Select Western Pleasure classes and Jay plans to show him in Level 3 Junior Western Pleasure AQHA classes and in $10,000 Western Pleasure Maturity classes at all the major futurities.

Jay will also be in the saddle when Sonny’s full sister, Something More, makes her show debut in the $100,000 3-Year-Old Maiden Western Pleasure at the Sudden Impulse Shows and Futurity April 23 to May 1 in Ocala, Florida.

The pretty sorrel filly is owned by Jay and Kristy Starnes and Kristy says she is much more like her sire, The Lopin Machine in that she is very strong, correct and powerful.

But it is hard to dispute the strength of the mare line that A Certain Illusion brings to the equation. In fact, it’s so impressive that Jay and Kristy opted to purchase her for themselves in 2018.

“Her extremely correct conformation makes her able to be crossed on a wide variety of stallions and have well balanced foals,” Kristy explained. “Molly’s foals all seem to be born trained. They just want to be show horses.”

To date, her foals have earned over 1,679 AQHA points and have logged over $103,088 in National Snaffle Bit Association earnings.

Some of Molly’s most decorated offspring include: Never Have I Ever and Not Just An Illusion, by No Doubt Im Lazy; Certainly Flatlined and Million To 1, sired by VS Flatline; and Lazy Illusions and Do I Look Lazy, sired by Lazy Loper.

This year Jay and Kristy are breeding her to No Doubt Im Lazy, Batt Man and The Lopin Machine.

To say Mike Hershberger and A Certain Illusion mean the world to the Starnes family would be putting it mildly. In addition to all the successful show horses that they have had the opportunity to own, train and show because of Hershberger, Jay and Kristy’s son, Logan, has himself become quite the accomplished competitor, thanks to Hershberger’s support.

“Mike gave us the greatest gift of all in signing the papers of Certainly A Classic (2002 bay mare by Certain Potential and out of Class Man Class) over to Logan in 2019,” Kristy said. “Without Mike coming to us in 2010 Logan would certainly not be the rider he is today. Mike not only gave Logan Cici but he bred Certainly Flatlined (out A Certain Illusion), Logan’s current show horse.”

Hershberger earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln in 1976. He is a Certified Public Accountant and has served as president of Watts & Hershberger, P.C., since the firm was founded in December of 1982.

He lives on Firethorn Golf Course in Lincoln and tries to play as often as his work schedule allows. He is also a certified open water scuba diver who has dives in the Dominican Republic, Cozumel, Roatan and Fiji.

But showing horses is his true passion, one he shared with his father.

“My father always loved horses,” Hershberger said. “His passion for them obviously rubbed off on me.”

Kristy says Hershberger simply loves the sport.

“He knows what it takes to win at the top levels of competition and is not afraid of the work that needs put in to be competitive,” she explained.

But it is his good attitude that is most appreciated.

“Probably his best attribute is that he truly is a team player and is happy for each and every client in the barn when they have success or just a good ride,” Kristy said.