You can’t take your trophies with you to the grave. They sure do look good on the mantle for now, but the memories are what you take with you and I plane to make as many of those as possible.

Sarah Nimigan was born in Burlington, Ontario, Canada and grew up on the back of a horse. She’s ridden plenty of superstars and she’s done plenty of winning too. But these days, Sarah is after something more fulfilling.

This year, under the continued guidance of Katy Jo Zuidema, Sarah is competing aboard two of what she thinks are among the most talented Hunter Under Saddle horses she’s ever had – Like A Boss and Al Be Jamun.

Like A Boss is a 2013 bay stallion, sired by Hot N Blazing and out of the great mare MySistersCertifiable. Already this year they have racked up Championships in 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle at the Little Futurity and Show For Dough. Additionally they were Reserve Champions in that same class at the Tom Powers Futurity.

“He’s actually the easiest horse to show,” Nimigan said. “He’s got so much cadence and rhythm and his topline never changes. He’s as consistent as they come, plus he’s beautiful.”

Like A Boss was a show horse right from the start. Last year, as a 2- year-old, he won the Breeders Championship Futurity 2-Year-Old Open and Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle classes at the National Snaffle Bit Association World Show. He and Nimigan were Reserve Quarter Horse Congress Champions in 2-Year Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle as well as the Southern Belle Reserve Champions in that class. He finished 2015 as the NSBA High Point 2-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle Champion and Reserve in the Open 2-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle. He holds Register Of Merits in both Open and Amateur and has qualified for this year’s AQHA World Show in both Junior and Amateur Hunter Under Saddle.

He will compete with Katy Jo in Junior Hunter Under Saddle and with Sarah in Amateur Hunter Under Saddle at this year’s Quarter Horse Congress and AQHA World Show.

“I have learned to have zero expectations,” Sarah said. “This is horse showing and he’s a 3-year-old stallion. I don’t like to count my chickens before they hatch. I want to have good, solid rides on my awesome horse that I love showing and beyond that, we’ll just have to see.”

In January Nimigan took a trip to Texas where she got a chance to see Al Be Jamun, a 2014 brown gelding by Allocate Your Assets and out of one of Nancy Sue Ryan’s mares, The First Ride.

“It took us all of five minutes to know he was the one and I haven’t regretted that purchase from Beth Case a day since in spite of the fact that we keep having the worst luck imaginable in the show pen,” Nimigan said. I really think once it all clicks, he’ll be leaving a big mark in the hunt seat.”

Nimigan plans to show Al Be Jamun in the 2-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle at the Congress.

“He floats when he trots and he lopes so effortlessly,” she said. “He has so much balance, cadence, rhythm and strength loping … both ways. For such a big colt it’s way too easy for him.”

She will trust Katy Jo to show Al Be Jamun in the 2-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle at the Congress. They have been working together since 2013 and it’s a relationship Nimigan says is very special.

“She trusts me to follow through and I trust her talent and experience,” she explained. “It’s to the point now that either one of us can get the hunt seat horses ready for the other and we really are in sync. She listens to me when I tell her what I’m feeling or any ideas that I have and we really work well together in that way.”

Katy Jo and Tim Zuidema have been working with Nimigan for going on four years but has know her for a lot longer, since they both showed together in the Michigan area years ago. In 2013 Nimigan stalled with the Zuidemas at the Tom Powers Futurity and expressed her interest in getting a western horse. Since joining them Nimigan has shown eight different horses – most of them under the age of four.

“I am very proud of how much Sarah has come on in the last three years,” Katy Jo said. “I personally have gone from being nervous when she shows to being completely confident in her. Sarah has become a pilot instead of just a rider. It has been fun to watch and rewarding for me to be a part of.”

The Florida trainer also said she considers her a great friend.

“She’s a lot like me. We get each other,” Zuidema explained. “She is fun, and positive and sassy. Mostly though she has a huge heart and she is very sensitive. She wants to make people happy.”

And as a client, Katy Jo says “she’s the best.”

“Sarah is a realist and she knows nice horses and how the horse show business works,” Katy Jo explained. “I’m not exactly known for sugar-coating things, so I have never kept anything from her or tried to keep rose colored glasses on her. For those reasons she is very educated and informed by our network so to speak. She is hands on with the vet and farrier and our decisions. We all give our opinion and decide a path together. We share the wins and the defeats.”

Nimigan says she would have it no other way.

“Katy Jo’s bluntly honest,” she said. “If you want to know the truth about anything, just ask her. There’s no sugar-coating anything, no matter what. That’s rare these days and it’s what I appreciate most about her.”

Sarah has worked with Tim and Katy Jo in preparing both Western Pleasure and Hunter Under Saddle horses. Together they have presented: Spyderman, in 2 and 3-Year-Old Open and Non-Pro Western Pleasure; Sleepintil Dawn, in 2-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle; Woody Bea Detail, in Maturity Non-Pro and Amateur Hunter Under Saddle; Like A Boss, in 2 and 3-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle; Al Be Jamun, in 2-Year-Old Open and Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle.

“We also bought and sold Spyderman’s brother, Supermann and Made For Show. Plus I have Battmobile, an upcoming 3-Year-Old Western Pleasure horse for next year,” Sarah said.

Nimigan attended the University of Western Ontario and University of Exeter, earning an undergraduate degree in political science. She went on to earn a Masters of Law degree, and a Ph.D in political science.

Ask Sarah where she sees herself in 10 years and she’ll tell you: “Showing horses, working in a university researching and teaching subjects concerning international law, human rights and international justice and living a fulfilling personal life.”