It is not at all unusual for Shelly Boyle to return to the stalls at a show to fetch her partner, Put Your Spurs On, for a class only to find the 2006 brown gelding, sired by Potential Investment out of All In Chocolate, sprawled out taking a nap.

“He frequently lies down at horse shows,” the Pennsylvania native explains. “ I think I’ve caught him napping as many as five times in one day. He is never the least bit concerned that he has his saddle on or tail braided when he decides that it is time to lie down – cue panicked grooming.”

Boyle and Put Your Spurs On have been together for six years now. They compete at American Quarter Horse Association shows, primarily in Hunter Under Saddle (Amateur and Senior) classes, under the direction of Brian and Darla Lee, Plain City, Ohio, but have also added Showmanship and Equitation to their repertoire this year. Although her goals inside the show arena have changed over the years, Boyle says she breaks it down into two specific tasks.

“First, I want to be better than I was the last time every time that I show, and I’ll need to be in order to achieve my secondary goal,” she explains. “Ultimately, I really want to earn a World Show trophy. Outside of showing, I’m challenging myself to find a balance between my demanding work life and show schedule that will allow me to do a little more traveling with my friends and family.’

Boyle is Pharmacy District Manager for Rite Aid and her territory covers 24 pharmacies in the greater Pittsburgh area.

She met her husband, Brian, on the first day of pharmacy school at the University of Pittsburgh.

“We were all assigned groups that were to last the entire school year, and we were placed in the same group,” she explains. “He went to work after the first day of class and told his boss that he’d met the girl he was going to marry. Apparently he was right!”

The daughter of James and Brenda Campbell, Boyle says she gets her love of horses from her mother.

“My mom showed locally when she was a kid and my parents had horses when I was growing up,” she says. “We only used them for trail riding, but it was enough for me to get the horse bug. I got riding lessons for my eighth birthday and my first horse when I turned nine.”

When she turned 9 Boyle’s parents bought her a grade gelding named Jade.

“They took us to our first horse show later that fall,” she recalls. “I remember getting a fifth place in one of our classes at that show. I think he bucked in the other class.”

Since then Boyle has had the chance to show several horses including: Poco Tyker Socks, a 1985 sorrel gelding sired by Chock Full A Socks and out of Kandy Red Mirror; and Incredible Corey, a 1992 bay gelding sired by The Incredible and out of the thoroughbred mare One Or The Other. Before teaming with Put Your Spurs On, Boyle showed Chip Off The Redrock, a 2002 bay roan gelding sired by HH Red Rock and out of Legends Gift to Me.

“We were third place AQHA Open Green Trail Limited Rider our first year together,” she says.

Over the years Boyle has enjoyed a lot of success, including being named Quarter Horse Congress Queen in 2007. But she says she is probably most proud of the AQHA High Point titles she and Put Your Spurs On earned in Amateur Hunter Under Saddle in 2011 and 2012. They followed that up with High Point honors in Senior Hunter Under Saddle in 2013.

She admits her favorite show is the AQHA World Show and she has placed in the Top 10 in Hunter Under Saddle there several times.

“It’s an opportunity to get to show against some of the best horses and riders in the world, and there is something truly special about trotting down the chute through the center of the arena while hearing your horse’s name being announced,” she says.

And there’s no hesitation when you ask her favorite class to show:

“I think Hunter Under Saddle will always be my favorite (class),” she explains. “On the surface, it seems so simple – ride around the perimeter of the arena at the specified gait. In reality, there is so much more involved – balance, ring positioning, pace, just to name a few.”