Aaron Moses Wins Senior Western Pleasure with A Diva By Moonlight

By: Brittany Bevis

It was by the light of a Columbus harvest moon that Aaron Moses rode A Diva By Moonlight to win Senior Western Pleasure for owner, Jeri Lockwood.

Aaron and “Moonlight” haven’t been a team for long. They were just matched after the NSBA World Show this year, but thus far, the pretty black mare appears to be fitting into Aaron’s program very nicely. “We get along really good,” Aaron says. “She really suits me well.”

Aaron praises this mare’s ability to be consistent in a competitive field as one of the attributes that helped her clinch tonight’s win. “She’s very consistent. There’s not a lot of extra motion. She’s fluid and really soft. It’s easy for her.”

Although Aaron was confident in the mare’s ability, he certainly didn’t expect to come away with the win today. However, the decision of the judges was nearly unanimous with three firsts and one fourth. “She was really good, but I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve never shown the horse before. I ride her a lot, but I don’t get to see how she looks that often. I know she felt good, but I didn’t know how she looked or how she compared to the other horses. I was happy and a little surprised, I guess.”

This is the only class the 10-year-old mare, by Only In The Moonlite and out of Potential Diva, will be competing in here at the Congress. Now, it’s on to the AQHA World Show in November.

The Reserve Champion was Jay Starnes with Extremely Hot Chips. Third was Andy Cochran with Only Ever After. Fourth place was Adam Wainscott with Impulse Of Hope. Fifth was Gil Galyean with OHK Goodbars Krymsun.