Equine Chronicle » Father and Son Duel It Out in Closest Open High Point Horse All-Round Race In History of APHA World Show

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Father and Son Duel It Out in Closest Open High Point Horse All-Round Race In History of APHA World Show

November 13, 2010

By: Brittany Bevis

Photo Credit: Brittany Bevis

It was a day of record breaking accomplishments at the 2010 APHA Fall World Show, when a sire and his foal battled it out to take home the title of Open High Point All-Around Horse. In the end, it came down to the very last class, with only one point separating The Big Sensation from his son, The Sensational Copy.

The Big Sensation received the last point needed to clinch the title in the Aged Stallions halter class today. We spoke with “Jerry’s” owner, Lacy Merritt, of Merritt Equine Ventures, right after receiving the award.

“It’s kind of sad, because this will be his last show,” Merritt says. “Our original goal was just to have a great time and for Vicky to win the Senior Hunter Under Saddle. Because if she did that, he would be the only horse to sweep all four age divisions of the hunter under saddle. When that happened, it was just unbelievable.”

In addition to this being Jerry’s second Open All-Around Horse Title, he also won the All-Around English Horse Title at the show and has now become the only horse in APHA history to have won the 2-Year-Old, 3-Year-Old, Junior and Senior Hunter Under Saddle at the World Show. In order to accomplish such a feat, Jerry had a long list of professional pilots to help guide him towards his final goal, including Andrea Simons, Mike Davis, Ryan Painter, James Saubolle, Vicky Holt and JT Mitchell.

“Ryan did an awesome job in the Hack,” she says. “He was beautiful, and Andrea was unanimous in the Pleasure Driving, and that almost never happens. He is a great horse and he was phenomenal. He couldn’t have done better.”

In his last performance at an APHA World Show, The Big Sensation took home World Championships in Senior Hunter Under Saddle, Senior Hunter Hack, Senior Pleasure Driving, and a Reserve World Championship in Classic Amateur Senior Hunter Under Saddle.

“What is so exciting is that we get to watch all of these babies succeed,” she says. “We already have had multiple World Champions at this horse show, and now we just get to sit back and cheer them all on. Now Jerry is a two time All-Around Horse, and The Sensational Copy is just a three-year-old, so if they can already succeed at this young age, then there are only more to come.”

Now that Jerry has concluded his very last performance at an APHA World Show, Merritt says they plan to focus more on his breeding career.

“He is going to get a lot of rest and a spa day now,” she says. “He will get a lot of time off, which I’m sure he is happy about.”

“We always thought that Jerry was going to be the next Zippos Sensation, that is our hope and dream for him.”

This was not only one of the closest races for the Open All-Around High Point Title at an APHA World Show, it was also the first time that an Open All-Around High Point Winner has sired a Reserve Open All-Around High Point Winner. In addition, The Sensational Copy is one of the youngest horses to receive the Reserve designation, at just three years of age. “McClain” also took home the title of Super Gelding for the show.