Sara completed not only a clean sweep of all the Open Western Riding classes here at the show, a feat she’s never before accomplished, she took the top three spots in Senior Western Riding as well.

“This was only his third Trail pattern ever, and we kind of decided to do it last minute,” Brad says. “At first, his focus on the poles would scare him, but that translated into him honing his skills and becoming more aware of his legs. I have to put him in the right spots, but he can figure it out when he gets there. I thought about showing in a hackamore today, but I thought I would have better steering in a snaffle and then still have the ability to put him on a loose rein and show him.”

“I think he’s a once in a lifetime animal and, as many great horses as HighPoint has had, I think he will be right up there with the best of them.”

“When I looked down, I could see his front leg soaring out there, so it felt really cool. In this pattern, you had to go from a gallop to a slow jog and lope-overs that were really intense to really slow controlled stuff. That’s what’s fun, because he’s so quiet that you can go for the gusto.”

“She’s easy to show and everything about her is effortless,” Marylyn says. A double-registered mare, Tatsu, has two yearlings coming up- one by A Good Machine and one by Zippos Sensation, and Marylyn is excited to watch their upbringing. 

Besides her bay, good looks, Bob appreciates her kind demeanor and easygoing attitude, which was evident when his great granddaughter, 7-year-old Georgia Cook, showed her to win at the APHA Youth World Show this summer.

“Carly has the eye to be able to critique anything, so there’s always something to work on, which I love.”

Pickles is just four, relatively young to compete in all-around classes. In fact, today was the first time she’d been shown one-handed, in a bridle, in a Horsemanship pattern. “I couldn’t of asked her for anything more. She took very good care of me when I got a little nervous. I tried to let her do her job and not get in her way.”

“Yes, she’s an Appaloosa with no color, and it’s kind of shocking when people find out!” Carolyn says. “Her name is ET for Elizabeth Taylor, because she’s just like sparkling diamonds.”