Nancy Sue Ryan Pilots Whenonlythebestwildo to a Congress Championship in Junior Hunter Under Saddle

By: Brittany Bevis

Returning from a Congress Championship win in the Three-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle last year, Nancy Sue Ryan and Whenonlythebestwildo did it again this evening by winning the Junior Hunter Under Saddle for Barry Falkenham of Italy Cross, Nova Scotia. “Big Winnie” has taken it easy during the lead up to the Congress by enjoying some time off after her win in 2012.

“She has been laid up almost the whole year just recuperating,” Ryan says. “She only showed like six times this year. She’s just a lovely mare. She’s huge and beautiful. She’s one of those kind of horses that everyone walks up and asks about.”

Big Winnie is by Coats N Tails and out of a daughter of Luke At Me, a mare Ryan also showed to a Congress Championship in the past.

“She is out of a Luke At Me daughter, a mare that I showed here at the Congress and won the Hunt Seat Futurity on,” Ryan says. “So, it’s kind of fun. The mother of the Luke At Me daughter was a Congress Champion. She came here for six years and came in first or second every year.”

Ryan was very pleased with Big Winnie’s performance this evening, especially considering there was a large crowd in the Celeste Arena.

“She gets a little nervous in there because of the crowds, but she is a beautiful mover, so she just demands attention,” Ryan says.

The mare’s owner, Barry Falkenham, flew in from Nova Scotia especially for his mare’s performance this evening. He has been a client of Ryan’s for the past 15 years. Big Winnie joined the group when she was purchased from Donnie and Liz Recchiuti and Richland Ranch as a two-year-old.

Following her appearance at the Congress, Big Winnie will be headed to the AQHA World Show in Oklahoma next month. In the meantime, she has to get back to her stall to take a bathroom break before the next class. Ladies, of course, don’t go to the bathroom in public.

“She gets the best,” Ryan says. “Everything is the best for Winnie. That’s the way it is!”

Junior Hunter Under Saddle–

1-Whenonlythebestwildo/Nancy Sue Ryan

2-Willy Has Potential/Beth Case

3-Call The Mechanic/Katy Jo Zuidema

4-Beautiful Maiden/Stacy Lynn Huls

5-An Asset For Sure/Tami Thurston