Shannon Hill’s Gritty Performance with Daytona Five Hundred Wins 3YO Open Ranch Riding Futurity
By Sarah Welk Baynum
You’d never guess it from the impressive pattern Shannon Hill laid down with Daytona Five Hundred to win the 3-Year-Old Open Ranch Riding Futurity NSBA. However, just days earlier, Hill had undergone emergency surgery to remove her appendix—but that didn’t stop her from making it to the All American Quarter Horse Congress and showing her horses in top form.
In the days leading up to the class, Hill’s husband, Brad, stepped in to help prepare Daytona Five Hundred, by Shiners Voodoo Doctor and out of Okie Starbella, making the Congress win even more meaningful.
“I obviously wasn’t operating on all cylinders, so this one feels extra special because it was such a team effort between Brad and me,” Hill shares. “He did all the work getting Daytona ready, and then he just popped me in the saddle to go show. It was really neat to see all that work pay off.”
Matched with Hill’s determined riding, Daytona Five Hundred, owned by Debbie Kuffer, proved in his winning round why he has quickly distinguished himself in Ranch Riding, showcasing natural ability, willingness, and undeniable presence in the show pen.
“He’s such a fantastic mover, and he loves his job,” says Hill. “He’s great with his ears, so natural with his head and neck, and he always looks truly engaged in what he’s doing. He makes it all look so easy—and he makes my job easy, too. He also won the NSBA World Show in the three-year-olds, was Reserve at the Championship Show, and now he’s added this Congress win to his record.”
While the class pattern appeared fairly simple, it was filled with numerous transitions—elements that can easily turn tricky, especially for a young horse.
“It was one of those patterns that looks easy on paper but has some traps to it,” Hill explains. “There were a lot of shorter gaits, so you weren’t in one gait for very long, and that meant a lot of transitions. The more transitions, the more chances for things to go wrong—especially on a three-year-old. Thankfully, he’s really good with transitions, and this job comes naturally to him—he’s such a good student. We patterned him the night before so he’d start thinking about it, and since he was already Top Five in the Level 1 Junior with the same pattern, it felt familiar to him today.”
3YO Open Ranch Riding Futurity NSBA at the 2025 All American Quarter Horse Congress
Presented by Headley Quarter Horses
Champion: Daytona Five Hundred with Shannon Quinlan Hill for Debbie Kuffer-$9736.91
Reserve: Americas Lady Liberty with John Irish for John or Maria Irish-$5926.82
Bronze: The Soldier with Steve Meadows for Michelle Higdon-Rector-$4445.11
Fourth: CBK Lyle Loves It with Bud Lyon for Kalyn Sanders-$3810.10
Fifth: Some Of It with Nicholas Nelson for Jaime Nelson-$3386.75
Sixth: Spooks Lil Cash with Jonathan Meilleur for James Norrison-$2963.41
Seventh: Caughtup In A Moment with Michael Edwards for Ann Rosato-$2540.06
Eighth: SheIsRightOnTheMoney with John Irish for Steve and Kathy Headley-$2116.72
Ninth: Mann In Tha Mirror with Madison Rafacz for Shannon Rafacz-$1693.38
Tenth: Livnon Wizky N Pepto with Logan Pluhar for Kenneth or Laina Banks-$1481.70
Scoresheets for the class:
3_Yr_Old_Open_Ranch_Riding_Futurity.pdf
Shannon and Daytona Five Hundred also participated in our hands-free challenge earlier this year!
Watch their video by clicking the link:
