Standing Out With Style: Debby Brehm and Cool Liike Me Finish A Sudden Impulse with a Flourish
Saturday, the last day of A Sudden Impulse 2026, Debby Brehm and her new horse, Cool Liike Me, aka “Candy,” took their partnership to a whole new level. They wrapped up their show with a championship in the $4,000 NSBA Maturity Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure to the tune of $1000.
“This is my first big maturity on her, and I’m just thrilled to death,” says Debby. “Katie [Green] has done a wonderful job, and she really helps me because I live in Nebraska, so I don’t get to come down here and ride very often. And so it’s really nice that I have a pretty good relationship with the horse already. I think it usually takes about a year to get good, but I’m very happy with what we’re doing so far, and it’s all thanks to Katie’s fantastic training.”
Debby, who is no stranger to the industry, says her trainers, Rusty and Katie Green, had admired Candy, by Machine Made and out of KM Hot Number and bred by Parrish Quarter Horses, throughout her career, but she hadn’t been for sale by the owner, Lisa Thomaier.
Debby explains, “At NSBA last year, Lisa finally priced her to Katie, and Katie said, ‘Debby, this is what we have to really try to get.’ So we worked on it, and got it done, and I’m just thrilled to death. I rode her two days before the Congress, and that was the first time I showed her, and we were third there,” explains Debby. “I thought that was pretty good!”
Also at the 2025 All American Quarter Horse Congress, Katie Green rode Candy to win a Reserve Congress Championship in the Maturity $10,000 Limited Horse Open Western Pleasure Stakes NSBA with a $2089.15 payout.
They followed with a trip to 2025 AQHA World, and Debby and Candy cinched a Bronze Championship in L2 Select Amateur Western Pleasure. “I’d just had her for a month, so I was really pleased,” Debby reveals.
At the same show, Katie and Candy won a Championship in the L1 Western Pleasure Stakes, and Debby expresses her happiness with such a wonderful horse. “She is easy to ride, and she listens to my feet. I’ve got a lot to learn, but I’ve got a great trainer to teach me and she’s very forgiving. She’s very willing to work with me and I really appreciate that she likes her job.”
Showing at WEC-Ocala is just icing on the cake. “I’ve been coming down here ever since the first shows they had. I love showing down here even though I live in Nebraska and my horse lives in Florida. This is where it’s best to show because the horse is kind of in its own familiar neighborhood, and I like to stay here,” Debby says. “I either stay at the Grand Hotel or over at the Riding Academy. They’re both really, really nice, and I like to stay on the grounds so I can ride when I need to. The facility’s fantastic; all those indoor rings, the outdoor rings, and if the weather’s inclement, they find a place for you to work with them. I can’t say enough good things about WEC — Greg Wheat really takes care of it, and Mary Roberts put a lot of time and effort and money into developing it, and I appreciate that she’s helping our industry very much.”
Last but not least, Debby discussed the color she’s most recognizable in, pink. “I’ve worn pink my whole life, and my daughter goes into my closet at home and says, ‘Don’t you have anything other than pink?’ I say, ‘Why would I?'”
She explain it has always been her signature color, and even though a lot of select riders like dark colors, she prefers to stand out.
“It’s either stand out because you’re good or, uh-oh, you made a mistake. That’s my signature color and I’m not going to change. I think it looks good on Candy.”
Saturday’s results from the $4,000 NSBA Maturity Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure:
