Western Paint Horse Championship Debuts in Utah
Image courtesy of APHA.
PHJ press release by: Kelsey Ritchie
The Western Paint Horse Championships made its debut in South Jordan, Utah, May 21-24, taking place in conjunction with the Western Regional Zone 2 Show. Specially selected Paint Horse Championship classes, sponsored by APHA, helped reward Zone 2 exhibitors and attract new ones to the nation’s largest APHA-approved show from 2014.
The Paint Horse Championship series celebrates more exhibitors at the show who live in the respective zone. For the Western Paint Horse Championship, exhibitors or horse owners were required to live in Zone 2, which consists of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah. They also had to meet other eligibility requirements, which included being a current APHA member, and neither horse nor exhibitor may have placed in the Top 10 of a halter or performance class at the APHA World Championship Show within the last five years.
Kari Swainston of Saltaire Farm in Layton, Utah, tried her hand at over-fences classes, including the Western Paint Horse Championship’s Open Jumping class with Hot Brooke Valentino, a 2006 black tobiano gelding owned by Debra Nelson and Natalie Driskill of Oak Harbor, Washington.
“I train hunter/jumpers, but I have two Paints in my stable,” Kari said. “It’s a good show to go to because it’s well attended. Jumping classes fill, which is a great thing because other shows struggle with that. The Paint Horse Championship brought a better line of competition. I am a big fan of the program.”
Through the APHA sponsorship, class winners received a custom Gist Silversmith buckle; second- through tenth-place received medallions. The Western Regional Zone 2 Show was also eligible for up to $3,500 in reimbursements for additional prizes offered at the show, simply for hosting the Western Paint Horse Championship.
Unofficial class winners from the Western Paint Horse Championships include:
- Open Jumping: Kari Swainston and Hot Brook Valentino
- 3-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle: Candy Torgerson and Fifty Shades Of Fancy
- Amateur Ranch Riding: Nancy Jensen and Im Simply Elegant
- Open Ranch Riding: Tom Duke and Gay Flyer
- Amateur Reining: Jared Schetselaar and All Reddy Great
- Amateur Western Riding: Mariah McDaniel and By All Means Baby
- 2-Year-Old Mares-: Craig Polley and Only To Be Admired
- 2-Year-Old Geldings: Calvin Thomas Brown and KH Kid Me Last
- 2-Year-Old Longe Line: Christine E. Sherer and Might Be Impulsive
- Yearling In-Hand Trail: Laura M. Alloway and Lopin To The Party
