“This horse and I kind of go at it,” he says. “She’s got a streak in her. It’s good cop, bad cop, that we play sometimes, and it’s taken some softening with her and I. We stuck by her. There was a time when we weren’t going to do that much more with her, but we just all worked together, and kept going, and it paid off.”

Despite his many titles, Vickie says Sly has never been unanimous, until today. “Ted was excited about that, and he loves this horse. Every time he goes in the arena, with anybody, he gets stuff done.”

“Once upon a time, my grandpa said that if I ever had a good enough horse, that I should have Gene fit it. That always resonated with me.”

To bring Gerri Leigh back to the show pen, after a 30-year absence, it’s clear that Willie Nelson is one very special creature indeed. Serendipitously, both Gerri Leigh and Kevin were thinking of exactly the same horse, when it came time to look for a prospect. 

Cool Cruzen Lady, came out on top once again in Junior Western Riding tonight at the 2018 AQHA World Show. Last year, the 4-year-old mare by VS Flatline and out of Suddenly A Cool Lady, nicknamed “Hazel,” broke the Junior Western Riding World Show record with a score of 232. This year, she improved upon her performance scoring a 235. 

“It’s a really hard class when you get into the intricacies of it. You have to really study it and know it’s all about timing, feel, and rhythm. The hardest thing is developing timing and making sure your horse is in the correct position for the change.”

Scores using the new system can range from 0 to 100, with the average score being 70. The patterns will be divided into six to 10 maneuvers, with each maneuver being scored from a plus 3 to a minus 3 in half-point increments, a 0 is average. The maneuver score will have equal consideration with the performance of the pattern and the rider’s position and effectiveness.

Tonight’s main event to cap off a full month of horse showing in Columbus, Ohio was The Equine Chronicle Congress Masters 2-Year-Old Event.