A Thurston Thursday

Tami Thurston wasn’t expecting to win the NSBA Two Year Old Open Hunter Under Saddle Stakes on Thursday at the All American Quarter Horse Congress. “We won the Limited the other day, and I figured we had had our day,” she said.

However, Thurston came back to win the Open division of the class, sweeping both classes with her mount, Good Will Huntin. The duo bested a field of 24 horses in the finals.

“It was a little crowded out there,” she said. “But he was really good. I just love him. He’s what my ideal Hunter horse should be. He’s got that soft, sweepy stride, he’s beautiful and he has the legs to go with it. He’s just dynamic. You can’t help but notice him.”

Thurston had teamed up with trainer Shane Pope to work with the gelding, who is by Good I Will Be, and is known as Jimmy. The gelding is owned by Cathy Corrigan Frank, and earned $3,745.79 for the win.

Several NSBA dual-approved classes also named champions on Thursday, including an AQHA and NSBA championship for Brad Ost and Chex Me Im Cute in Senior Trail for owner Bonnie Sheren.

“It was really an unexpected win,” Ost said. “I wasn’t even sure I was going to show in Trail.”

Ost is recovering from an ATV accident that caused several broken bones and a collapsed lung. “I told Jason (Martin) and Charlie (Cole) that I really couldn’t bend over going over the obstacles, so I just sort of sat up straight,” he said.

“I knew I had a good go, but I wasn’t sure if it was good enough.” It proved good enough. Ost scored 235,5 in a class that included 168 exhibitors, and ran for six and a half hours. It was his first Congress championship in Trail. Ost won Green Western Riding at the Congress in 2013, his first Congress championship.

To read the full article on NSBA.com, click here.