More than 40K paid out in Farnam Western Pleasure Stakes

[source: APHA.com]

More than $41,000 was on the line for Western pleasure performers in the Farnam Pleasure Stakes classes on November 6 at the APHA World Championship Show, and these elite Paints didn’t disappoint in some of the show’s most anticipated classes.

Farnam 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure Stakes

“Someone Like You” was a hit for Adele, and on November 6, it proved to be one for RJ King, too. The horseman from Aubrey, Texas, rode Someone Like You, a 2013 sorrel overo mare by Zippos Sensation and out of HF Diva (QH), to championship honors in the competitive Farnam 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure Stakes.

“She was real good. She’s a bigger horse, so going in I decided I wasn’t going to stay on the rail and stay behind everybody. I just let her be on the inside a little bit,” RJ said. “She showed awesome. I’m really excited for the people who own her.”

Owned by Ali Eidson of Tuscola, Texas, “Adele” was bred by Bauer & Gooding Show Horses of Fennville, Michigan, and is trained by Simons Show Horses. Though she’s still pretty new to the show ring, Adele was well-prepared to shine. 

“She just has a lot of self-carriage to her. In a 2-year-old class like that, I think one of the really important things is a horse that can naturally carry itself—it doesn’t have to rely on the wall to stay in shape or stay going, and you don’t have to worry about keeping it slow.”

Rising to the top of the 14-horse field, Adele and RJ took home $10,103 for the win; all together, the class purse was worth $31,500. This was RJ’s first time to win the class—he was second last year—and he was ecstatic about the win and the Farnam Pleasure Stakes program.

“It’s awesome to win it,” RJ said. ”It’s an awesome program. I think it’s only going to keep getting bigger and bigger.”

Other top placings include:

2nd ONE LAZY COWBOY exhibited by Wade Parks—$6,946
3rd NO DOUBT IM INVITED exhibited by Sara Beth Simons—$5,999
4th GOOD FOR CERTAIN exhibited by Monica Baker—$3,157
5th VOW TO BE SENSATIONAL exhibited by Garth Gooding—$2,841

Farnam 3- & 4-Year-Old Western Pleasure Stakes

Nodoubtimsensational certainly was all that and more in the Farnam Non-Pro 3- & 4-Year-Old Western Pleasure Stakes. For Amateur exhibitor Alison Umberger of Broad Run, Virginia, the hardest part was staying relaxed as she piloted the talented mare for a share of the $10,000 class purse.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better ride,” Alison said. “There were a couple of times that I got nervous, but she’s a horse that if you just take a deep breath and sit back, she relaxes. She’s very naturally talented. More of it was me trying to stay out of her way than anything else. She was there for me and did everything I asked.”

Alison is leasing the 2012 bay overo mare, who is by No Doubt Im Lazy (QH) and out of Sleek Sensation, from Marty and Marcia Dixon of Clayton, Delaware. Bred by Deborah Stewart of Cleveland, Texas, the mare was consigned to the 2013 Farnam Breeders’ Trust Select Sale by Michelle and Sheila Bauer and purchased by the Dixons in December 2013. In last year’s Farnam 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure Stakes, Marty and “Ava” were crowned reserve champions. Because she’s only recently started riding the mare, Alison’s kept her goals for the class realistic.

“I tried not to expect anything because I just am very thankful to be here and showing her. I just wanted to go in and have a good ride. If we rode as well as we could, I knew we had a good chance,” she said. “I still can’t really believe this. It’s really incredible.” 

The win netted Alison a check worth $4,000 and loads of other great prizes. She’s appreciative of the Farnam Pleasure Stakes program and its impact on the industry.

“I love the Farnam Stakes program because it brings some big-money classes to our World Show, and that is crucial. People will come to shows when there is money on the table,” Alison said. “It also encourages our breeders to get their yearlings out and bring them here to go through the sale, which I think is a good thing. Because they’ve added the Non-Pro classes, the program now has even more value because you can bring the horses back more than one year to still compete, which is great.”

Other top placings from the class include:

2nd A JELLYBEAN IMPULSE exhibited by Megan Hogan—$3,000
3rd SCENERY exhibited by Tim Snapp—$2,000
4th TALK ABOUT LAZY exhibited by Rebecca Figueroa—$1,000
5th MY SENSATIONAL STAR exhibited by Ronald Hill