Scottish Reward – Second Appaloosa in History to Earn Three Supreme Titles
Courtesy ApHC
World Show Photos by Larry Williams Photography
Candid photos courtesy of Kaitlin Bowen
Accolades
In addition to 1,516 lifetime points, 24 Registers of Merit, 2 Versatility Champions, 2 Club Champions, 4 Year-End Top Tens, and 4 Superior Events, Scottish Reward, “Max,” enters the history books as only the second Appaloosa to earn all three Supreme titles: Open Supreme Horse in 2016, Non-Pro Supreme Horse in 2018, and Youth Supreme Horse in 2019.
Scottish Reward is a 2000 gelding by Skip’s Smoky (by Skip’s Reward ApHC Hall of Fame), out of Scottish Step, and was bred by Clifford or Marilyn Henderson of Longmont, CO, or Marlo Henderson Byars of Frederick, CO. Extensively shown by Kaitlin, he has been a beloved part of the Bowen family since 2004.
Please join the Appaloosa Horse Club in thanking the Bowen family and all who had a part in Max’s career for their boundless support, years of dedication, and enthusiasm for the breed — and in congratulating Scottish Reward for this tremendous accomplishment!
Letter from Kaitlin
Max has been a part of our family since he was four years old. It’s crazy to think that it’s been that long! Lonnie and Debbie Cruse were my trainers back then and had Max in training at the time. They thought we would be a good team and they were right. At that time he only had done western pleasure so the journey began of making him an all-around horse. I started showing Max as a youth and we showed as a team until we let him retire almost two years ago.
He is by far one of the quirkiest horses I have ever had. Most people would go crazy with the stuff he does, but we loved it. There was never a dull moment with him. He hates fly spray and anything that looks like a spray bottle — he only eats carrots and absolutely hates apples. His biggest quirk is he hates being in an enclosed stall and will bounce around for hours if he is left alone. It all started with a small earthquake while attending a California show way back in 2008. After that he hated indoor stalls so much that we have had to haul our miniature pony to horse shows to keep him happy. We called her his emotional support pony, and even now in retirement he can’t live without her. Even with all his quirks he always gave 100% in the show pen.
We competed in everything from horsemanship to hunt seat, reining to games. Max taught me a lot through the years. As a youth we won Reserve World Champion in Trail 16-18 and multiple top tens. After Lonnie and Debbie moved to Texas, I started training with Doug Huls who taught Max and me so much, and really solidified our all-around skills. We then went on to win multiple National and World Championships as a Non-Pro, as well as the All-Around Non-Pro in 2009 at the World Show and High- Point Equitation Rider at the National Show in 2010.
After the 2010 Nationals I moved to Iowa to attend chiropractic college. During that time my mom achieved numerous accomplishments with Max. Her biggest was third place in Novice Trail at the World Show. He’s truly an incredible horse. He has made all my dreams come true, so when I found out how close he was to completing all three Supremes I knew we had to do it for him. He is one of the greats and he deserved to have these titles, the Appaloosa “Triple Crown” as we called it. This horse is my heart horse and there will never be another like him.
AAA Coverage
* Reprinted with permission from the Arizona Appaloosa Association *
Establishing a SPOT in Appaloosa History! Scottish Reward Earns Three Supreme Horse Awards!
The Supreme Horse award is one of the biggest accomplishments a horse can earn in the Appaloosa Horse Club. Earning all three Supreme titles, Open, Non-Pro, and Youth, has only been done once in the history of ApHC, by the incredible Rock Solid HH. This is no easy feat as it takes 100 points in each division to earn each award. At least 30 must be from Halter, with the remaining spread out over the many categories of riding classes.
[Now] the second horse in the history of the Appaloosa Horse Club to earn all three Supreme Horse awards was Arizona’s very own Scottish Reward. Owner Kaitlin Bowen realized five years ago after becoming the 2009 All-Around Non-Pro winner that Scottish Reward, fondly known as Max, was very close to achieving all three awards, so the journey began to accomplish this goal.
The first task was to obtain a heritage costume as that was needed for the open award. What better outfit than the one worn by Rock Solid HH? Pam and Katrina Kiser graciously allowed Kaitlin to borrow the outfit and within the first year Scottish Reward had his ROM in Heritage and a reserve World Champion in Ladies Heritage as well. The next three years were spent obtaining games and reining points as Scottish Reward had most of the all-around points needed.
This journey took four years, hundreds of miles, and many points to achieve. In 2016 Max won the Open Supreme Horse award after receiving his ROM in Heritage and Keyhole. In 2018 he achieved the Non-Pro Supreme horse by adding a reining ROM to his long list of accolades. Finally, in 2019, with the help of Kendal Woellmer, Mira Millan and Katie Ramos, the last leg of the “Triple Crown” — the Youth Supreme Horse, was finally achieved. Owner Kaitlin Bowen admits it was a long four-year journey and there were so many people that helped along the way. To all those people Kaitlin and Max say thank you! This was something that did not seem attainable as Max was aging, but at 19-years-young he earned the “Triple Crown” and now holds a place in Appaloosa history.
