After two days of steady rain, Friday brought sunshine and stiff competition to the 2021 Tom Powers Triple Challenge Futurity.
Non-Pro and Brad Borton Memorial Limited Non-Pro Longe Line
The morning began with the Non-Pro Yearling Longe Line class which ran concurrent with the Brad Borton Memorial Limited Non-Pro Yearling Longe Line. It was déjà vu for Brett Caplinger, who captured two more Longe Line titles for the Caplinger family.
Brett showed Martini Time to win both the Non-Pro and Limited Non-Pro divisions of the class, while his wife Heather earned the reserve award in the Non-Pro division with Make N Money. In the Limited division, Becky Galyean showed Lady Legend to the reserve title.
In its fourth year, the Brad Borton Memorial Limited Non-Pro Longe Line awarded an additional $5,000 to eligible exhibitors, and paid ten places. Since its inception, the memorial class has awarded $33,000 in prize money.
Hunting Powers Wins
Penny Jargello has quickly become a partner with her new horse, LL Do Tell, whom she’s only owned for a short time. The duo won the 50 & Over Hunter Under Saddle. “We call him Mickey, and we recently learned that he’s a former circus horse, so we’re doing a lot of retraining with him,” Penny said.
“He’s a fun horse, and he loves to show. This was just our fourth horse show together, and we’ve only been together for about six months. My trainer Julian Harris does a great job with him.”
Two Year Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle
Ty Paris finally got to keep a foal out of her old show mare long enough to show it. “When you’re a trainer’s kid, they tend to get sold so I never get to show them,” she said.
“This is the fourth baby out of my old show mare, Im Sleepin Single. He’s by One Hot Krymsun, and we call him Brooks. He has a twin whose name is Dunn. My mom Beckey Schooler and Todd Yoder raised him.
“He’s so strong for a two year old, and he was so quiet, and so consistent in the class today. He’s grown up a lot and just started to become a show horse in the past couple of weeks.”
Maturity Mission
Jamie English piloted Al Be Bleu for owner Tali Terlizzi to win the Maturity Open Hunter Under Saddle. The five year old gelding is by Allocate Your Assets and out of Makin The Boys Blue.
“We call him Elwood,” Jamie said. “He’s sort of bittersweet for me, because we had him and sold him, and then he came back, so I really enjoy getting to show him. We just really click together. He wants to be a show horse, and with his gray color, he really stands out and it’s hard to miss him.
“I’ve been working to put a few more buttons on him for Tali to use in the Non-Pro classes, and today he did it. He was very solid and on point, and he showed really well.”
Youth Trifecta
Jaden Chappell and her mount Truly Priceless Flirt won their third Tom Powers class by winning Youth Hunter Under Saddle. Earlier in the week, Jaden and ‘Kiki’ won the Youth and Novice Youth Hunter Under Saddle qualifying classes on the schedule.
“We bought her at just three days old from Wisconsin,” Jaden said. “My mom has a knack for picking good horses. She’s been in training with Julian Harris. This was my second time to show at the Tom Powers – I showed at the Christmas Challenge in Ocala in December.
“She was such a good girl today. She loves to do her job, and she profiles really pretty. She’s the best. We’ve been taking out time with her because we want to go on and do the Hunter classes later with her.”
Courtney Moses and ‘Carla’ Win Three Year Old Rodney Miller Memorial Class
Courtney Moses made a recent purchase that resulted in sweeping the Three Year Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure and the Intermediate division of the class. She showed Best To Be Lopin to three firsts from judges Wayne Holt, Sandy Curl and Dolly Chayer.
“I’ve only had her about two weeks,” Courtney said. “Aaron had her in training, and she’s just such a naturally good mover. She showed really well. They made us work for it, with extended jogs in both directions and a long time in each gait.
“I didn't know Rodney Miller, but it really means a lot to win this. We hauled the revolving trophy back to the Powers for JR Cook, and I was looking at all the great riders who are inscribed on the trophy.”
Courtney isn’t sure what classes and shows are in the future for her new horse, but she does have one goal. “I’m going to show her in the Super Sires class and work on adding more earnings,” she said.
Two Year Old Limited Open Western Pleasure
Stephanie Armellini made her first class aboard KM Bit Of The Best count when she won the Two Year Old Limited Open Western Pleasure for owners Wayne and Judy Davis. “We just got her in April from Clay Arrington,” Stephanie said.
“Katie showed her for the first time at the Premier in Kentucky, and I hadn’t ridden her very much. She’s fun to show – she’s easy. She’s so strong for a two year old, and she was steady and solid. This was the second one we’ve bought from Clay. He is doing a really good job making them.”
Watch for KM Bit Of The Best in the two year old classes this summer and fall, with Katy Jo Zuidema in the Open and Stephanie in the Limited division.
Tied Up in Youth Western Pleasure
In the Youth Western Pleasure, two youth members split the prizes in a tie for the first place award. Brody Galyean showed Sleep N The Moonlite while Natalie Anderson showed Geez Whata Breeze, with each earning two firsts and a second among the judges.
Betty Jo Carr and Pipa Earn Susan Scott Memorial Trophy
A special trophy was presented in memory of Susan Scott in the Tom Powers 50 & Over Non-Pro Western Pleasure. Betty Jo Carr earned top honors and the award with her mare, Knockin It Out, known as Pipa.
“We bought her in Venice, Florida, in 2020,” Betty Jo said. “I don’t have an explanation for the horses I like, but I always loved her when Katy Jo Zuidema showed her. It took us three or four months to get her bought, but we were persistent.
“She has such a great personality, and she’s so talented. It’s absolutely so fun to show her, and I think everyone in the barn likes her. When she’s on, it’s perfect, and today she came to show.
“It’s really an honor to win the beautiful trophy that was given in Susan’s memory. Ever since Rich and I have been doing this, the Scott family has been an important part of this industry and have been wherever we were. We lost her way too soon.”
The Tom Powers Triple Challenge Futurity continues through Sunday, July 4.
