The final Tuesday of the All American Quarter Horse Congress saw Youth, Amateur and Open exhibitors sharing the big stage as the show continues into its final week.
Repeat Champions
A few familiar faces continue to dominate as they earned additional Congress championships. Among them were JR Pickard and Waffle House, picking up a win in Youth 15-18 Western Pleasure; Mallory Vroegh and Shouldv Known Better, winning the Limited Non-Pro Three Year Old Hunter Under Saddle Futurity; and Katie Cochran and If I Were A Boy, winning the Limited division of the Two Year Old Maiden Hunter Under Saddle Futurity. In addition, Hillary Timchak and Aint Nothn To It were named Amateur Western Pleasure champions Tuesday evening.
Turning Tragedy to Triumph
For Ava Cherwinski, 2024 has been a roller coaster ride, but she’s ending the 2024 Congress on a very high note by winning Level 1 Youth Showmanship 14-18 with her horse, Moonlite Crush.
“My horse got hurt in January, so I’ve only had Crush since the first of the year,” Ava said. “He’s really been a blessing in disguise. I love his goofy personality. He comes off as so quiet and shy, but once he breaks out of his shell, he has a big personality. He truly gives his all every time you show him.”
Ava and Crush show in the All Around events. “We show in Level 1 Trail, Horsemanship, Showmanship, and Equitation,” she said. “In the pattern today, I walked in and he just set up super good. He’s always good about that. His ears are always up and he’s just happy to be there. He worked so well. He feeds off your body and works around you. He makes it so much fun, and Showmanship is our favorite class.”
Persistently Winning
Jay Starnes and Certainly Persistent have been persistently winning the Three Year Old Western Pleasure futurities this year, and made no exception at the Congress where they claimed the top prize for owners Richard and Betty Jo Carr.
“We bought her at the Premier,” Richard said. “She moves like I think a Western Pleasure horse should move. We had been looking for a new horse for a while and she just stood out.”
Richard and ‘Victoria’ will be a new team in 2025 in Amateur Select and Non-Pro Western Pleasure Maturity classes. “The plan is to practice for the rest of this year and start showing at the Fun In The Sun show in Venice,” he said. “She’s done showing for this year but we’ll be ready to go next year. And she’s a mare so she can become a broodmare for us later, which we like.”
Rooster's Winning Debut
Cody Parrish showed After Midniite to win the Two Year Old Maiden Limited Open Western Pleasure Futurity and it was a familiar feel for Cody after similar success with a sibling.
“This is Rooster,” he said. “He has a half brother, Tallk To Me Goose, who is known as Goose, so he is Rooster.”
There’s a lot to like about the gelding, Cody noted. “He’s got a lot of rhythm and self-carriage and he’s so balanced. He’s all those things that most two year olds aren’t. He’s just so square made that it’s easy for him to carry himself. He doesn’t get out of balance or out of rhythm because of his structural correctness.”
Cody sees their mother in the siblings. “Both Goose and Rooster lope up hill, they hit the ground so soft, so yes, there’s a lot of similarities between them,” he said. The two geldings are both out of the mare Itz Showtime. After Midniite is by Nothin But Nett while Tallk To Me Goose is by Machine Made, and both are owned by Courtney Stephens.
Next year, watch for Courtney Stephens with Rooster in Three Year Old Non-Pro events. “Courtney is showing Talk To Me Goose this year and will follow up with Rooster next year,” Cody said.
The All American Quarter Horse Congress continues through Sunday, October 27. To view the show schedule, watch the live video feed or view complete show results, please visit quarterhorsecongress.com or the Horse Show Tracker app.
