2-Year-Old Non Pro WP Ltd Win Goes to Hillary Roberts and For One Night Only

By: Brittany Bevis

Hillary Roberts received a big surprise when she arrived at the All American Quarter Horse Congress last week. “Sid was a Congress purchase, like four days ago,” she says. “I was kind of unaware of this whole situation. I wasn’t here yet. My mom called me and said, ‘Surprise! We bought a two-year-old.'”

As it turns out, Mom has a good eye; Roberts and For One Knight Only were named the Congress Champions this afternoon in the 2-Year-Old Non Pro Western Pleasure limited division. The Reserve Champion was Kelley Mundrick with A Rage In Good Time. Third place was Bailey Hedges with Rain Makes Me Sleepy. Fourth place was Sharnai Thompson with Red Label. Fifth was Roberts’ mother, Susan Roberts, with No Doubt I’m Trouble.

With both mother and daughter placing in the top five, we wondered how they decided which rider would show what horse.

“I kind of won the coin toss a little bit on this one,” she says. “We decided I would get the horse with the slightly different buttons. The preliminaries were mostly me getting used to the buttons a little bit. I just wanted to get him through and make him feel comfortable. In the finals, he did everything I asked him to do and was real easy to navigate around.”

Sid was prepared for the class today by Aaron Moses with Gil Galyean Show Horses. After a few brief, morning lessons with Moses, Roberts felt comfortable enough that she could put Sid through his paces. Still, she admits she was nervous.

“The whole catch riding thing is cool,” she says. “I like it; it’s fun, but it’s stressful. Riding a two-year-old is a more tentative thing. It requires a lot more focus, I feel like. Now, it’s kind of an addiction!”

“Sid is super soft and super quiet. I really feel like, even though he might be unsure, he’s trying to give you his full amount of effort, 110% in and out.”

2-Year-Old Non Pro Western Pleasure Ltd.–

1-For One Knight Only/Hillary Roberts

2-A Rage In Good Time/Kelley Mundrick

3-Rain Makes Me Sleepy/Bailey Hedges

4-Red Label/Sharnai Thompson

5-No Doubt I’m Trouble/Susan Roberts