Joy Wheeler’s Win in 2021 Hylton Maiden Marks Bittersweet Celebration For Hylton Family

By: Brittany Bevis

The Hylton Maiden 3 and Over Western Pleasure class, held over the weekend at the Virginia Quarter Horse Association Spring Breakout show, was a bittersweet occasion for the Hylton family as they honored a new champion while remembering the recent passing of their beloved matriarch. Longtime AQHA enthusiast, Cecilia Hylton, passed in February of this year, and while the 2021 event that bears her namesake was a celebratory one, welcoming a new horse and rider into the club of distinguished Hylton winners, it was also a time to reminisce upon fond memories of the past.

At the time of the creation of the Hylton Maiden, back in 2004, it was the first Futurity class of its kind for older maiden horses. The idea fit in perfectly with Cecilia’s commitment to bringing along young horses at their own speed. The class was held at the Reichert Celebration in early years and then came home to Cecilia’s home state in Virginia.

During the 2021 class that took place on Saturday evening, several members of Cecilia’s family were in attendance to congratulate the winner, Joy Wheeler with She Roxanne Rolls, who won $10,000 for Elizabeth Snow. The mare is by The Rock and out of Zippos Good Image. This team was also the Intermediate winner and the recipient of an additional $1,000.

Judges for the class were Sara Simons, Jonathan Meilleur, Tracy Willis, Jeff Allen, and Eric Petersen. Reserve was Jeff Long with Lil Bang Bang, winning $6,532 for William Aichele Sr. Third was Drew Debuhr with Cuz Shes Worth It, winning $4,000 for Brooke Granzow. This team was the second place Intermediate, winning an additional $500. Fourth was Jason English with Your Made For Me winning $3,700 for Ditty Up LLC.

Fifth was Brian Cox with Its Code Outside, winning $3,200 for Bryan Reger. Sixth was Ty Hornick with Lopin Up To Batt, winning $2,350 for Scarlett Michael. Seventh was Randy Wilson winning $1,850 with County Line Liquor for Chav3z Enterprises. Eighth was Brent Garringer with Just Me N My Martini, winning $1,250. Ninth was Shane Young with Owning The Knight, winning $1,100 for Tanya Self. Tenth was Austin Gooding with Am Made Hot, winning $1,000 for Madison Mykolaitis.

The Limited winner was Bobby Dean with Batts About U, winning $1,000 for Randy or Laura Chenoweth. The second place Limited team was Carrie Adler with Uptown Mechanic, winning $500.

Watch for a memorial article about the life and contributions of Cecilia Hylton in the next edition of The Equine Chronicle.