Ashley Lakins Wins Her First Congress Championship in Coughlin 2-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure Futurity

By: Brittany Bevis

It was certainly “So Good To B” Ashley Lakins this evening at the 2013 Quarter Horse Congress. Lakins and So Good To Be Me were named the Congress Champions in a competitive Coughlin 2-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure Futurity.

Lakins owns this 2-year-old with her father, Larry Taylor. “Robin” is by CWF Battman and out of a Hocus Pocus Hotrod mare. The horse was raised by the same couple who owns the sire, Randy and Kim Haines.

“We bought him here last year from them,” she says. “I liked his overall presence, and he has an eye appeal. Also, [I liked] the way he was made, and we really liked the way he was bred.”

“He was very consistent tonight. That horse is a little different than other colts that I’ve rode in the past. He doesn’t carry his hip over hardly at all. Personally, I like for them to have a little bit more hip than he does, but he can carry that and stay together, which I think is very difficult for most horses to do.”

Originally, Robin was not meant to be a maiden Coughlin horse. Lakins planned to show him at the Little Futurity and Tom Powers Futurity earlier this year. Although he made the trip, Lakins didn’t feel he was quite mentally ready to compete. Since she owned the horse herself, she made the executive decision to give him a little more time to mature.

“He was ready to show in about April, but I think mentally he just couldn’t take it all,” she says. “So, we gave him a little break, and he’s doing really well.”

“I wish that we had entered him at the World, but we did not. He will go home and rest and maybe come back next year as a three-year-old and do something else. I’m hoping we can keep him in the barn. That would be excellent.”

Lakins has been in the Congress winner’s circle before, but only as a two-time Reserve Congress Champion. This is her first Congress Championship title.

“I’ve never won the Congress,” she says. “I have been Reserve twice, so this is so exciting. [When I was called first] on the first card, my heart was racing when I was going up through the middle. On the second card, I was second. Then, by the fourth card, I don’t know what was happening. My hands were shaking, and I didn’t know how to react. It’s very exciting!”

Congratulations to Ashley and Kenny Lakins and Larry Taylor on a very deserved win tonight in the Coughlin 2-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure Futurity.

Coughlin NSBA Two-Year-Old Open Western Pleasure Futurity-

1-So Good To B Me/Ashley Lakins

2-A Midnight Intuition/Randy Wilson

3-VS Revitalyzed/Jay Starnes

4-Hot Jamaican Cowboy/Kristy Starnes

5-Daizy Duke/Rusty Green

6-Huntin A Honky Tonk/Shane Dowdy

7-Finally Got Invitd/Brian Cox

8-First In Line/Angie Cannizzaro

9-No Doubt Im Best/Maggie Grandquist

10-The Rock/Scott Frye