Afternoon AQHA World Halter Champions Include Frank Berris/Bee Jewelled, Josh Weakly/Legacee

By: Brittany Bevis

Two more Halter World Champions were named this afternoon at the 2017 AQHA World Championship Show in Amateur Aged classes. First, Frank Berris led Bee Jewelled to win Amateur 3-Year-Old Mares. This is the pretty, bay mare’s second time winning here at the World Show, under the guidance of Frank and his trainer, Ross Roark.

“She’s won every time she’s been here,” Frank says. “I bought her as a yearling, and then I showed her last year at the World. I was first under all five judges. Then, Ross [Roark] was first under all five judges. Then, today, I was first under all five. Every World Show judge has put her first, so I’m pretty proud of that.”

“This is the toughest class at the World Show. There are some good mares out there. This shows that the judges are uniform in what they pick. They are special judges if they’re invited to the World Show. They’re all horseman and all obviously good at what they do. That’s a good resume for the World Show.”

Frank has had a lot of nice Halter horses during his lifetime, but he thinks Bee Jewelled is pretty special. “I’ve always said that I’ve had a lot of good mares, but she’s absolutely my favorite horse. She’s a beautiful horse. When you look at her, first of all, you recognize she is a mare. She’s beautiful headed with a wide forehead, big eye, and tiny ear. She has a beautiful neck and body. Even the laymen think she’s beautiful. I think the judges see that.”

Like many other competitors here at the World Show, Frank is excited about the decision to announce individual placings prior to the final results. “I love it, because then you don’t have a heart attack waiting for your number to be called! This way, you have some idea. It’s not only good for the exhibitors, but also for the spectators. They don’t want to wait until later to look at their phones. They want to see it, and they want to see the judges. It also gives accountability, and the judges should be happy about that too.”

The Reserve Champion in the class was Amy Jo Erhardt with Be A Diva. Third was Thomas Coon with Entrigue. Miranda Peck with Shangri La. Fourth was Mariah Gipson with Dawn’s Cool Girl.

Then, in Amateur Aged Geldings, Josh Weakly led Legacee to a win. The Reserve Champion was Thomas Coon with Get Me Some Of That. Third was Mariah Gipson with DMM Secret Sensation. Fourth was Tammi Smith with Initially A Cool Kid. Fifth was Dillon Groff with JCG Game On.