Around the Rings – 2024 Arizona Sun Circuit – Friday, March 8th

March 9, 2024 | Filed under: Around The Ring Galleries,Featured,Show Results & Gallery | Posted by: Delores Kuhlwein

Friday at Arizona Sun Circuit, Sloane Weakly won her 10 & Under Walk Trot Hunter Under Saddle with Hubbout A Dance, aka “Henry.” Later in the day, she also showed Rageous Rodder, aka “Rodney,” in 10 & Under Walk Trot Trail.

Everyone at the show is buzzing about Sloane, because she’s showing without her prosthetic leg with a smile on her face and a can-do attitude.

What is Sloane’s motto? Never give up! Watch her EC TV video!

Sloane Weakly and Hubbout A Dance win Hunter Under Saddle at Arizona Sun Circuit

The link to her 2023 profile is on our website if you want more of Sloane’s optimism! https://www.equinechronicle.com/a-warrior-princess-with-childlike-faith/

Friday, we caught up with Kathy Tobin, who’d won her L3 Select Amateur Trail on Wednesday with Suddenly A Good Bar, and she placed fourth with All Eyezs On Him!

Kathy says she’s shown since she was eight years old, almost 64 years of showing, and trail class has definitely changed. “A lot of the original obstacles are illegal now, like the tractor tires, loading your horse saddled into the horse trailer, but it’s always fun, and it’s always a new day and a new course,” she explains. “We’re always glad to keep showing.”

Trail, she explains, can be anybody’s win on any day because it’s always different, and the horses are different. “One minute, they want to pick up their feet, and the next minute, something distracts them, and it’s crash! It’s great when you can keep their attention the whole course – there’s a lot going on down there under the tent, there’s always someone walking by, or golf carts, or scooters, and it’s easy to lose their attention in that arena. ‘Roanie’ was very focused.”

Kathy adds that Suddenly A Good Bar, aka “Roanie” is 20 now and he’s still got it. “He still enjoys doing trail, and he’s enthusiastic about it, and I think he’ll let us know when he’s over it!”

In addition, she says that competing in Trail as a Select Amateur helps her memory. “One, you have to remember the pattern, that’s a good exercise for memory. The pattern obstacles come up very fast, and you have to be right there to know whether you have to get going, or slow down, or transition into a lope or jog now. You have to think quickly, too, and it gets harder as I get older. It helps, I think.”

As far as how she stays focused in the Trail pen, she says she really tries to know her patterns so she can just follow her path. “I like to walk the course if I can, and I try to watch quite a few of the people go before me and see where they go, and how they hit their spots on the logs.”

Also on Friday, Bree Hokana discussed her pattern from Thursday night in the L1 Amateur Ranch Riding – a class of 59- during the storm and adjusting pace in a ranch class in our EC TV video!

Bree Hokana and Command Those Leggs win L1 Amateur Ranch Riding at Sun Circuit

In the Youth show arena, Sienna Barbour and Scooter Brown made their best moves to win L1 Youth Showmanship at Halter!

Sienna says “Scooter,” is a great horse because he can go super slow, “like pleasure slow, but he can go really fast like the reiners. I think he likes showmanship. When I got him, he was still a little green in it – he knew everything but not perfectly.” Sienna says as far as her feelings about showmanship, she likes it sometimes – particularly when the exhibitors don’t have to show a difference between the extended and the regular trot! “Just pick one!” she laughs.

She also says Scooter is fun because he’s a little silly, and he likes to eat everything. “His favorite treats are the cherry Twizzlers. He likes iced coffee, I don’t give it to him at shows, but gets it at home. He hates apples, he likes really sweet things, other than coffee, which is kinda weird.”

On Friday morning, Laurel Walker Denton of Bar U Bar Ranch posted this on her Facebook page:

“L1 Ranch Rail winner last night! Neither rain, cold, dark of night or bucking bulls will stand in his way! Electric N Hollywood aka ‘Jake.”

So we were inspired to learn more about their class at Arizona Sun Circuit and hear what “Lolly” had to say about encouraging others to try the Ranch division. Watch our EC TV video!