Bonnie Sheren/Heza Radical Zip and Caroline Gunn/So Dang Lazy Win Select/Amateur Congress Trail

By: Brittany Bevis

This morning was devoted entirely to Trail classes at the All American Quarter Horse Congress. First up, Bonnie Sheren rode her new horse, Heza Radical Zip, to score a 232 and win her first Congress Championship title. Last year, Bonnie placed 8th with her other horse, Dun In The Dark.

Bonnie and “Troy” have only competed at three shows together. “I tried him in May at the Sun and Surf Circuit in Del Mar,” Bonnie says. “Jason Martin had said that he wanted me to try out a horse, but he didn’t tell me which one it was. Then, I saw him, and I knew he was a great horse! I loved him right away. He was so sweet, and it seemed like he was easy for me to ride.”

After the deal was done, Troy was delivered to the RedBud Spectacular in June where Bonnie showed him for the first time. Her second horse show with Troy was the NSBA World Show. This is their third show as a team. We wondered how it feels to win at the Congress after only two performances under their belt. “It’s unreal of course!” Bonnie says. “I showed a little when I was a younger, and I didn’t show for many, many, many years. Then, I just came back five years ago.”

In today’s pattern, Bonnie was a bit concerned about one particular transitional section, but Troy delivered a solid performance, and helped make the obstacle fun for his rider. “I was worried about one obstacle, but it ended up being one of my favorites. It was where you had to lope out of the chute on the left lead and then you broke down to the jog and jogged three strides in a row, which was kind of hard. He broke down, and we sailed thought it. It felt really good. Also, I know his lopes are really pretty and fancy. I think he should’ve plussed almost everything!”

The Reserve Champion in the class was was Diana Davidson with My Vital Valentine. Third place was Teresa Kohman with I’m Pretty Lazy. Fourth place was Ben Debrouwer with Good To Be Macho. Fifth place was Ursula Hodgson with Rosas Red Fantasy.

Caroline Gunn returned to the Congress show pen after an 11-year absence to win Amateur Trail aboard So Dang Lazy with a huge score of 241.5. Caroline’s mother, Janet, bought Leroy as a four-year-old, nearly two years ago, but Caroline just started showing the black gelding this year.

“The Florida Gold/Gulf Coast was my first show with him,” she says. “I live in Texas and they live in Indiana, so I jokingly call myself the ‘fly in exhibitor.’ I fly in and thankfully the whole team has him pretty ready. We’ve had a lot of success. We jokingly call him ‘Mr Perfect,’ because he goes out and does his job every time. He wants to be good and wants to be happy.”

Caroline has numerous career Congress Champion titles in Showmanship, Horsemanship, and Equitation, but this is her first in Trail. Looking forward to the AQHA World Show, she is excited to compete in Trail and Horsemanship under the guidance of Jason Gilliam Show Horses.

“In general, Jason is such a perfectionist, which makes it fun, but challenging sometimes. It makes you want to make it perfect. This is the first Trail horse I’ve shown since 2012 when I showed Design By Leaguer and won the World Show on him.”

“Jason’s attention to detail of exactly where every foot steps and exactly where he wants you to have the horse’s body makes a big difference. We had a game plan today. Because we went 30th out of 80 horses, which is relatively early, he said I was going to have to go for broke to get a big enough score, and I did. There were a few moments there when I wasn’t sure if we were going to make it or not. But, straight from the gate I knew we were in true show pony mode.”

The Reserve Champion in the class was Angela Wade with The Perfect Kryme. Angela also placed third with One Hot Drama Mama and fourth with Dress This! Fifth place was Chelsea Martz with Flashy Invite.