Brian Holmes and Cityboy Or Cowboy Win Junior Pleasure Driving at 2013 AQHA World

By: Brittany Bevis

There is a unique twist that relates the two winners of the Junior and Senior Pleasure Driving at the World Show this year and it all stems from a 30 year friendship between fellow drivers, Brian Holmes and Jerry Erickson. Tonight, Holmes drove Cityboy Or Cowboy to a win in Junior Pleasure Driving. A few days prior, Erickson drove Un Forgettable to a win in Senior Pleasure Driving. However, Cityboy Or Cowboy was raised by Erickson and Un Forgettable was prepared for the driving here by Holmes. So why the switch? Holmes explains.

 

“At the Congress, I couldn’t show ‘Cowboy’ because I was committed to another horse,” he says. “It worked out well, because Jerry won. We share a lot of horses. The driving is more my speciality, and he does the over fences stuff. If I’ve got one that I want to [teach how to] jump, I go to him. If he has one that he wants to drive, I usually end up doing it.”

 

“That was the deal. He wanted me to show Cowboy here this year. Then, after he won [at the Congress], I said, ‘Are you sure you want me to do this?’ Then, I told him just a little bit ago, ‘Do you realize that if you’d driven him today you’d have won both drivings this year?’ He said, ‘No, I want you to do it.’ ”

 

It wasn’t only the friendship between these two professionals that caused Holmes to get a bit emotional as he drove up to receive his golden globe this evening. According to Holmes, it’s been a long time since he’s won the driving here at the World Show.

 

“It’s been a long time for me,” he says. “This is my eighth [win]. Actually, Jerry got this eighth yesterday with the gray stallion that I prepared. I couldn’t let him get ahead of me on the ladder, so we both moved up a notch!”

 

Holmes took the reins tonight for owner Chad Sandoval, who was just recently named the Reserve Congress Champion in Amateur Pleasure Driving and fifth place in Amateur Pleasure Driving at the World Show last week. Also here at the World Show, Erickson rode Cowboy to a third place finish in Junior Hunter Under Saddle.

 

Cowboy is a bay gelding by These Irons Are Hot and out of Hot Anticipation. Holmes credits the horse’s quiet but expressive nature and excellent movement as two of the qualities that helped him achieve the win today.

 

“He’s very level-headed, and he’s not emotional,” Holmes says. “He’s not too looky, and he’s tame. Of course, we have him tired here but he’s still expressive, which I really like. Also, he’s a good mover.”

 

“At first, he didn’t park gait real well, but he’s getting better and better at it. We have to be careful and not over-trot him, because he loves to do it.”

 

Before concluding this interview we had to ask Holmes one last question. Cityboy or Cowboy?

 

“Actually, he’s not much of a cowboy because he doesn’t like cows!”

Junior Pleasure Driving-

1-Cityboy Or Cowboy/Brian Holmes

 

2-Blue Sky Serenade/Chuck Briggs

 

3-Tonight’s Honor/Lee Paul Shinn

 

4-Chillz/Julie O’Brien

 

5-Simply Blue Skys/Melissa Dukes

 

6-Larks Protege/Kevin Dukes

 

7-Sky Kandy/Don Jox

 

8-Living Large/Nancy Alto-Renfro

 

9-Im Suddenly Sleepy/Scott Kauffman

 

10-Luke’s Like Ladyluck/Travis McColley