Carri Ruby and Curb Ur Impulse Win APHA Novice Amateur Western Pleasure at First World Show in 15 Years
By: Brittany Bevis
The Novice Amateur Western Pleasure at the 2013 APHA World Show this morning saw a tough class of 27 entries. After two cuts and a finals had concluded, the winner was determined to be Carri Ruby of Issaquah, WA. with Curb Ur Impulse.
Judging the class today was Sandy Jirkovsky, Keith Longacre, Terry Thompson, Kendra Weis, and Tom Crowley. Ruby and Curb Ur Impulse received three firsts, one second, and a seventh place finish to come out the overall World Champion in the class today. Coming in Reserve was Taunya Momberger of Dawsonville, GA. with Don’t Try This At Home. Rounding out the top three was Kristin Duncan of Lincolnton, NC. with I’ve Got Your Goodies.
Our readers might remember “Curby” as an entry in the 2011 Equine Chronicle 2-Year-Old Color Classic Western Pleasure at the Reichert Celebration. The gelding is by A Scenic Impulse and out of Zippos Darlin. That lineage makes him a full brother to Reichert and World Champion winner, A Scenic Cheerleader. Today, Curby joined his brother and other Scenic Impulse-bred champions by claiming the Novice Amateur Western Pleasure World Champion title with Ruby in the saddle.
The always entertaining Mike Hachtel had this to say about Curby in a 2011 interview about his Reichert mount.
“He is a happy-go-lucky guy,” Hachtel says. “He packs his lunch box every morning and doesn’t ask any questions. He does what you ask him. He is a lot like me. We get along really well because we are both half-balded headed and have two blue eyes. We get along like peanut butter and jelly. He is my buddy.”
“This one here has probably the most natural body control of a horse that I have ever had in my life. He has such control of his own body at all times. I have never ridden one like it before. It’s weird. He’s like a freak.”
Today marked an exciting milestone for Ruby because this was her first trip to the APHA World Show in fifteen years.
“I took some time off,” she says. “I showed in longe line at the Appaloosa World Show, but this is my first ride in 15 years at a World Show competition. It was so much fun. How could it not be? I’m on this amazing horse. It was so much fun, and, to top it all off, we won!”
Ruby and Curby haven’t been a team for that long. She recently purchased the gelding in September. Because she lives in Washington, she’s made several trips down to trainer Mike Hachtel’s facility in Texas to get to know her new horse.
“I’ve ridden him about 16 to 18 times,” she says. “He is four years old, but he doesn’t act like it. He is so mellow.”
During the finals, we managed to capture a fun photo of Hachtel giving Ruby two thumbs up.
“That was my reassurance that I was doing ok!”
Novice Amateur Western Pleasure-
1-Curb Ur Impulse/Carri Ruby
2-Don’t Try This at Home/Taunya Momberger
3-I’ve Got Your Goodies/Kristin Duncan
4-Undeefleeted/Barbara Ann Fletcher
5-My Legs R Sensational/Bret Sanders
6-Whata Vested Asset/Michelle Johnston
7-Gambling On Charlie/Rachel Kreuger
8-Good Publicity/Jamie Bishop
9-Sensation at Tiffany’s/Heather Brown
10-My Only Appointment/Jessica Coker
