Chad Evans and Real Hot Real Good Score 234 to Win Congress Senior Trail

By: Brittany Bevis

A full eight hours later and we finally have a Senior Trail Congress Champion! Chad Evans rode Real Hot Real Good to win the class with a 234 for owner Michelle Nehrig. The pattern was very challenging, but the hardest part for Chad was waiting for 155 other draws to complete the class.

“It’s nerve-wracking,” he says. “He had an early go, so I had to sit there and think about it all day. Waiting all day long is the hardest part.”

Like many competitors, Chad isn’t a fan of keeping track of the current leader scoreboard. Whether it’s part superstition, a bit of nerves, or both, he prefers to wait until the class is complete and not count his chickens before they’ve hatched.

For his good luck charm today, Real Hot Real Good, aka “Cash,” wore his lucky headstall emblazoned with a silver cash symbol earpiece. Cash is a six-year-old roan gelding that Chad has had in the barn for two years.

“We had a pretty good Junior career with him last year, and this is his first year in the Senior division. He has about 200 some points this year. We’ve shown a lot and won a lot of circuits, but this is his first major title. While riding him around, I always kind of thought he had a big win in him.”

The big win turned out to be Chad’s first time winning at the Congress in Senior Trail, so it was a very special moment as he rode out to accept his award with his daughter joining him in the saddle.

In today’s pattern, Chad especially enjoyed Cash’s lope-overs, because of his sharp expression and increased degree of difficulty.

“He’s real fresh over the poles, and he tries real hard. He doesn’t want to touch. That first lope-over obstacle with the left lead diamond was hard, and he found a really good spot to it and picked his was through.”

Cash’s owner wasn’t able to be here at the show, but Chad is confident she was watching from home in California. “She doesn’t show him herself, but she comes to the shows and watches him. She loves him and is his biggest fan. She really supports him. We just came for one class, so the pressure was on!”

Up next, Chad and Cash will compete at the AQHA World Show in Senior Trail, where the pattern is certain to be just as difficult, if not more so. But Chad’s confident that’s not a problem for Cash. If anything that’s when this horse really thrives.

“He loves it when it gets hard and when the poles are up. He’s way better on a challenging course than on an easy course. The higher the poles get the harder, he tries. He has a lot of athletic ability. He has a lot of expression, and he really thinks and cares about the poles. He doesn’t want to touch them. He’s also very pretty, so that really helps. When you’re showing him, you just know he’s hooked on to the poles and he doesn’t want to touch them.”

Although competitors can access their patterns a couple of weeks prior to the Congress, Chad isn’t a fan of practicing the whole course before showtime. “I never practice the whole pattern. I kind of pick some obstacles to work on at home, but I try to save it. I do the warm up out of order, because I want to keep them fresh. I don’t want them to be on autopilot. Going in there and showing is part of the fun.”

The Reserve Champion was John Konecne with The Maintenance Man (233). Third place was Jessica Ross with Range To A Te (232.5). Fourth was Charlie Cole with All But Sudden (232.5). Fifth was Terry Cross with Mystical Machine (231.5). Sixth was Jason Martin with Heza Radical Zip (231). Seventh was Jennifer Paul with Flashy Invite (229.5). Eighth was Bruce Vickery with Investin A Goodbar (229). Ninth was Jennifer Paul with Some Hot Potential (229). Tenth was Tyler Schultz with Always Clowninaround. (228.5)