Champions at FL Winter Circuits Include Banks, Foss, Lebsock, Cook

By: Brittany Bevis

Today’s classes at the Florida Gulf Coast have ranged from Equitation to Hunters and Western Riding to Ranch Riding. We had the opportunity to speak with a number of different winners here at the show.

The adorable Miss Georgia Cook rode Famous N Foolish to win Small Fry Horsemanship at the Florida Gulf Coast in unanimous fashion. The nine-year-old has been riding horses for two and a half years now. She and her horse, “Original Calvin,” were also the Reserve Champions in Small Fry Western Pleasure at the FL Gulf Coast.

We caught up with Georgia as she and Calvin were selecting some fruit for a snack from the free baskets here at the show. “I have a pear for myself and an apple for my horse!” Georgia says.

Georgia explains that “OC” received his nickname because her father has a horse with the same name. “He’s called Original Calvin, because my dad has a horse named Calvin too, but his horse is only three and mine is 13.”

“He’s such a good horse, because he’s really kind, and when golf carts drive up behind him he doesn’t spook, but my other horse did because he was really young.”

Next year, Georgia is looking forward to moving into the loping division, and her sisters will take over in Leadline and Small Fry. “Elizabeth does Leadline and Isabella has just started Small Fry,” she says.

Laina Banks and Strawberri Wine were named the Select All Around High Point at the Florida Gold Coast. They achieved this title by winning nearly every class they competed in here at the show. “We won the circuit in all of our classes- Horsemanship, Showmanship, and Western Riding. Then, Anthony Montes won the Senior Western Riding circuit, so Strawberri was a good girl this week.”

Laina and Strawberri just finished competing in Select Western Riding, and they’re awaiting the placings of that class, which should have a fairly good result, because they scored a 234! While Laina is in the Western Riding pen, her husband, Ken, took wins in Ranch Reining and Ranch Riding this morning.

“I’ve done some Ranch classes in the past, but he says I steal all the good horses, and I’m not sure Strawberri is going to look very good in the ranching pen!” she laughs. “This year, we are focusing on the breeding program with Strawberri. She’s got her own record, but now we’re trying to focus on getting her to produce something amazing. We have some foals coming this year and some on the ground already. We will start the breeding program right after this and take some time off.”

Andrea Kengis Foss and her nine-year-old mare, Imma American Made, have had a great show so far with top placings in   Western All-Around events. “We were third in Amateur Horsemanship and Trail at the Florida Gold Coast, and we’ve had wins in Showmanship and been up there in Trail a few times as well.”

Andrea and “Betsy” have been a team for five years now, and she’s truly a family horse. Andrea’s daughter shows the mare in Leadline.

“Horsemanship is my favorite class, but I’m really enjoying Trail,” she says. “It’s a totally new event for me. The first time I ever did Trail was in 2018, so I’m technically still Novice. It’s challenging and asks you to do different maneuvers. You still have to show yourself off while staying connected with your horse and making them complete the task at hand.”

Coming up in 2021, Andrea is excited to continue her breeding program with a few foals coming out of Betsy. “She’s having babies and we’re looking forward to seeing where they come up in the ranks. I bred Betsy to VS Code Red and Heartstoppin. I also have a Goodbar mare with a Heartstoppin foal coming and a bunch of Machine Made foals coming as well.

Sarah Lebsock rode her 13-year-old gelding, Version of Goodbar, to win the Amateur High Point title at the Gold Coast. This pair has been a team since the gelding was six years old. At the show, they won the Amateur Horsemanship circuit and were Reserve in Amateur Showmanship.

“He’s pretty versatile, as the all arounders are,” she says. “Horsemanship is by far my favorite class with him. The harder the pattern, the better with him. Any weird spot you want to put him in, he will go. Usually, in Western Riding he’s pretty honest, so that’s a close second. He doesn’t ever try to chump change you or anything, and he’s starting to be solid in Equitation.”

“He’s so athletic, and honestly, I don’t think we’ve seen the best from him, which is frustrating and encouraging at the same time. You can put him in the worst spot, and he will still change leads. You can put him in any transition, and he will do it. He’s smart. You will hear a lot of people say they like the dumb horses. I like those smart ones, because you know they can do the hard pieces, and they’re athletic. I think that sets him apart for the tougher patterns at the bigger shows, because he’s always there to step up.”

Stay tuned for more photos, video interviews, and articles from the FL Winter Circuit.