First Four Winners Crowned During Congress Elite Halter Futurity- Arentsen, Coon, Mitchell, and Casper

By: Brittany Bevis

The Congress Elite Halter Futurity kicked off yesterday in Columbus, Ohio to the tune of over 100 futurity entries, and the first four winners have already been crowned!

First up, in Weanling Mares, Chris Arentsen led Dimplez, a filly by Acoolest Touchdown, to a $3,500 win for the Wallinger family. The Reserve Champion was Robin Robinett with TNR Dee Lish. Third was Dave Williamson with Acoolest Chloie. Fourth was Katie Mitchell with Moneyy Honeyy. Fifth was  Ronald Stratton with Its Totte Time.

In Yearling Mares, Thomas Coon led Inexces to a win. Second place was JT Mitchell with Stylin Secret. Third was Rolyn Casper with Cool E. Fourth was Chris Arentsen with Cool Littl Doll. Fifth was Gigi Davis with Intended.

This morning, Katie Mitchell led All In All Done to win Weanling Colts for owner Wilburn Archer. Second place was JT Mitchell with Mr Clu Times Two. Third was Jim Fritz with Sharma. Fourth was Mitch Leonarski with Quinclusion Midnight. Fifth was Justin Bisel with Ll Good Lookincowboy.

Today, Katie and All In All Done made what she refers to as “a touch of history” when she led the Appaloosa colt to win the Elite Halter Futurity Weanling Colts class. In 2015, we had the opportunity to interview Sara Simons when she won the Maturity $10,000 Limited Horse Open Western Pleasure Limited Finals with Rock My Motion, the first Appaloosa to win a Congress Championship title. That was the first year the All American Quarter Horse Congress opened their futurities to all breeds. To Katie’s knowledge, this is the first time an Appaloosa has won a Halter futurity class at the Quarter Horse Congress.

“I’m elated,” she says.”I think it says a lot about our Halter industry moving toward a direction of being judged solely on conformation. It doesn’t matter what color horse you have anymore. It doesn’t matter if you have an Appaloosa or a solid-paint bred. What you need to have is really good conformation.”

That point was proven when the final results of the judges were announced. All In All Done received three firsts and one second. The solid Appaloosa colt is by Very Coolicious, a stallion owned by Bill Taufmann, and out of a mare named Employees Dream. For their efforts, this team was presented with a check for $2,350, which included the $500 color bonus.

Katie believes it’s this colt’s size and maturity that helped him clinch today’s win. “This colt is very big and mature. He has a large hip and a very good back. He shows really well, and he’s very loving. We actually bought him to be a new show horse for Wilburn.”

For Wilburn, who’s never had a horse win at the All American Quarter Horse Congress before, competing in Columbus, Ohio is an item he wanted to mark off his bucket list. “It has been a dream of his to show at the Congress. He comes to watch his son, Dave Archer, but he has never had one he could show himself. This year, he will show Moneyy Honeyy in Amateur Weanling Fillies and All In All Done in Amateur Weanling Colts. He wanted to take them both to the Congress so he could mark it off his bucket list!”

In Yearling Stallions, Rolyn Casper led Exxpectation to a win for Jeffrey Stehney. Second place was Dee Redenius with I’ve Got People. Third was Justin Bisel with Telapazaz. Fourth was JT Mitchell with Dejaclu. Fifth was Mitch Leonarski with Very Cool Indeed.

Stay tuned to find out who will take home the top awards and big checks in Weanling Geldings and Yearling geldings tomorrow!