Linda Sargent – Sharing the Quarter Horse Lifestyle

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34 – August/September, 2016

BY SUSAN WINSLOW

Horses have been an integral part of Linda Sargent’s life since she was a child growing up in Florida. Linda’s father bought her a pony and she was hooked. She graduated from sassy ponies to the full-grown variety and started showing at open shows. She was active in 4-H throughout high school before getting into Quarter Horse competition. After a short stint competing in the Palomino breed, Linda returned to AQHA and has been a serious competitor ever since.

She and her husband, Jeff, live on a sixty-acre farm in Eustis, Florida where they spend their time caring for their top quality Quarter Horses, working with the two or three foals born on the farm each year, training for competition, and traveling on the road to shows. The couple maintains a herd of carefully chosen broodmares and they’re hands-on with their horses from day one. She says, “We foal our horses right here at home. We’re right there to welcome the new babies. It’s a lot of work, but we love it.”

In addition to raising and caring for their horses, Linda and Jeff are both involved in select competition. Jeff has a half-brother to Linda’s champion mare, Amblin So Good, named A Certain Amble. Linda describes their competition as a team effort. “I don’t look at it like competition between the two of us. Jeff and I ride together at home and help each other. We do this because we love the horses and the sport, so when we get into the show pen, we’re each focused on our own horse. If one of us does well, we’re both happy. Our goal is just to get out there, have fun, and do the best we can do,” she says.

She and her husband have been riding with trainer Cleve Wells for fifteen years, and she has amassed an impressive resume during that time. “I’ve ridden six to eight different horses since I started showing in the select division, back when it started. I’ve had multiple Top Fives, including Top Ten every year except for one year when my horse had an abscess and I couldn’t show,” she says. Some of her titles include: 2011 Select World Champion in Western Pleasure, 2011 Larry Little Futurity Non-Pro Maturity Western Pleasure Champion, and 2011 Congress Champion in Select Amateur Western Pleasure with her gifted mare Amblin So Good, aka ‘Candy’. “She was one of the best horses I’ve ever had. She loved competition and she was so easy to ride. She was a truly exceptional horse to take into the show pen.”

Click here to read the complete article
34 – August/September, 2016