Nancy Sue Ryan and Al Be Desirable Win Equine Chronicle 2-Year-Old Congress Hunt Seat Masters

By: Brittany Bevis

There are two people who might be even more excited about Nancy Sue Ryan’s Masters Hunt Seat win on Al Be Desirable than Ryan herself. Those people are Deanna Searles and Kathy Tobin. That’s because the filly that Ryan  served as a catch-rider for this evening is by Tobin’s stallion, Allocate Your Assets. In fact, the horse that Searles showed to a fifth place finish, Blameitonthe Alcohol, is also by Allocate Your Assets. In addition, the third place horse, Al Be Seeing Ya, and seventh place horse, Al The Right Moves, are both by the same stallion was well.

There is an even deeper family connection with the 2013 Hunt Seat Masters Champion horse named “Lola.” This 2-year-old mare is by Allocate Your Assets and out of My Art’s Desire, a mare that was raised by Ryan.

“I raised her mother, My Art’s Desire,” Ryan says. “She’s third generation, so it’s fun. She’s a lovely, sweet mare. She was nervous, but she behaved really well. She tried. She was a little scared, but she did her best.”

As the catch-rider for Lola, Ryan had the opportunity to ride the mare just a couple of times before tonight’s event. But for a seasoned professional like Ryan, showing a maiden 2-year-old is old hat.

“I rode her twice for about ten minutes each time,” Ryan says. “They had her ready.”

The limited amount of preparation time is something that trainers Jim and Deanna Searles took into account when deciding which horse they would keep to show and which horse would be handed off to a fellow professional. The final decision came down to Al Be Desirable and Blameitonthe Alcohol.

“We raised her,” Jim Searles says. “She was actually out of one of Kathy Tobin’s mares. We raised her, and Kathy sold her to the Hunter family. It was awesome to raise her on the farm and train her from square one.”

“Honestly, it was a touch decision, because I own one of them. We have customers that own the other one. It was tough, but we try to fit the riders with the horses. That mare was real easy for someone to catch-ride. For us, I think it’s only fair to give the catch-rider a little bit easier horse, beacuse they haven’t been riding it all year long. Nancy Sue is a great rider.”

Given the fact that four horses by the same stallion competed in such a high-stakes event like the Congress Masters, Searles is excited to see what the future holds for Allocate Your Assets.

“I think you have to attribute [their success] to their minds,” he says. “Their minds are just so exceptional. They are good-sized, strong horses and that helps a bunch, but, to me, it’s just about the minds. They are a pleasure to break out and a pleasure to show. For it to be their first time out like that and be that quiet, I think it’s definitely attributed to him.”

Equine Chronicle Masters Hunter Under Saddle–

1-Al Be Desirable/Nancy Sue Ryan

2-What Matters Most/Katy Jo Zuidema

3-Al Be Seeing Ya/Beth Case

4-Dance On These Irons/Trisha Yamber

5-Blameitonthe Alcohol/Deanna Searles

6-HRZ Elegant In Blue/Dawn Baker

7-Al The Right Moves/Kristy Starnes

8-Next Factor/Alyse Roberts

9-Lukinforagoodtime/Jamie Murrow

10-Just One Last Detail/Kimberly Reynolds