On The Cover – Kirsten Thomsen and Elis A Sleepin

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10 – November/December, 2014

 

by Brittany Bevis

Nancy Alto-Renfro fondly remembers the day that a timid, 13-year-old girl walked into her barn in Finley, California hoping to break out of the novice youth division. Fast-forward nine years later and Kirsten Thomsen, now 22, has blossomed into a confident, young woman and competitor who can hold her own with some of the top amateur exhibitors in the country.

When she came to me, she was a little quiet girl who was shy and not very aggressive when riding her horse,” Renfro says. “She just sat up there, put her hand down, and prayed that everything would go okay. Now, she’s evolved into this beautiful, young woman who is very assertive, knows what she wants out of life, and works really hard to get it. She has developed a good feel for her horses over the years.”

For the past nine years, Renfro has guided Thomsen to the top level of AQHA competition. But like all great competitors, this talented equestrienne had to start somewhere.

“When she came to me, she and her mother, Carol, had just bought Bar Pat Zippo, a horse that had won quite a bit with Jolene Wadds. Kirsten did the all-around events, and she was learning how to do English and Trail. She had a basic understanding of all the events; she just needed to push out of the novice division.”

Unfortunately, Bar Pat Zippo later succumbed to an infection in his meniscus and had to be humanely euthanized. For Kirsten, the blow was hard to take; her beloved partner passed away just two weeks before the Youth World.

“She had to go through the tragedy of losing her horse,” Renfro says. “Then, we bought Zippos Petite Prince. She went to the Youth World and was third and fourth, two years in a row, in Western Riding. It helped her get back in the saddle. Bar Pat Zippo was her buddy, so that was a hard loss.

“She moved on, kind of by chance, to Elis A Sleepin, a horse we first tried at the Sun Circuit. He’s pretty special; that’s definitely her horse.”

Elis A Sleepin, a black gelding by Too Sleepy To Zip and out of Vested Investment, is probably best remembered for the bridleless victory lap he took with Leonard Berryhill after winning Junior Western Riding at the 2011 AQHA World Show. His eye-appeal, versatility, and undeniable show ring presence are some of the attributes that first attracted Renfro and Thomsen to the talented 2006 AQHA gelding.

“It was the whole look of the picture,” Renfro says. “He walked into the outdoor arena at the Sun Circuit; when that horse walks into the ring, he has a presence. You just want to like him right away. She went up and down the Western Riding line, and I turned to her mom and said, ‘I think you’re in trouble!’”

2014 is the third full year that Thomsen and “Elis” have competed together as a team. Currently, they’re working to add Trail to their other events, Western Pleasure and Western Riding.

Despite consistent Top 5 and Top 10 placings at the AQHA World Show, a win at the NSBA World Show, and a Congress Championship title, Renfro says there’s one elusive goal still left for this dynamic duo to achieve.

“For her, the bottom line is to feel like she went out and had a good ride,” she says. “Really and truthfully, that’s her goal. But like most everyone, her goal would be to win a World Championship. She’s won at the Congress and placed before at the World Show, but it’s a dream of hers to come out with a gold trophy.”