Riders Can Sure Hold Their Liquor at AZ Sun Circuit!

By: Brittany Bevis

Not that we would ever encourage riding while intoxicated, but having a group of good-natured exhibitors compete while “holding their liquor” proved to be a fun event for all at the Arizona Sun Circuit this week.

First up was a Wine Race that took place following the conclusion of the L2 Senior Western Pleasure class on Monday. At the onset of the race, each rider was given a glass of wine. When the starting signal was given, the horse and rider teams took off, racing around the arena. Some chose a full gallop, but slow and steady won the race. Mark Jensen was the big winner and was awarded with a 50″ TV for his superior wine handling skills.

Mark’s mount for the contest was No Doubt I’m Best, and from the onset he had a game plan. “It was a tortoise and the hare kind of story. They told us it wasn’t who crossed the finish line first, but who had the most wine in their glass at the end. My horse jogs really super slow, so I was just toddling around the pen while everyone was racing around. I ended up with almost all the wine still in my glass. Thank goodness is was white though, because I was using my client’s brand new show saddle!”

As it turns out, Mark had some previous on-the-job training that helped prepare him for the event. “In addition to my real job as an insurance agent, I’m also a flight attendant. Once they came out with the wine, I thought, ‘I can carry two of these and a tray of food through all these bumps!'”

Ever generous, Mark decided to give his TV prize to his client for her new home in Palm Desert. While the incredible prizes at Sun Circuit are certainly a bonus, Mark believes the idea of the fun giveaways serve a bigger purpose. “This show has been incredible with the prizes. I think they’ve given away $30,000 already. Our daughter has won three of the scavenger hunts. The bottom line is that there’s only one winner in a class, so this makes it so everyone has the chance to win a prize. It’s fun for the spectators who come to watch at the horse show, and it’s really fun for the exhibitors to be able to unwind and get out of the realm of horse show perfection.”

On Tuesday, the fun continued in The Equine Chronicle arena during a Mimosa Morning Jump Off. Following the Equitation Over Fences classes, any horse and rider team, regardless of discipline, was invited to participate in a fun jump-off for prizes. Everyone gathered to try their hand at jumping a small fence while holding a mimosa. The winner was determined by who had the most liquid left in their glass. In the end, Dave Miller showed his smooth handling skills were no match for his competitors, and he sailed over the jumps while preserving every bit of his orange and champagne libation.

Dave’s partner for the class was an AQHA mare named Enjoyable that had been shown earlier in the day in Green Progressive Working Hunter, Senior Working Hunter, and Amateur Hunter classes with owner Kellee Hartman. We wondered what Kellee had to say when Dave told her he was planning to gallop her horse over a jump while holding a sparkling mimosa. “She actually came up to me and told me I was going in the class, and I was riding her horse!” Dave laughs. “I set out to win. My strategy was to survive the first round and make it to the jump-off. Then, I got in my two-point and stayed as steady as possible. I looked at my cup the whole time so I could keep it balanced.”

Not only did Dave have a blast competing in the class, he was able to score a Bose Wireless Speaker for the win. He appreciated the fact that Sun Circuit chose to highlight the Hunter discipline with a fun contest. “It always seems that the fun giveaways are in the Western classes, so it was great for this one to be over in our pen. Everybody showed up to watch and, once it started, everyone wanted to participate. It was so much fun.”

“This show caters to pretty much every discipline, and every one has top priority. We want to be here, and we want to bring other people here, because we’re having so much fun. There’s a lot of shopping, food, vendors, and the show management does a great job.”

On Thursday, Novice Select Horsemanship riders filled their wine glasses to the very top and participated in a trot race around the arena. In the end, it was Cheryl Mullikin riding Don’t Skip George who didn’t spill a drop and was named the champion.

“My strategy was basically to do a two-point and go as fast as I could, and not to spill any. Especially since I had red wine, I didn’t want to get any on me! I first found out they were going to have the race while we were waiting for the other competitors in the class to finish. I thought, ‘Wow that will be a lot of fun!’ These types of contests make the shows fun. It takes some of the pressure off and allows you to just have fun! It was a blast!”

For her efforts, Cheryl was presented with a $1,000 gift certificate for a Shorty’s Caboy Hattery hat. Those Select riders sure know how to hold their wine!

In what has become an annual tradition, these types of random giveaways and contests like the Bouncy Horse Races, Scavenger Hunts, Boot Races, and Secret Password Prize Patrols help make the Arizona Sun Circuit one of the most highly attended and fun events of the year. It’s something that wouldn’t be possible without the support of generous vendors. Prizes that were given away this year include five $500 gift certificates to Show Me Again Show Clothing, five $500 gift certificates to Barbara’s Custom Hats, 20 pairs of Rod Patrick Ostrich Boots, $2,500 worth of CR Ranch Wear product, five $500 gift certificates to Showtime Show Clothing, two 100X Shorty’s Hats, and five $500 gift certificates to D Designs, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The total value of giveaways this year topped out at a whopping $50,000!

Scroll below to view more fun photos from this week’s contest at the Arizona Sun Circuit and check out a fun video of the Mimosa Morning Jump Off!

Click here to watch a video of the Mimosa Jump Off.