Glo InTheDark Retires to Penn State Broodmare Program
Image courtesy of Penn State QH Program.
By Delores Kuhlwein and Kristie Patterson
Finding a love you cherish doesn’t happen every day. Once you find that amazing connection, especially when it’s to an incredible horse, the first thought isn’t necessarily to share her with everyone else – that is, unless it’s the right thing to do.
Glo InTheDark has been that once-in-a-lifetime horse for Kristie Patterson, who showed her in Amateur classes, and for her daughter, Melanie, who showed “Augusta” in Youth classes.
“Augusta” made dreams come true for the Patterson family and trainer Chris Gray. Photo: Amanda Gray, Diamond Wing Photography.
The 2016 brown AQHA mare by RL Best Of Sudden and out of OnlyAfraid InTheDark, bred by Cathrin Gutmann, made dreams come true for the Pattersons and their trainer, Chris Gray, with Congress championships, multiple world show wins, and an honor roll championship. “As competitors, those wins feed your soul, and I will be forever grateful to Augusta for those opportunities,” says Gray, who describes Augusta as one of the most beautiful horses to ever grace their Spring Mills, Pennsylvania farm.
So when it came time recently for the Pattersons to retire Augusta from the show arena, Kristie Patterson turned to her nearby alma mater, Penn State University, where she’d graduated with a Bachelor’s in Animal Science and a minor in Equine Science. But the decision to donate Augusta to Penn State University’s broodmare herd wasn’t one of necessity – it was due to a much bigger picture.
Kristie Patterson let Augusta to win two Amateur Performance Mares AQHA World Show titles in November 2024.
“Our decision to retire Augusta was made because we knew that there needed to be more of her in this world,” says Kristie. “She was a phenomenal show horse with a great pedigree. Not continuing those genetics would be a disservice to the industry. Breeding is not something that I have wanted to take part in personally, which led to our decision of having her join Penn State’s herd. We look forward to potentially owning one of her babies in the future.”
Since they know many of the students and faculty members, and they can visit often, it was a win-win to contribute to a program that helped shape Kristie’s life. After all, it would only be the best for the horse who never let them down.
Wishes Fulfilled
Augusta, Kristie explains, was an immense amount of fun to show. “The first year I got to watch Melanie and Chris show her all the time while I was sidelined with an injury. This mare truly loved her kid and took great care of her in the ring.”
“Augusta means the world to me,” reveals Melanie. “She never let me down on any day and worked hard to make my dreams come true. She was the silliest and most dramatic horse that I have ever owned, and I am so thankful to have had her.”
Trainer Chris Gray describes Augusta as one of the most beautiful horses to ever grace their Spring Mills, Pennsylvania farm.
Their journey began when they purchased Augusta at Congress in 2022, continuing into 2023, where Melanie won her first championship title at the L1 East Championships. “We then continued our strength the rest of the way through the year winning my first Congress title. My breath was taken away by how much we had improved throughout the year. Then in 2024 my mom took the reins and had great success with her.”
While Kristie began to show Augusta, Melanie continued to show her in Halter, and she won her first AQHYA World Show title in the Youth Performance Mares. Melanie says, “I could not believe what was happening in that moment. I was filled with tears in my eyes knowing that I would never own a horse quite like this again. We then ended our year strong at the 2024 Congress winning our second title. This was our last show together and I was so glad that we ended our show career strong.”
For Kristie, having a horse like Augusta provided her with an even stronger connection with her daughter. “Augusta always had her ears up when you walked in the barn. Her personality added to her beauty and was a huge part of what made her so lovable. I felt even more pride and excitement watching Melanie win the halter at the world show and congress than when I had my own successes with her. It definitely brought Melanie and I even closer in our relationship.”
Accomplishments for Melanie and Glo InTheDark:
2023 L1 East Championships L1 Youth Performance Halter Mares Champion & Reserve Champion L1 13& Under Showmanship
Glo InTheDark took back-to-back Youth Championships with Melanie in 2024 – first at AQHYA World, followed by QH Congress.
2023 Congress Champions in Youth Performance Halter Mares
2023 Region 5 Championship winners in Equitation and Trail, and multiple Grand Champions and Circuit Champions in both Youth and Open Performance Halter Mares
2024 Congress Champions in Youth Performance Halter Mares and L2 & L3 AQHYA World Show Champions
Kristie and Glo InTheDark:
2024 AQHA World Show Amateur Performance Mares L3 Bronze Champion and L2 World Champion
Chris Gray and Glo InTheDark
2023 Trail Superior
2023 Highpoint in Open Performance Halter Mares
2024 Open AQHA Championship
The Penn State Choice
Choosing Penn State as the ultimate setting for Augusta’s retirement involves many facets, and all of them pointed to their program.
“Our program has been donating mares to Penn State for many years,” explains Chris Gray. “I love the fact that these horses go on to have a breeding career in a place where I know they receive exceptional care and have a lifelong home. The university is only 20 minutes from our farm. It is going to be fun to watch what she produces and see them grow up through the program at Penn State.”
Glo InTheDark bested a field of 30 Youth Mares for her second Youth Performance Mares Congress Championship in a row with Melanie.
Brian Egan, Assistant Teaching Professor of Equine Science, says the Penn State Quarter Horse breeding program strives to have the highest quality horses they can acquire, and a donation of this magnitude is difficult to summarize. “Adding Augusta to the program increases our quality tremendously and will help us continue to produce high quality well sought after young horses for years to come. Also, I believe that our teaching program revolves around the correct way to raise and produce horses. As part of that we have a strong horse judging program that will benefit from a mare of this quality who has so many accomplishments. Top all of this off with her attitude and high genetic potential, she is an obvious fit in our program.”
In addition, Egan explains they also have high quality stallions at their disposal. “Craig and Rebecca Bailey have stood One Hot Krymsun here for years and we have had the luxury of breeding many mares per year to this stallion,” he says. “Also, we have Red White N Good as well as One N Only who were donated to our breeding program which allow us to breed a variety of types of mares to each of them. Finally, we have a new reining bred stallion, CC Hezashiningstar, who’s first foals will arrive spring 2025.”
Kristie & Augusta – Photo by Shane Rux Photography.
The diversity of the horses in their program allow them to produce western and hunt seat all arounders as well as reining horses, allowing their students to “stay abreast of what is popular in the industry and what traits are most desirable for our modern show horses,” Egan adds.
Perhaps most important is the role of the Penn State horse program in building horsemen for the future. “The Penn State horse program is based upon the science of horse production and management. Our students are involved with all aspects of a breeding farm,” says Egan. “They learn and assist with breeding, foaling, raising, handling, and marketing our horses. They have the opportunity to learn to collect stallions and process semen for shipping and all other aspects of the commercial breeding farm. Our program and other programs like ours are teaching the future leaders of our industry. The support that the industry has shown our program through donations of stallions and mares over the years has been incredible. The generosity of people like the Pattersons cannot be overstated.”
An Unlimited Future
Augusta was bred by Cathrin Gutmann, and she was just as captivating as a baby as she is now, says Kristie.
All the factors above, including Augusta’s talent and personality, the dedication of her owners and trainers, and the decision to donate her to Penn State add up to a promising future for the Quarter Horse industry.
“We would like to thank and Congratulate our trainers Chris Gray and Adam Deardorff for all the work that they put into Augusta, Melanie and I,” says Kristie. “Our successes have definitely been a team and family effort. And a big thank you to our entire CGPH barn family. They were always ringside cheering us on or there with a supportive text from home.”
Though it wasn’t easy saying goodbye to a once-in-a-lifetime horse like Augusta, Melanie says she knew it was the right thing to do. “She was too beautiful to not go and produce even more beautiful babies. I was glad when I heard that she was going to Penn State because I knew that she would always be in caring hands,” Melanie reveals. “In all my time spent with Augusta, I could not have been more grateful for her. I also am thankful for my trainer, Chris Gray, for always pushing Augusta and I to be our best. He also worked super hard to make Augusta the prettiest mare on earth. I would also like to thank all of my supporters and especially my mom for always being there for me and Augusta.”
Thank you to the Patterson family, Chris Gray Performance Horses, and Brian Egan of Penn State University for allowing us to share this story! Readers can learn more about the Penn State Quarter Horse program here:
Quarter Horses — About the Department — Department of Animal Science
