Anthony Montes Delivers One-Two Punch in $30,000 Open Trail Challenge
It has been said that Trail is a class that anyone can win on any given day, and as the discipline continues its upward trajectory of growth, events like the $30,000 NSBA Open Trail Challenge at A Sudden Impulse 2025 will continue to draw a crowd, both online and in person.
Anthony Montes of Vickery Performance Horses, who had just reached the NSBA Quarter Million Dollar Club milestone last month, cinched the top two spots in the challenge, which took place Friday evening, April 25th.
Hot Ovations, owned by Natalie Hudson, earned the Reserve title in the Open Trail Challenge.
Champion: KM Best Dressed with Anthony Montes for Victoria Coombs – $10,000
Reserve: Hot Ovations with Anthony Montes for Natalie Hudson -$7000
Some of the top trail horses and trainers turned out to try their skill at the course designed by Tim Kimura, better known as the Man Of Trail. Participants were required to tackle an complex pattern and tough elements such as a counter canter, as well as side passing on a bridge, a maneuver from shows of the past.
Montes says even though the course was very intricate, requiring more than one walk-through to memorize, it was really fun to do elements like the side pass on the bridge. “It kind of took me back to the days of being from California when I got to watch Judy Bonham and Cynthia Canterbury do that kind of stuff, and the right lead lopes to the counter canter made it fun and exciting because we haven’t had to do that for a while.”
Montes was also honored in the arena by NSBA for his induction into the NSBA Quarter Million Dollar Club.
Montes had five horses in the Friday night challenge, and his last horse on pattern was the 24th he’d ridden that day. Needless to say, he was exhausted, but trainer and partner Bruce Vickery of Vickery Performance Horses gave him a pep talk to motivate him. “It really helped me to get pumped, and honestly, when I went out there to walk the course the energy I felt from everyone helped motivate me, too, and I was able to go in and give it all I had,” says Montes.
The horses he showed are all special to him, and the two taking the champion and reserve spots mean a lot to him. “I feel a special bond with them – I can instantly find my spots and my connection with them, and they both rose to the occasion and gave me all they had and were there for me, so it was awesome.”
He adds that being under the lights in the arena at such an elegant venue and competing for that level of payout is pretty magical. “We appreciate everything everyone does here at the World Equestrian Center to give us the opportunity to promote our industry. We don’t get that money anywhere else, and we thank everyone that works here for everything they do for our industry.”
The added money to events like trail is changing that industry, he says. “Our industry is one of the last ones to gear towards the money, and it’s awesome that it’s happening because it’s going to change it for the better, and I think it’s just going to keep growing and growing.”
Vickery agrees that the practice is long overdue, simply considering the numbers in AQHA and NSBA trail, a class viewed as a level playing field. “It’s the biggest class at the horse show, so it deserves to have the money added to it. Even the best horses can be beat, because there are so many places you can make a mistake, and human error comes into play so many times in this class.”
“Anything can happen!” adds Anthony, and apparently tonight, what happened for Anthony Montes will be a memory to cherish.
$30,000 NSBA Open Trail Challenge at A Sudden Impulse 2025:
Champion: KM Best Dressed with Anthony Montes for Victoria Coombs – $10,000
Reserve: Hot Ovations with Anthony Montes for Natalie Hudson -$7000
Third: Showin My Ace with Chad Evans for Lauren Stopperich-$4500
Fourth: Call Her Daddy with Jesse Jones for Katie Shepherd -$3,000
Fifth: The Batchelor with Sara Simons for AK Performance Horses -$1750
Sixth: So Good To B Me with Blake Weis for the Cavallo Family Trust -$1250
Seventh: Rumors In The Dark with Ryan Cottingim for Stephanie Janis -$1000
Eighth: Moonlight Potential with Clint Ainsworth for Scarlett Jones -$750
Ninth: Hot Lopin Lily with Blake Weis for the Cavallo Family Trust -$500
Tenth: SleepinInTheStands with Ryan Cottingim for Stephanie Janis -$250
