James Saubolle and Sweet N Sultry Win Yearling In-Hand Trail at 2014 APHA World

By: Brittany Bevis

Although he was initially skeptical of the new class known as Yearling In-Hand Trail, a special little red roan named Sweet N Sultry has made James Saubolle a believer. This morning, Saubolle led “Kevin” to a World Championship finish in a competitive class of 24 entries. The Reserve Champion in the class was Michael Schiller with Victorious Investment. Rounding out the top three was Jan Wolfe with Kis Me Im Sensational.

Saubolle was at the lead today for Sandy and Randi McCook of Alberta. Although this relatively new class is just beginning to gain a following here in the States, Saubolle says it’s extremely popular in Canada. The McCook ladies have trained nine of their yearlings to compete in the event throughout the years.

“We bought this one in late February from Courtney Menke,” Saubolle says. “Randi and I went through a ton of videos to find him. We sent the video to Sandy and got the approval. He is really well-bred. I’ve had a couple of Good N Sultry horses and had really good luck with them.”

Kevin was bred by Menke Pleasure Horses of Durant, Iowa. He is by Good N Sultry and out of A Sudden Pleasure mare.

“He is actually very much a pet,” Saubolle says. “He lives at home in Canada with Sandy. She’s taught him all the In-Hand Trail. This is very much her other child…”

“This is my very first time doing In-Hand Trail, and it’s interesting. I was always kind of against it, at first. Up in Canada, this is real big, and it has kind of made its way down here. Sandy asked me if I wanted to do this, and I would do anything for Sandy.”

You might think the next natural step for Kevin would be to compete in Yearling Longe Line, however that’s not in the cards for this particular horse. The McCook family believes Yearling In-Hand Trail is a worthy pursuit, because it provides a good foundation of basic maneuvering skills before a young horse is started under saddle. The hope is that Kevin will become Randi’s 2-year-old Western Pleasure Futurity horse for 2015.

“Randi helps a lot, because she gets them more broke going on the ground, [like a Showmanship horse] leading and turning,” Sandy McCook says. “Then, we add rails. You don’t have to be fast; you just add different things, let the horse see them, and assure them.”

“I think it’s an awesome tool. We’ve started three or four of the horses we’ve gone on to do Trail with. Randi has literally put a saddle on them and stepped on and they already know how to move off your leg and turn around. They already know how to do some of that stuff right from the start, so it’s a pretty easy process, we’ve found.”

Yearling In Hand Trail–

1- Sweet N Sultry/James Saubolle

2-Victorious Investment/Michael Schiller

3-Kis Me Im Sensational/Jan Wolfe

4-On Doctors Order/Laurel Hanlon

5-No Doubt Im Invited/Pamela Switzer

6-Girls Got Game/Mark Gilmore

7-Music Row/Bill Mitchell

8-Late Night Invite/Amanda Wass

9- Y Not A Famous Blonde/Jodie Distad

10- Sensational Gift/Heather Lynn Meyer