An Emotional Win For Tami Thurston in Congress 2-Year-Old Open Hunter Under Saddle Stakes

By: Brittany Bevis

Tami Thurston was overcome with emotion after winning the Congress 2-Year-Old Open Hunter Under Saddle Stakes for many reasons. First, she and Best In The Moonlite didn’t actually make it to the finals out of the first go. It was the second-chance go that secured their spot in the finals.

We spoke with Thurston about the commonly held belief, that if a horse doesn’t initially make it out of the first go, there is a slim chance of doing well in the finals. That misconception is something she managed to prove wrong today, aboard a horse she calls “Hank.”

“I went in the first go and didn’t make it back out of the first go,” Thurston says. “That was a little disappointing, but I was so happy with my horse. He doesn’t even act like a 2-year-old. He acts like a senior horse and shows like one.”

“I was like, ‘That’s ok, we’ll just go back and do it again.’ Then, we showed today, and he had to go four times in a row. For a two-year-old, that is unbelievably hard. He just kept getting better and better. He is such a trooper.”

Thurston originally purchased Hank from Wayne and Judy Davis before selling him to her client, Linda Jacobs. From the very first time Thurston sat in the saddle, she knew she had to have this horse in her barn.

“He’s such a natural loper and such a pleaser,” she says. “He’s good in his head and neck, and he’s such a sweetheart. He has a real big personality.”

“We always say that he’s not the tallest, but he will definitely always be the longest in the pen! We say that he would not win the beauty portion, but he will always win the talent portion. We just love him. He’s a joy to ride.”

There is another reason that Thurston’s smiling face was also filled with tears this afternoon. What sparked the initial conversation was a pink breast cancer pin she wore on her hunt coat during the class. Thurston explains.

“My mom was diagnosed with stage-four breast cancer and has been going through treatments,” she says. “She is doing really well. I’m so heartbroken that she wasn’t here, but she is watching. She lives right there on the farm with us, so I wanted to carry her with me. She is doing really well with treatments. They say that she is in the top five percentile, and it’s really a miracle [how well she is doing].”

“We also had another awesome thing happen. My husband and I have been trying to have kids for like 15 years, and we haven’t been able to. We were just chosen about a month ago by a birth mom to adopt a little boy. December 19th is the due date!”

Given the current circumstances, Thurston has plenty to look forward to in 2014. Her mother is responding very well to treatments, she will have a new baby boy to care for, and Hank’s owner, Linda Jacobs, will be debuting in Novice, Select, and 3-year-old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle classes.

Congratulations to this group on their success and all of the blessings they have received this year.

Two-Year-Old Open Hunter Under Saddle Stakes-

1-Best In The Moonlite/Tami Thurston

2-You Will Be Seein Me/Rhonda Spratto,

3-Designed With Detail/Jessica Johnson

4-Iron Ride/Jamie Murrow

5-Sportin A Neon Tan/Valerie Kearns