Buddy Laney and Intoxikating Are Congress Champions in Aged Geldings and Grand Champion Gelding Winner

UPDATE: Just moments ago, Laney and Toxi were named the Grand Champion Gelding team in a tough Grand and Reserve Gelding class here at the Congress. 

By: Brittany Bevis

Halter horse enthusiasts might recognize Jack and Vicki Shawver’s massive gelding, Intoxikating, from his many appearances in aged gelding classes over the past few years. The now seven-year-old gelding achieved his third Select World Champion title this year, has an Open World Championship title, and has a Youth World Championship title to his credit. But what people might not know is that this is his first Open Congress Championship win.

“He won the Limited division here last year with my husband,” Vicki Shawver says. “This is his first Congress win, as far as I know. [That’s] unless [he has another from] when he was little. We got him right after he turned two. He is seven now.”

Shawver and her husband have owned “Toxi” for the past four years and have relied on the expert guidance of halter horse trainer, Buddy Laney, for the last three.

“I won the World with him last year,” Laney says. “He’s won the Select World the last three years, twice with Vickie and once with Jack. Vickie is going to show him in the Amateur here, and Jack will show him at the World. They’re splitting him up.”

“They keep him at their place. I just show him. They do it all themselves, and I just show him and help them a little bit. It was a really tough class [today]. [There were] a lot of horses [in the class that] could’ve won any day. [There were] a lot of big names in there too!”

While Laney is quick to downplay his influence on the fitting and preparation of this Phenomenal Clu gelding, Shawver insists that none of this would’ve been possible without his help.

“We fit him at home, but Buddy comes to the shows, and he tells us what we need to be doing at home,” she says. “He checks up on him. We’ve even taken pictures of him, because Buddy lives a long way away from us and it’s hard sometimes to tell. He’ll tell us what needs to be changed about Toxi. We couldn’t do it without Buddy. He is a really good trainer.”

Now that Toxi has proven himself in Open and Amateur competition, Shawver is hoping her eight-year-old granddaughter will take over as handler next year.

“He won the Youth World as a yearling too,” she says. “Randy Wilson bred him, and Dana Wilson showed him whenever he was a yearling. My granddaughter, Rylyn Walters, will be nine next year. We’re hoping she will show him. He takes care of the kids. We just leave the [stall] door open, and he just stands there with the kids. He is so sweet and really smart.”

The Reserve Congress Champion in Aged Geldings was RPL My Te Cheerful with Jeff Habighorst at the lead. Rounding out the top three was Luke Castle with Happy Hour.