Charlie Cole and All But Sudden Score 232.5 to Win Senior Western Riding at QH Congress

By: Brittany Bevis

Several riders dominated the top ten this evening in a very competitive Senior Western Riding class of 61 entries, many of whom placed multiple times on several different horses.

Claiming the top spot was Charlie Cole with All But Sudden scoring a 232.5 for the Huver Family Trust. The Reserve Champion was Deanna Searles and Heza Radical Zip scoring a 231.5. Third place was Jim Searles and Lopin For A Chex with a 230.5. Fourth place was Jamie Dowdy and Cutelicious with a 230.5. Rounding out the top five was Charlie Cole and Ima Petite Classic with a 229.5.

All But Sudden, aka “Stevie,” has certainly come a long way in this particular event, according to his youth rider, Livvie Van Lanen.

“When we bought him, he only knew [how to do] Western Riding and Hunter Under Saddle,” she says. “We’ve turned him into a really nice all-around horse. He’s really fun. He’s an awesome horse.”

Van Lanen’s favorite part of Stevie’s pattern this evening was his cross-over changes. “He had really good cross-overs,” she says. “Going down the line is my favorite part to do with him. The only part that always makes me nervous is going over the pole, because that’s the last part of your score. But, he was really good.”

Later this week, Van Lanen will compete in both Novice Youth Western Riding and 14-18 Western Riding in addition to a wide range of other classes including Horsemanship, Showmanship, Hunt Seat Equitation, and Trail. Then, Van Lanen’s stepfather, Rob Huver, will show Stevie in Amateur Western Riding and Amateur Trail.

Stevie’s pilot for this evening, Charlie Cole, was pleased with his horse’s performance and knew the early, high score would be tough to beat.

“I knew, when I got that score, that I had a chance to win,” Cole says. “To have that on pattern #2 is a really big score, but I also knew I was ninth to go and there were some 60 other horses. I had other horses and there were a lot of really good horses left to go, so I had to wait it out.”

“His go was as good as we could’ve laid out there. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.”

Given Cole’s prior success in this particular discipline, we wondered what goes through his mind during a pattern like this. Does he ride stride for stride or is he calculating the scores for each change, in his head, as he goes?

“If something goes wrong, I’m really good about putting that behind me instantly, because you can’t live in the past,” he says. “When I loped off and got that first change, I remember thinking he was on and I just went with it.”

 

Senior Western Riding–

1- All But Sudden/Charlie Cole

2-Heza Radical Zip/Deanna Searles

3-Lopin For A Chex/Jim Searles

4- Cutelicious/Jamie Dowdy

5-Ima Petite Classic/Charlie Cole

6- More Radical/Jim Searles

7- Dunit On The Range/Jason Martin

8-Only In Showbiz/Katie Green

9- Heavenly Mac/Jason Martin

10- The Vital Invitation/Kellie Hinely