Congress From Home- 2016- Three Months After Becoming a Mom, Angela Fox Wins Am Showmanship

In this edition of Congress From Home, check out this incredible story from the 2016 Quarter Horse Congress when Angela Fox won Amateur Showmanship with The Company You Keep, just three months after giving birth to her daughter, Ellis Jane. 

By: Brittany Bevis

Angela Fox has a whole new appreciation for the late nights and early mornings that come with competing at a horse show. That’s because, in addition to showing here at the Congress with her 5-year-old gelding, The Company You Keep, she’s also juggling taking care of her three-month-old daughter, Ellis Jane.

“Me, my husband, our 16 1/2-year-old dog (our first child), and our second child, who is now just over three months old, took a road trip here to the Congress! It was an experience,” Angela says.

As a self-professed “horse crazy” equestrienne, Angela says there was some delicate timing involved with the birth of Miss Ellis Jane so she would be able to compete at the Congress and upcoming AQHA World Show. Still, Angela wasn’t quite sure how balancing feeding times with riding schedules and last night practices with nap time would work out.

“I’m pretty intense in my practicing, and I ride every day,” she says. “I was pretty concerned about how to juggle both, and that’s probably the reason why I haven’t had a baby sooner. But, everyone around me has been super supportive. My boss has been very understanding about the fact that I just had a baby, and I had to get ready for a big horse show. They’re working with me, which is so sweet. Everybody at the barn has taken turns watching the baby and giving me pep talks. It’s been an incredible three months, and I have a lot of very nice people to thank.”

Angela is the returning Champion from the 2015 QH Congress in Amateur Showmanship, a class she won with “George” when he was just four years old. “George is a really good Showmanship horse. He’s a little bit tired, because he’s had a big week already, so we needed a little extra motivation for the extended trot. He was really good in the prelims, and my set up was good both times, so I was super excited.”

Earlier at the show, Angela and George placed fourth in Amateur Horsemanship and 11th in Amateur Performance Halter Geldings. Up next, they will compete in Amateur Equitation and Trail.

In this particular pattern, Angela was very pleased with a tough transitional section that George nailed, as well as her speedy set ups. “I would think we really plussed the stop, to the half turn, to the back, to the half turn, to the walk and set up. I know I had a one-step set up in the first go round, and I’m pretty sure I had one in the finals. It’s all a blur now! Also, it doesn’t hurt that he’s so pretty and has a lot of style to him.”

Nowadays, there are a few cradles at Highpoint Performance Horses stalls, because trainer, Beth Case, recently gave birth to her son, Cody Justin Case, on May 20th of this year. Angela says this is all part of a pact she and Beth made years ago.

“Beth and I had a pact. If one of us had a kid, the other one had to have a kid also. That’s a pretty big life moment to share with a friend. She got pregnant, and told me I had to hold up my end of the deal! Oddly, I did. I’m incredibly happy.”

The Reserve Champion in Amateur Showmanship was Hailey Thornton with Essentially Good. Third was Jessie Hadlock with Safe Havens Version. Fourth was Lindsey Stevenson with He Is My Choice. Fifth was Patty Bogosh with Earn An Invitation.

Now, fast forward to the 2019 AQHA World Show when Angela won the Amateur All Around title with HP The Rusty Fox and was escorted out of the arena by Miss Ellis. 

By: Brittany Bevis

Last year, Angela Fox shocked everyone when she was named the Amateur All-Around at the AQHA World Championship Show with a then three-year-old gelding, HP The Rusty Fox. This year, they did it again, winning the coveted title at the 2019 AQHA World Show, and “Rusty” is of course, now, just four years old.

The Amateur All-Around title at the World Show is typically something that seasoned teams with plenty of years of competition under their belts strive for. Given this gelding’s young age and relatively newness to many of the events he competes in, this team’s ability to win the title is testament to both his natural talent and their strong partnership.

“Truthfully, I didn’t set out to win the Amateur All Around award either year,” Angela says. “But, I’m lucky enough that he’s pretty good at several of the classes we compete in, so that’s always part of the goal. After last year, I really wanted to start Horsemanship, because I didn’t do that last year. Also, I wanted to get even better at the individual classes we compete in together. So, the All Around award is just an amazing bonus.”

“I actually felt like he stepped it up in Horsemanship, and he’s way more broke in Showmanship. Last year, I was just hoping for the best, and this year I was able to really show him. I’m really happy with the fact that we’ve come along way in the harder pattern classes, and he’s only four, so we have tried not to throw too much at him at once.”

Angela and Rusty have only been a team for two years. She actually purchased the gelding after coming across his photo on Facebook. “Darren Putnam works at H&P Ranch in Arkansas, and he had put a video of another horse on Facebook to sell. I asked him what else he had that was big and pretty, and he had two, two-year-olds. Rusty was one of them. He sent me a picture and instantly I loved him.”

“There are a lot of pretty horses, but maybe you see a video, and then it doesn’t look so good. But, he didn’t even had a video of Rusty. Darren was coming to the vet in Texas from Arkansas and asked if I wanted him to bring Rusty to the ranch, which was very nice customer service! As soon as I unloaded him, and he loped off, I knew he was the horse for me. He has been such a joy from the first time I stepped on him.”

Here at the AQHA World Show, Angela and Rusty competed in five Western All-Around classes. They placed fourth in Amateur Performance Halter Geldings, seventh in Amateur Equitation, fifth in Amateur Hunter Under Saddle, third in Amateur Horsemanship, and fourth in Amateur Showmanship.

The Reserve Amateur All-Around was Whitney Vicars with Southwestern Gunman. Third was Scott Reinartz with Investin A Goodbar. Fourth was Taylor Searles with Hereicomagain. Fifth was Kaleena Weakly with Dontskipmygoodimage.