Equine Chronicle Congress Masters Champions Are Beth Case/Because She’s Worth It and Jay Starnes/Extremely Late

By: Brittany Bevis

Tonight the best maiden horses in the country competed in the Equine Chronicle Congress Masters 2-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle and 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure.

First up, nine entries entered the pen for the 2-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle, and the unanimous champion was Beth Case with Because She’s Worth It for owner, Tom Lukenbill. The pair received a check for $15,000 for the win, in addition to trophies, neck ribbon, medallion, a beautiful flower bouquet, and other prizes.

This striking, 17 hand APHA filly is by Hot Ones Only and out of a mare named Unfair Advantage. She was bred and raised by Tom. “I saw her a week after she was born, because I was out of town and she foaled out at my vet’s place,” he says. “As soon as I saw her, I knew she was special. I love this filly. I can’t thank Highpoint and Beth enough. When Beth got her in May, she’d only had about 20 rides on her.”

Right off the bat, Beth knew this mare would make an excellent Masters contender because of her size and strength. Also, it certainly didn’t hurt that she’s good-minded and easygoing. “Maiden horses are actually usually better the first time in the pen, because they don’t know any better. They may get a little nervous because of the crowd, but she’s not chicken.”

Coming up next, Beth with show the filly at the upcoming APHA World Show next week.

Results: 

Champion- Because She’s Worth It/Beth Case for Tom Lukenbill- $15,000

Reserve- A Hidden Agenda/Scott Jones for Vickie and Jerry Strickland- $5,950

3- Al American Girl/Heidi Piper for Tera Gore- $4,725

4- Get Your Shine On/Carmen Mayabb for Nichole McColley- $3,500 (Limited Champion)

5- Fancy N My Stilettos/Shannon Gillespie for Nicole Dalton- $1,750

6- Lads Playboy/Dale Sullens for Iron Horse Appaloosa Ranch, Inc.- $1,575

7- Just One Last Dance/Darla Lee for Ron Horn

8- The High Rise/Denise Thompson for Heather Eckert

9- Charismatic Style/Alyse Roberts for Laurie Roden

For the fourth time in his career, Jay Starnes was named the Masters 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure Champion. This time, he rode a gelding, Extremely Late, to win for owner, Brenda Yates. The pair received a neck wreath, medallion, trophies, bouquet of flowers, saddle, and a check for $30,000.

Extremely Late, aka “Flynn,” is by the AQHA stallion, Extremely Hot Chips. Flynn is the first horse Jay has ridden by the stallion, and he’s looking forward to having the opportunity to show similar crosses. Flynn received his name from Jay’s son, Logan, who named all the new foals after characters on his favorite television show, Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

For the first time in the show pen, Jay was very pleased with Flynn’s steady and consistent performance. “He showed very well for a maiden horse. When I turned around and went the second direction, he let me lope him off, get off the rail, and really show him. For a horse to let you do that the first time in the show pen, that says a lot about them.”

When looking for a Masters prospect each year, Jay emphasizes a pretty overall look, quality of movement, and a solid mind. “Ideally, it doesn’t always happen this way, but I look for a horse that’s good-minded and can handle the pressure of the situation. It also helps if they’re pretty and have all the gears: they can jog and they can lope. I feel that’s the first thing the judges see when they walk into the pen for a maiden class like this. If they scan the pen and see one that’s really pretty, it’s going to catch your eye to start with.”

Up next, Jay and Flynn will compete in 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure at the AQHA World Show.

Also, during this evening’s presentation, Rusty Green was recognized as the newest Million Dollar Rider! Before the event this evening, Rusty was $200 short of the million mark, which he achieved with a Reserve finish aboard Whatilikeaboutyou for Capital Quarter Horses, LLC.

Another fun addition to the evening performance came in the form of audience voting, which was implemented through the Horse Show Tracker app. Winning the audience vote in Hunter Under Saddle was Beth Case and winning the vote in Western Pleasure was Travis Duit.

Results: 

Champion- Extremely Late/Jay Starnes for Brenda Yates- $30,000

Reserve- Whatilikeaboutyou/Rusty Green for Capital Quarter Horses, LLC- $5,880

3- Invee Me/Ashley Lakins for Starland Ranch, LLC- $4,620

4- Daddy Doesn’t Know/Brian Baker for Caroline Cavallo- $3,570 (Limited Champion)

5- Cool Cruzen Lady/Gil Galyean for Starland Ranch, LLC- $2,100

6- Platinum Dot Com/Travis Duit for Knapp Quarter Horses- $1,890

7- Helen Hywater/Randy Wilson for Richard Beiber- $1,680

8- U Can’t Hide Redneck/Taft Dickerson for Brent Lawson- $1,260

9- Mamas Boy/Jeff Long for Greg and Kathie Engelbert

10- She Had Me At Hello/Kenny Lakins for Michael Vargo

11- It’s A Pretty Thing/Shane Dowdy for Gumz Farms

12- Line Up For Candy/Shannon Gillespie for Susan Juroe

Scroll below to view more fun photos from tonight’s event!