Friday Futurity Fun at The Virginia Maiden
From the National Snaffle Bit Association:
Friday at the March To Virginia AQHA and NSBA show, featuring the Virginia Maiden, saw Hunter Under Saddle, Western Pleasure and Western Rail horses earn big checks at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Virginia.
Three & Over Maiden Hunter Under Saddle
The biggest payouts of the day took place in the $30,000 Added Three Year Old & Over Maiden Hunter Under Saddle Futurity. The class saw 14 horses vie for their share of the purse, but it was Farley McLendon who returned to the winner’s circle for her second futurity win of the show, this time showing Speakeasyy for Amanda Smith. The trio earned $7,075 for the win.
“I knew about him because of his three quarter brother, PSU Only The Blues,” Farley explained. ”I had bought his brother a few years ago and showed him and he ended up doing really well. I saw this horse and didn’t get to buy him. Later, we were in the right place at the right time and had the opportunity to buy him later. He’s different than his brother because he’s black, pretty, big trotter and canters really well. He has a lot of personality. He’s more on the Hunter side than the Western side, and he’s really we’re striving for today.
“Showing him for the first time today, well, we didn’t’ have a manual so we sort of winged it a couple of times today, but he showed really well. Now, we’ll plan to show him in the Novice horse and probably three year old events for the rest of the year. We’ll talk about it and see what we want to do. He will also do some Non-Pro classes.”
Tami Thurston showed All Assets In Blue to fourth place overall and earned the Limited champion award, receiving $3,630 for the overall placing and an additional $1,500 for the Limited champion title. She showed for owners George and Teresa Harocopos.
“Teddy is a four year old,” she said. “We got him at the start of his three year old year. He was one of those horses that was so close, but just a later bloomer, and so thank God for classes like this. We knew that we had this class to be able to prepare him for and not feel pressured to show him before he was ready. He just kept getting better and better leading up to this show. He doesn’t even feel like the same horse as last year.”
The current owners, George and Teresa Harocopos, raised Teddy, who is by a son of Skys Blue Boy. “That has made it extra special,” Tami said. “They were really patient and waited for him to come along. Teresa plans to show him in Non-Pro this year some and we’ll be showing him in the Maturity and the Green.”
When asked what traits she likes about her horse, Tami noted “He’s just so typey. I can’t get from the arena to the stalls without someone stopping me to say what a big handsome horse he is. He’s just so pretty. I got to see some of our video from today and he’s so steady in his head and neck, and so sweepy at the trot and can set back on his hock and canter. He just never changes. And he’s one of those horses that you have a lot of control and you can put him wherever you want. He’s a fun one to show. He handled all of the people and the traffic really well for his first time showing, too.”
Three Year Old & Over Maiden Western Working Rail
2025 was the third year for the Three Year Old and Older Maiden Western Working Rail futurity at the Virginia show. The class saw 20 horses vie for the $15,000 added purse on Friday. In a tough group of competitive horses, Shannon Quinlin Hill piloted Daytona Five Hundred to first for owner Debbie Kuffer, earning $5,250.
“He’s bv Shiners Voodoo Doctor out of Okie Starbella, a daughter of Gray Starlight, and we got him at the Futurity Sale last November from Cooper Smith,” Shannon said. “Danny Tremblay trained him originally. He’s been so good minded, and really taken to the Ranch classes well. We originally picked him because he’s a great loper, a great trotter and he goes great both ways at every gait, and that’s hard to find.”
The three year old buckskin stallion handled his maiden class well. “You never know what’s going to happen, but he handled the traffic and all the people watching the class really well today,” Shannon said. “I’m very proud of him. He’ll be showing in the Junior and the futurity classes this year.”
Three & Over Limited Horse Western Pleasure
Shannon Curl-Holbin took Beecuz I Said So to the top of the judges’ cards in the Three Year Old & Over Limited Horse Western Pleasure for owner Ruth Rowe. The $7,500 Added class paid $2,688 for the win and saw nine entries compete.
“We just bought him two months ago from Cole and Liz Baker,” Shannon said. “We watched him all last year and I really liked him. Ruth had come over and said she really wanted a three year old, and I told her I knew where one was. So we bought him and we’re just getting started together.
“He’s by VS Flatline and we call him Rey. After we had the Candyman horse, we’ve sort of favored this bloodline. We saw him and we were reminded a lot of Candyman, and then after we started working with him and rode him, he reminded us a lot of the Baker’s other horse, Line Up Behind. I love his disposition, and I think we have a lot of horse that we haven’t even tapped into yet.
“We plan to show him in all the three year old classes and he’s also eligible for Novice and all those things. We hope that Ruth will also get to show him at some point, too. At the end of the year, we are planning for the Pleasure Versatility Challenge at the AQHA World Show.”
With it being Shannon’s first time to show Rey, there were a lot of unknowns. “I really didn’t know what to expect, but I was happy that we did what we were supposed to do,” laughed Shannon. “It was a great way to start our career together.”
The March To Virginia will continue on Saturday with Showmanship, Halter, Hunter Under Saddle, Hunt Seat Equitation and feature the Three Year Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle Futurity, Maturity Open Hunter Under Saddle, the Three Year Old & Over Maiden Western Pleasure and the Non-Pro Working Western Rail futurity classes. Ranch Trail, Ranch Reining, Working Western Rail and Ranch Conformation classes will take place in the Reel arena.
The show concludes on Sunday with the final Western Riding, Western Pleasure, Horsemanship classes as well as the Three Year Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure and Maturity Non-Pro Western Pleasure futurity events and the final Ranch Trail and Ranch Riding classes in the Reel Arena.
To view the complete show schedule or show results, please visit abshowmanagement.com.
