Hay Girl Hayy wins Three Year Old Limited Open Western Pleasure Futurity at 2024 QH Congress

By Delores Kuhlwein

Congress offers pageantry and an allure both distinctive and enchanting.  The crisp, fall air, the decades of tradition, the bustle of the crowds of horse lovers, and the prevailing feeling of being part of something great all combine to bring a flood of emotions, often to even the most experienced exhibitor.

For Blair Townsend of King Show Horses, that feeling came to fruition when she won the last futurity class of the 2024 All American Quarter Horse Congress, the Three Year Old Limited Open Western Pleasure Futurity, with Hay Girl Hayy for owner Jordan Macan.

“Sasha” is from Hay Goodlookn’s first foal crop, by Hay Goodlookn and out of Johnnie On The Spot, bred by Capital Quarter Horses LLC.

The emotional win for Blair brought her full circle, back to another well-known mare, Johnnie On The Spot.  “I had this mare’s mother, Johnnie On The Spot, at Masterson Farms when I worked for the Mastersons.  She was my favorite two-year-old, and then Rusty and Katie Green bought her, and she went on to have a lot of success. But I never got to show her,” Blair explains.

So when they got Sasha from Capital Quarter Horses, she says, they waited until the mare was ready to show.  “We waited until Florida this year (at A Sudden Impulse), and she has been a blessing to our family because she gave RJ his first major slot class win and pushed him over the Quarter Million Dollar Club mark in earnings.  So for her to give me this is pretty special.”

This win didn’t mark her first Congress win, but Blair says it is the first in a while, and for Sasha to be the one to provide it for her is an emotional experience. “I’ve kind of had some bobbles every time I’ve shown her, and it’s pretty exciting to she gave me everything today.”

Blair did much of the early work on Sasha, she says, but they decided to have RJ show her at A Sudden Impulse.  “I really enjoyed seeing her win in Florida. Hillary’s won on her, Sue’s won on her, and now Jordan Macan has won on her, so I was excited to get to win on her, too.  It’s great for the new owners and for Capital Quarter Horses’ breeding program as well.”

On a personal note, it felt for Blair like she finally got to show Johnnie.  “She reminds me a lot of her mom, as she’s really quiet, forgiving and has a lot of patience.”

Just as Johnnie did, Sasha is proving herself to be a true show horse. “They do their job for whoever shows them, and they don’t discriminate,” Blair explains. “Sasha has a lot of presence and charisma, she has the roaning in her flanks, a big white face, and she just takes a really big, slow step. I love a horse that has a lot of self-carriage – she’s just so strong and it’s easy for her. I think that’s also what makes her a great non-pro horse because you don’t have to help her a lot.”

Their barn joke, she laughs, is to say, “push her quarter in and push the button and she goes!”  So for Blair in this futurity class, she had to take RJ’s advice to not override her and just get out of her way, so that’s what she did.  “I was shaking to the left because I never touched her.  I didn’t realize that we had won until we got down to the top four, and it was exciting! I have the best team because they’ve dealt with me all week being having a bobble somehow, some way.  I had so much fun today.”

 

See our coverage of Sasha’s big win at A Sudden Impulse: https://www.equinechronicle.com/hay-girl-hayy-wins-much-anticipated-nsba-3-over-maiden-horse-open-western-pleasure/

 

 

View complete results for the Congress class, the Three Year Old Limited Open Western Pleasure Futurity:

https://quarterhorsecongress.net/results/24results/results/pages/r113100goF.htm