Reeve and A Certain Vino Win Am. Western Pleasure, Moran and Vitals Signs Are Good Win Am. Western Riding

By: Brittany Bevis

Two horse and rider pairs that are very familiar with the winner’s circle once again found themselves at the top of the class during evening festivities at the 2013 AQHA World Show. First up was the Amateur Western Pleasure with Darcy Reeve and A Certain Vino claiming the World Championship title for the third year in a row. The Reserve World Champion in the class was Jessica Baird with Cool Movin Lady. Rounding out the top three was Jenna Dempze with Rewind and Repeat.

The Intermediate Champion in the class was Kirsten Thomsen with Elis A Sleepin. The Reserve Intermediate Champion was Alexandra Chavez with The Best Sign Yet.

This is Reeve and Vino’s third year in a row to win the Amateur Western Pleasure at the AQHA World Show. Before that, the pair claimed three World Championship titles in Youth Western Pleasure. Today marks their sixth western pleasure win at the World Show.

“This is my sixth in a row,” Reeve says. “It’s unbelievable. It’s unreal. I can’t even wrap my mind around it. He was perfect. I thought Congress was good. Then I came here, and it was over the top. Everything about it was that much better.”

Considering the staying power and consistency of Reeve and Vino’s performances at the World Show each year, we wondered if winning this World Championship title was as special as winning their first.

“Is this something you could get tired of? I think you could get tired of going to work every day or going to school but doing something that you love and is so much fun? I don’t think you can get tired of that!”

Reeve and Vino didn’t have much time to rest following their big win this evening. They exited the arena following the award’s ceremony and immediately began preparing for the Amateur Western Riding finals. In that class it was Reeve’s other mount’s turn to take the spotlight. Ima Petite Classic, aka “Kramer,” was named the Reserve World Champion behind Theresa Moran with Vital Signs Are Good.

“It was actually pretty tough,” she says. “It was hard to get Vino back in the [western riding] mindset. It was hard having Kramer in there as well. That was really difficult and really tested me as a rider. I went first on Kramer and there were three horses in between him and Vino, so there was not a lot of warmup time.”

Later on in the show, Vino will compete in the Senior Western Riding with Charlie Cole and the Senior Western Pleasure with Karen Hornick.

Amateur Western Pleasure-

1-A Certain Vino/Darcy Reeve

2-Cool Movin Lady/Jessica Baird

3-Rewind and Repeat/Jenna Dempze

4-Gifted Invitation/Halee Saywell

5-Elis A Sleepin/Kirsten Thomsen

6-The Party Starts Now/Keith Labrie

7-Only Ever After/Susan Roberts

8-The Best Sign Yet/Alexandra Chavez

9-Huntin For A Cowboy/Nancy Wilkerson-Ditty

10-A Sudden Illusion/Joanne Garnett

Intermediate–

1-Elis A Sleepin/Kirsten Thomsen

2-The Best Sign Yet/Alexandra Chavez

Another legend returned to the winner’s circle for the Amateur Western Riding. This time it was Theresa Moran with Vitals Signs Are Good who claimed the World Championship title. Moran piloted 13-year-old “Lucy” to a win with an impressive score of 234.

“I was really, really happy with it,” Moran says. “I think that was one of the best goes that I’ve had with her. I’m very excited. I think that’s the highest scores I’ve ever gotten on her.”

Western riding is the only class Moran will be competing in here at the AQHA World Show. Tomorrow, she will jump on a flight back to LA to return to college at USC.

“I’ve been focusing on school for the past few years, so now I’m getting back into horses,” she says. “It’s a balancing act.”

Later on in the week, Jason Martin will ride Lucy in Senior Western Riding. Both Martin and Moran are looking forward to 2014, because Lucy has plenty of offspring that will be approaching show age.

“She will have six yearlings, three weanlings, and one baby coming next year,” Martin says. “The three weanlings are all by Lazy Loper, so they are all full siblings to VS Flatline.”

This win is special for Moran because this was her first time competing at the Amateur World Show and thus her first World Champion title in the amateur division.

Amateur Western Riding–

1-Vital Signs Are Good/Theresa Moran (234)

2-Ima Petite Classic/Darcy Reeve

3-So Much Potential/Joanne Garnett

4-Set To Blaze/Rachel Nankervis

5-Impulsive Lite/Alyssa Hinchman

6-We B Blazin/Kili Crawford

7-Smooth N Chocolatey/Angela Wade

8-Elis A Sleepin/Kirsten Thomsen

9-Super Kat Man/Madeline Randolph

10-Southwestern Gunman/Whitney Walquist-Vicars

Intermediate–

1-Set To Blaze/Rachel Nankervis

2-Up The Assets/Brittany Lofton