Shannon Gillespie and First N Line Score 226 To Win Congress Junior Green Trail
By: Brittany Bevis
Color breeds are being represented very well here at the 2015 Quarter Horse Congress with another big win this afternoon. Shannon Gillespie rode the 4-year-old double registered AQHA/APHA gelding, First N Line/I’m First N Line to score a 226 and win Junior Green Trail.
“Kenny” is a new addition to the Gillespie show lineup, purchased in June of this year from Eric Mendrysa with Reid Thomas. Kenny certainly had some big horseshoes to fill because he was intended to be the replacement for a mare that was lost last year.
“Kenny was bought to replace Susan Juroe’s good mare [Too Sleepy For Candy] that we lost last year, so it’s really special for him to be successful,” Shannon says. “It’s like her angel is in him,” Tim says. “It’s the perfect replacement. He reminds us so much of her. He has so many of her tendencies. It’s really cool.”
Another interesting fact connecting these two horses is that Shannon won her first Trail buckle in the junior division at the APHA World Show aboard Too Sleepy For Candy. Today’s win with Kenny is her first Congress Championship in the discipline as well. Because Kenny is double registered, he will be heading home to Texas to compete at the APHA World Show, which begins just one week after the Congress is over.
“We’ve done it for the last three years,” she says. “It’s a challenge for sure, but it’s worth it because I love coming to this horse show. It’s my favorite horse show. It motivates me and pushes me going into the Paint World.”
Before they head back home, Kenny will compete in Select Western Pleasure with Susan, Junior Western Pleasure with Tim, and Junior Trail and the 3 and 4-Year-Old Trail Stakes with Shannon. As she reflects on their performance today, Shannon is optimistic about this young horse’s future in Western all-around events. Next year, they hope to add Western Riding, Showmanship, and Horsemanship.
“He was right there for me the whole time,” she says. “He went exactly where I wanted him to go. His trot overs sometimes are a challenge for me, but he was awesome today. I’ve been working really hard at home on that. His left lead was really good. I was happy with all of it. I can’t fault any of it.”
The Reserve Champion in the class was Matthew Farrell with Huntin Me A Husband, who also scored a 226. Third place was Reid Thomas with KM Boshotinvestment. Fourth place was Jess Albion Bergantzel with My Only Impulse. Fifth was Nick Mayabb with More To Zip.
