Vickie Ogburn Wins First Ever Mabelene Harris Memorial Western Pleasure
By: Brittany Bevis
In April of this year, the Harris family lost their matriarch, Mrs. Mabelene Harris, whose hobby of hand-tooling leather belts and purses in the 1960s led to the creation of the Harris Leather and Silverworks company we know today. In honor of this lovely lady, a memorial class was held at the recent Tarheel Summer Classic- the Mabelene Harris Memorial Novice Rider Non Pro Western Pleasure.
The winner of the inaugural class was Vickie Ogburn with Best Thing Yet, a 2017 double registered AQHA/APHA mare that she initially purchased as an investment horse but never intended to show. Vickie’s daughter, Rebekah Ogburn May, explains that Vickie hadn’t shown a horse since the 2008 APHA World Show. Vickie never intended to show “Hope” at the show over the weekend, especially following her husband’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease.
“She never intended to show her, but the longer we had her, [my husband] Jeremy fell more in love with her and how willing she was,” Rebekah says. “This last September, my dad got very sick and ended up developing Alzheimer’s Disease, so my mom’s lifestyle changed in the blink of an eye. With that being said, she never ever thought she would show again.”
“She started riding Hope on a daily basis, and we said that she had to show her. She would say, ‘I can’t, because I can’t leave your daddy…'”
Rebekah and Jeremy were planning to attend the Tarheel Summer Classic and thought Vickie should compete with Hope in the Memorial Western Pleasure class. They told her she was going, said not to worry that daddy would come, and they loaded up the horse and headed to Raleigh.
“One morning, in her devotional, she read about God giving second chances. She said, ‘Ok, he wants me to show.’ So she and my daddy came down to the show. He was awesome the whole time, and she won the class in a clean sweep. She cried and my dad yee-hawed! He knew she had won and was so proud.”
“Also, [winning the class] was an honor in itself as the Harris family are dear and special friends to us.”
Scroll below for more great photos from this special occasion.
If you have a great story to share, email B.Bevis@EquineChronicle.com.
