Western Hauler Western Pleasure Truck Bonanza at Sun Circuit Was a Huge Hit With $50,000 Payday

By: Brittany Bevis

Innovation is a hallmark of the Arizona Sun Circuit year after year, and the 2021 show was no different. One of the special offerings held during the event was the Western Hauler Western Pleasure Truck Bonanza.

Show Media Manager, Kristin Spinning, explained the process behind this unique class. “Only 500 raffle tickets were sold at the show,” she says. “Tom Forehand took charge of selling the tickets and whipping up excitement for the raffle. Each raffle participant drew a ticket from a box with a number ranging between $1 and $500. Whichever number they drew was the amount they paid for the ticket. Some people opted to buy several tickets. The event was so popular that folks at home wanted in, so drawings were taken by phone as well. All proceeds after expenses went into the pot for the Western Hauler Western Pleasure Truck Bonanza class.”

17 qualified horses and riders were selected from the L1 Open, Junior, and Senior Western Pleasure classes. Each open division rider drew a horse’s name as their mount for the Bonanza. If a rider drew his or her own horse, or a horse he or she had ridden in the past, he or she had to draw again. “With a collection of elite horses and legendary AQHA riders, everyone was excited about the prospect of showing off a horse they had never ridden before,” Spinning says.

After spending a few minutes to get acquainted, the new teams competed for prize monies totaling $50,000. Payouts were made to all 17 places, and winnings were split equally between the rider and the horse’s owner. Katie Green rode Susie Johns’ horse, KM Flat Out The Best, to earn enough points from the three judges to be named the champion. Katie and Susie split the first place payout of $9,132.34.

In second place, Becky and Gil Galyean’s horse, Made Sleepy, partnered with Rusty Green to place second and earn $5,580.88. Third place was Good Vybes, owned by Amy Lynch and shown by Ty Elrod. This team won a $4,566 check.

At the conclusion of the class, the champion, Katie Green, had the honor of pulling the winning raffle ticket. “Leann Rhodes was the lucky winner! She showed infectious excitement after receiving the keys to her new ride and took a victory lap in the Equine Chronicle arena. She received a fully customized Western Hauler Crew Cab Chevrolet LTZ in the Western Hauler Truck Bonanza Raffle. Sun Circuit also kicked in $4,500 to cover taxes and registration fees for the winner. The entire package was worth about $90,000.”

What a unique and exciting idea for a special event!

Scroll below to view complete results with payouts, as well as more fun photos.

Results:

Monies- Placing- Horse’s Name- Rider’s Monies- Rider’s Name- Owner’s Monies- Owner’s Name

$9,132.34- 1- KM Flat Out The Best- $4,566.17, Katie Green, $4566.17, Susan Johns

$5,580.88- 2- Made Sleepy- $2,790.44, Rusty Green- $2,790.44, Becky or Gil Galyean

$4,566.17- 3- Good Vibes- $2,283.09, Ty Elrod- $2,283.08- Amy Lynch

$4,312.50- 4- Made By J, $2,156.25- Brian Ale- $2,156.25- Candice Hall and Cory Seebach

$3,678.31- 5 Tie- UF Rockin The House- $1,839.16- Ryan Kail- $1,839.15- Carol Thomsen

$3,678.31- 5 Tie- Hereicomagain- $1,839.16- Erin Lieurance- $1,839.15- Kathy Tobin

$3,297.79-7- Shez Flat Mystical- $1,648.90- Kelly McDowall- $1,648.89- Bailey Anderson

$2,663.60- 8 Tie- Florencethemachine- $1,331.80- Kendra Weis- $1,331.80- Inez Mattke

$2,663.60- 8 Tie- Full Drape- $1,331.80- Deanna Searles- $1,331.80- Heidi Rasor

$2,283.09- 10- Feelfree to Flatterme- $1,141.55- Gil Galyean- $1,141.54- Cassandra Letts

$2,029.41- 11- Rock County Kid- $1,014.71- Murray Griggs- $1,014.70- Chav3z Enterprises, LLC

$1,648.90- 12 Tie- Made Ta Order- $824.45- Andrew Sharp- $824.45- Doreen Earl

$1,648.90- 12 Tie- Snap Krackle Pop- $824.45- Angie Rigdon Cannizzaro- $824.45- Twylla Lynn Brown

$1,268.38- 14- Twist Of Moonlite- $634.19- Cody Conover- $634.19- Harry or Jill Burdg

$1,014.70- 15- Ima Golden Machine- $507.35- Jim Searles- $507.35- Rusty and Katie Green

$761.03- 16- A General Consensus- $380.52- Aaron Moses- $380.51- Kenneth or Laina Banks

$507.35- 17- All Eyezs On Him- $253.68- Terry Cross- $253.67- Kathy Tobin