Western Pleasure Super Sires – Big Checks for Non-Pros
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186 – August/September, 2016
By Megan Arszman
When you think futurities, you typically think big money classes reserved for open division competitors, right? Well, the Western Pleasure Super Sires program wants to change your way of thinking. They are shining a light on non-pro riders and a select group of stallions that are destined to make an impact on the Western Pleasure industry.
During the 2016 Tom Powers Futurity, held annually in Berrien Springs, Michigan, the Western Pleasure Super Sires held their fourth event with three classes on July 1-2. Winners took home trophy saddles, feed coupons, trophies, and apparel along with very big checks.
“We wanted to make the WPSS a non-pro event, since nonpros are the majority of people who breed, and they are the backbone of our industry,” says Joan Schroeder, a longtime breeder and owner of Blazing Hot, one of the Super Sires stallions. “A group of us came together to develop an idea to help promote the Western Pleasure industry, as well as our own horses.”
Owners whose stallions have met the eligibility requirements for the WPSS pay $5,000 each year, which goes straight into the pot for the show. In exchange for that money, Schroeder points out that owners get free advertising as well as exposure to those interested in breeding their quality mares to Western Pleasure stallions.
“We were just a group of business people and horsemen that had a goal, not to be self-serving, but to better promote the Western Pleasure industry,” Schroeder says. “This was the one little thing we could do to help grow the industry in a difficult time in our economy.”
Currently 13 stallions are part of the program, which started in 2012, and more than $219,000 in prize money has been awarded in a short time period since its inception.
“I think it’s really neat that the Super Sires is part of the Tom Powers,” says non-pro exhibitor Becky Galyean. “We don’t get to show outside very often, and Tom makes it a real prestigious event to show in. I hope they keep it up.”
The first three years saw only two classes, with a Limited Non-Pro 3-Year-Old Western Pleasure and an Open Non-Pro 3- Year-Old Western Pleasure. This year saw the introduction of a new Non-Pro Longe Line class.
Sante Medical Aesthetics Yearling Longe Line
Winner: Touch N Go Show (by A Touch Of Sudden)
Owner/Exhibitor: Kurt Heling
If you’re an accountant, there’s always a certain time of year when you’re relegated to the office chair instead of the saddle. For Kurt Heling of De Pere, Wisconsin, that’s always the case from January until April 15. Therefore, when it comes to showing horses, he knows he doesn’t have the time needed to be successful in the saddle. However, a yearling’s short attention span is the perfect amount of time he can fit into his schedule.
“My time is limited,” Heling says. “With yearlings, if I can work them for 20-30 minutes a day, that’s all they can handle anyway. I can go to four or five shows with them per year, and it’s perfect. There’s not as much of a time commitment with longe liners as there are with some riders.”
When Heling was ready to buy a new horse in 2015, trainer Mark Zietler found one with Wayne Davis, a stud colt by A Touch Of Sudden that immediately caught Heling’s eye.
“Wayne raised the colt and told Mark he needed to come see him,” Heling recalls. “He called me and said he found the one for me. He said he was really nice, so I might have to leave him a stud.”
He continues, “He has some kind of presence about him. You look at him and the first thing you notice is that he has a pretty face, he’s put together well, and just good-legged.”
Click here to read the complete article186 – August/September, 2016
