Banks Ready’s AjPHA Presidential Project attracted a great crowd at the Tulsa March Mania horse show, all for the sake of charity! The Extreme Halter/Pleasure Competition was earmarked as a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The unique concept for the class mounted some of the best halter trainers aboard some of the best-known pleasure horses in the Paint industry.
Prior to the class, the exhibitors had to enter the arena without their horses to participate in the Calcutta portion of the event. Spectators were able to bid on the team that they felt would win the competition.
J.T. Mitchell aboard Rugged Zipper won the bidding contest as Rugged Zipper’s owner, Tohnni Jones, and Anastasia and Terry Kull each bid $20,000 for a total of $40,000.
The event was a blast for the spectators as well as the exhibitors. For some, getting these pleasure horses around the Ford Truck arena was no comparison to the challenge of finding chaps that fit! These prior activities were almost as entertaining as the event itself.
The team of Floyd Danley and Star Studded Sensation were awarded the winners of the class which was judged by Andrea Simons. Danley amused the crowd and the Simons by loping a circle around her during the class.
Kevin and Nancy Smith purchased the winning team and were entitled to half of the money raised. Instead, they donated it back to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
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Fullerton aboard Maximum Zippo was purchased by Betty Dietrich and won Reserve. Some of the other participants were:
- David Boggs and “A Good Time To Shine” purchased by Ron Shelly
- Dewey Smith and “CC Good Bars Shiny Jet” purchased by Kelly Warner
- Kevin Hood and “Just Say It” purchased by Gabby Wokee
- J.T. Mitchell and “Rugged Zipper” purchased by Tohnni Jones and Anastasia & Terry Kull
- Casey West and “Gold In My Zipper” purchased by Renee Jobe
- Tim Finkenbinder and “Iron Chef” purchased by Toni & Ron Lenhart and Susan & Dennis Prince (Finkenbinder wore a fake moustache to imitate trainer Mike Hachtel)
The event brought in an incredible $50,000 for the Make-A-Wish foundation which raised enough to award 10 wishes to the Make-A-Wish children of the Tulsa area.
Jane Rohweder, the Director of Marketing and Special Events from Make-A-Wish of the Tulsa area said, “We are incredibly grateful to the organizers of the March Mania Horse Show and Banks Ready for supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oklahoma. The generosity of the participants was amazing and will allow us to grant ten wishes to the pending wish kids.”
Rohweder attended the event with Ethan, a wish ambassador. Ethan is from Tulsa and is 8 years old. His wish was to meet Peter Pan, and he received a trip to Disney World. Jane said Ethan loved the event and was familiar with the horses since he participates in a therapeutic riding program.
To see more pictures click on “Slide Show” to the right beneath the main photo.
