Roses And Chocolate definitely made an impression at the APHA World Championship Show. The gelding jumped to a lead in three high-point races and never looked back. Early world championships earned on the first and second days of the show—Preliminary Working Hunter, Senior Working Hunter and Senior Hunter Hack—kick-started the 8-year-old gelding’s quest for the All-Around Horse award. Picking up a reserve world championship in Utility Driving later in the week, along with a fourth in Senior Pleasure Driving and a sixth in Senior Hunter Under Saddle, “Marty” soon sat atop not only the All-Around Horse race, but also the High-Point English Horse and Super Gelding standings.
The January 2012 Paint Horse Journal will feature Marty’s complete story, along with other highlights and champions from the 2011 APHA World Championship Show. Don’t miss this special issue—subscribe today at www.painthorsejournal.com.
World Champion Stats
Horse: Roses And Chocolate, 2003 sorrel overo gelding
Pedigree: Chocolua (QH) x Lil Pine Mardella
Exhibitors: Ryan Painter, Jerry Erickson, Lisa Ligon
Owner: Bret Sanders, Mansfield, Texas
Trainer: Jeffery Gibbs, Sanger, Texas
Breeder: Jody Johnson Holstad, Forest Lake, Minnesota
Classes & Placings:World Champion–Preliminary Working Hunter, Senior Working Hunter, Senior Hunter Hack; Reserve World Champion–Utility Driving; 4th–Senior Pleasure Driving; 6th–Senior Hunter Under Saddle
Prizes: Three-horse aluminum slant-load trailer, courtesy Hart Trailers; $1,000 cash, courtesy APHA; polar fleece show cooler, courtesy Big D; saddle pad, courtesy Purina; splint boots, courtesy Purina; 11″ x 14″ photograph, courtesy Montgomery Photographics; insulated carryall, courtesy Paint Horse Journal.
