Thirty horses vied for the $40,000 purse in the Three Year Old and Older Novice Horse Western Pleasure, and when the judge’s cards were tallied, two horses and riders tied to win the top prize in the Open division, earning $11,250 each.
Tyler Achtenhagen (left) showed Hotrod This to half the tie for Garcia Quarter Horses, while Brian Cox rode Really Sudden to the shared win for Rhonda Malone. Both horses are by AQHA stallion RL Best Of Sudden.
Achtenhagen also won an additional $3,000 for winning the Harris Bonus by tying to win the class while riding in a Harris saddle.
“I’ve had this horse about two years,” said Tyler Achtenhagen of the five-year-old bay gelding. “He has a really steady top line, and he’s just easy. He’s a lot of fun to ride and show, and in this class, he just kept getting better the more we went.” Known as ‘Jim Tom,’ the gelding is by RL Best Of Sudden and out of Hotroddin Good Time.
“It’s really great to have this Novice horse class for those horses that aren’t quite ready as two year olds or sometimes even as three year olds, because it gives them a second chance to go out and win,” Achtenhagen said. “We’re also very excited to show here at Roberts Arena. It’s such an awesome facility, and this has been a great show.”
Brian Cox (right) noted that he bought Really Sudden with the Novice Horse class in mind. They are pictured at right. “I bought him last year as a late three year old,” Cox said of the four year old sorrel gelding. “This is my second time to show him. He’s just such an honest horse. He has a great top line, lots of self-carriage and a lot of expression.”
This year marks the second time Cox has won or tied to win the event. “Two years ago, I won this class showing The Best Martini for the same owner, Rhonda Malone,” Cox said.
“The Novice Horse class has turned into a great class for the horse industry, because it allows us to compete with and market another horse for our clients, as well as bring additional horses along that might not have been ready as younger horses. And we had a great group of horses in the class this year.”
Really Sudden is by RL Best Of Sudden and out of Mae Daze.
Achtenhagen also won a third check for $1,000 as the top Limited rider in the class. Brandon Burr, who showed Im The Dude for Allen and Marilyn Wade, was the second highest placing Limited rider, winning $500. One Lazy Chip, shown by Jeff Cochran for James Plumb, earned $5,000 as the highest placing Maiden horse, while Im Just So Lazy, shown by Taft Dickerson for Delores Bennett won $2,500 as the second placing Maiden horse.
The class paid a total of eight places in its Open division. Rounding out the remaining placings were: Cranes Unseenmachine (by LL Cool Bay), shown by Cleve Wells for Chip and Jennifer Crain earning third and $5,000; Party Blazer (by Blazing Hot Forrest), shown by Denton Debuhr for Joanie Zelnio, fourth, $3,500; Im The Dude (Lazy Loper), shown by Brandon Burr for Allen and Marilyn Wade, fifth, $3,000; KM Win With The Best (RL Best Of Sudden), shown by Casey Willis for Masterson Farms LLC, sixth, $2,500; Pass Code (VS Code Red), shown by Erin Lieurance for Jodi Siamis, seventh and $2,000; and Lookin Pretty Hot (Only In The Moonlight), shown by Gil Galyean for Gil and Becky Galyean, eighth and $1,500.
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