Darcy Reeve and her two legendary horses, A Certain Vino (Vino) and Ima Petite Classic (Kramer) had an outstanding Congress this year bringing home a total of five Congress Championships. With Vino, Reeve won the Amateur Western Pleasure for the third time, Non Pro Maturity Western Pleasure, Non Pro Maturity Limited Western Pleasure, and her trainer, Karen Hornick, won the Open Maturity Western Pleasure.
With Kramer, Reeve won the Amateur Western Riding for the third time with an impressive score of 233. Kramer has a total of seven Congress Championships while Vino has amassed an astounding 27 Congress wins. Since Darcy had a great show this year, we asked her to share her 10 favorite things that she loved about Vino and Kramer during the 2015 Congress. Let’s find out what she had to say!
Top 10 Congress Loves with A Certain Vino (Vino)
1. His willingness to show. Vino will always do what you ask of him, and will always do his best to give you a perfect ride.
2. The fact that he loves showing as much as I do. Vino is the only horse I have ever been around that will race you to the pen to ride, but has to be dragged out.
3. How he can perform in any arena. At the Congress, there are two extremely different show pens that we have to go back and forth between. The Coliseum is much smaller than the Celeste, therefore, you have to have a different plan of attack for showing in there. Vino is so amazing at adapting to slowing down or being pushed forward, showing on or off the rail, and going when a gate is called, versus waiting for a spot to open up. He just lets you call the shots.
4. How he knows when to step up. No matter how many times you show to prepare for the Congress beforehand, you will never get the special performances that he will give at the Congress. He knows when there is more on the line than usual, and he will always come through.
5. Not having to have a bath. Okay, this is more a reason why Vino loves the Congress, but I love it because he loves it. If Vino was a child, he would be one that has to be bribed into the tub. The second you start running the water on him; he will stick his front leg straight out like he’s worried the water is going to be cold.
6. His game face. Like I have already stated, Vino loves his job and knows when to step up. Because of this, it’s not super imperative that he be ridiculously tired. When you put him in the cross ties to get him ready, you can see in his eyes that he is ready to roll.
7. His personality. Is that the most cliche answer to why people love their horses? Probably, but it’s always true. Vino has a swagger that matches his success so well. He knows that he is good, and will make sure everyone knows it.
8. The way he gets excited when he is the last one standing. Vino keeps his game face on until it’s time to announce the placings. If he wins a class, he will instantly start “celebrating” when the reserve horse leaves the rail to get their award. It’s something he’s done since he was two, and ten years later, he still acts the same!
9. How he likes to watch himself on the screen. This was the first year the Congress added a video screen to the corner of the Celeste Arena. While Vino was completely unfazed by it while showing, the second the judges turned their cards in, he was turning his neck to watch the screen behind him. I think he was just waiting to see how he looked after a few rounds of showing.
10. How he knows to pose for photos. After completing a class, there always seems to be a sea of people there to take pictures. This is Vino’s absolute favorite part. He poses for those pictures, especially if someone new gets in the shot with him.
Top 10 Congress Loves with Ima Petite Classic (Kramer)
1. The size of the western riding pattern in the Celeste. Like I mentioned above, the Celeste is a large arena, and it is ideal for setting a western riding pattern. Kramer has the best feeling lope of any horse I have ever rode (including Vino) and the size of the pattern really lets me get comfortable with a pace before it’s time to change.
2. The buckets of treats laying around. Yes, again more of a reason Kramer loves the Congress, but I love to spoil my ponies. Everywhere you turn, there’s bowls of candy and treats to take and Kramer knows this. He gets very offended if you put him back in his stall without giving him a minimum of 3 treats.
3. The trail setups. I love the way the trail patterns are setup at Congress. The trees to divide the arenas, the white walls and the new obstacles we haven’t seen yet make the trail a challenging endeavor at the Congress, but when Kramer is on, it’s my favorite place to show trail.
4. The visitors at the stalls. With two of Highpoint’s stallions being at the Congress this year, it drew a lot of people into our stalls. Kramer benefitted greatly from these visitors because he has learned how to beg like a dog, and so many of these people couldn’t resist passing him by without feeding him a peppermint or five.
5. The schedule. The scheduling wasn’t ideal for myself, but Kramer benefited greatly from it. He showed the first Tuesday, then had the next nine days off. I really think this helped him get settled in and develop a routine before the majority of his classes were shown.
6. The many arenas. Kramer is Kramer. At this point in his life, you don’t need to train much on him. He just really needs exercised. I love taking mini trail rides on him around to the different riding pens at Congress. There are so many options, and we might do a couple lead changes in one, then walk to another and go over some logs, then to another where we will mess around with whatever class I want to imagine him and myself showing in.
7. The number of supporters working for Highpoint. There are always more people working for Highpoint at the Congress than any other show, and every single one of them knows how special Kramer is. After returning from the show pen, he is ridiculously pampered.
8. Confusing people. One of my favorite past times is practicing trail then going to the rail and loping. So many people think that I only have one black horse and they “had no idea Vino did trail!”
9. Hearing Kramer’s name over the loud speaker. I absolutely adore Kramer. He’s like my pet. This horse has taught me more about riding than every other horse combined, and I believe he deserves the recognition more than any person.
10. The phone calls home. My dad is extremely busy in the fall and can rarely make it up to the Congress, and my mom always has so much going on, and despises the cold, so she skips it too. I love those phone calls home to tell my parents how I did. Especially on Kramer.
Thanks Darcy for sharing what you loved about your horses at Congress this year! We congratulate her on a great show and wish her luck at the upcoming AQHA World Show in Oklahoma City.
