Comedian Jeff Foxworthy has a funny joke that involves belt buckles. “You might be a redneck if someone asks to see your ID and you show them your belt buckle.”
All joking aside, for many, the buckle someone wears tells a lot about who they are as a person, a rider and what they hold dear. As an encore piece to Fashion Month at GoHorseShow, we asked several trainers and exhibitors about their favorite belt buckle. Was it their first, or most recent big win or sentimental for another reason?
Christine Hocutt-Senteney -The buckle I currently wear is the AQHA World Champion buckle that I won at the 2012 Select World in Horsemanship. The 2012 World buckle represents the culmination of the pursuit of a long-time dream – to win an AQHA World Championship title. I won it on a horse that I raised, Bellieve Hes Blazing, out of a mare that I showed very successfully, Bell Of The Barn. I won the Congress with Bell but the World Championship was always elusive. I won preliminary rounds several times but the sun, moon, and stars could not seem to line up for me in the finals. Winning my first AQHA World Championship on the only foal out of my beloved mare was not only a dream come true, but was a tribute to her as well. I remember crying when I won – excited of course that I had won – but also because I heard them announce her name as his dam and my name as the breeder and it was just such a great feeling. There is also an additional meaning for that win, as for my trainer Nancy Renfro, it was her first World Championship for a client. It was really a “family affair” that day and that buckle will forever remind of that!
Troy Compton – My buckle is sentimental because it is actually the only buckle that isn’t a trophy buckle. It was given to me by the late Sherrye Banks. Sherrye was Ken’s wife, and she had it made for me as a birthday present. She was one of the best people I’ve ever known. She died of cancer a couple of years after she gave it to me. I was a pallbearer at her funeral, and I wear it as a tribute to her.
Kathy Tobin – I wear the first AQHA World Show Champion Buckle I ever won; it was Select Trail in 2004. It’s special because it took me 46 years of showing quarter horses to finally win at the AQHA World Show, and, yes, there were no World Shows for most all of those years. I showed for the love of it, but once the World shows started, I made it my goal to try to win one. There was a lot of sweat, tears, and occasional doubts, but it all made my dreams come true! I still take it off my belt and store it in its original blue velvet case.
Ross Roark – The buckle I have now was custom made for me by Clay and Lori Walker after their stallion, Wincredible won the AQHA World back-to-back in 1998 and 1999. On the back is engraved, “To a great horseman and friend”. It was the first really good prospect that I bought as a weanling from Jerry Vawter that I fit and went on to be a great one. So, it’s sentimental for that reason. It is a Gist buckle that they designed the same way the PRCA buckles were designed.
Adam Wainscott – This isn’t a buckle I wear or will ever take out of the box, but its story is one that has great memories. I must also stress that buckles were a big thing between my dad and me. Over a year ago in February, my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. We didn’t know if we had days, weeks or even months with him. As it turned out we only had seven weeks. Those seven weeks were a whirlwind between juggling a business in Texas and needing to get horses qualified and customers’ goals met and my father being in Indiana. He always told me to go home and take care of my business because there was not anything I could do. So, I kind of obeyed him. I didn’t miss but one horse show and would go back and forth, catching red-eye flights and driving all through the night to see him as much as I could. The AQHA Convention was in Ft. Worth and I had plans to attend, as Angela Wade and I had won the Western Pleasure Honor Roll in our respective categories. After receiving our awards, long story short, I headed back to Indiana with this buckle in my carry on bag. As I walked through the door and gave my dad a hug, I told him I had something to show him. His eyes lit up, and I pulled the buckle out of my bag and gave it to him. He looked at it and told me how special it was. He also told me how proud he was of me and all the wonderful things I had gotten to see, do and experience. We talked for a while, but this was the last coherent conversation we had. So this buckle aside from the obvious accomplishment is one that I will cherish the memories made while getting it even more. I will always think of my dad when I look at it.
Barbara Liska – I have quite a few, but most memorable is at the 1976 Cow Palace Show where I won the Jr. Hunter Under Saddle. I stopped for awhile and then won the 2015 Smart Pak Level 1 Amateur 2 Year-Old Mares. It has been a great road with lots of memories. Now I watch and ride every step with my daughter, Deanna Searles, granddaughter, Taylor and grandson, Trent as they ride and show. I could not be prouder of all of them. It is so great to be an AQHA member, breeder, and exhibitor.
Terry Sartain – I wear a custom made buckle of On Cloud Nines. He was a three old Appaloosa Stallion and He was my first World Champion in 1977. He was also the 1977 National Grand Champion Stallion. He also ran official T-AAA on the race track as a two-year-old. He is the only Appaloosa horse to ever do that. I like the buckle because it represents, “Form to Function” in its truest sense of the word.
Steve Heckaman – Most of the time, I wear the NSBA Hall of Fame Rider buckle. It signifies being a member of the Quarter Million Dollar club of riders that have won in excess of $250,000 in NSBA approved competition. It was made by Gist and it is mostly three different types of gold and sapphires with the NSBA logo and the year it was earned. I like it because it represents years of hard work, having a lot of blessings and some great horses. It’s hard to win that much money nowadays so not everybody has one.
Leonard Berryhill – This is the buckle most dear to me because of a variety of reasons, and it is one I actually didn’t win. In 1983, I won my first AQHA World Championship on a palomino stallion my family had bred and raised, Skip N General. I’m sure there are not a lot of families with that claim, so, that win was and has always been very special to me. The thing is, back then the awards consisted of a trophy and a neck wreath. No buckle. Fast forward to 1991when I married Leigh Thompson. I had moved our operations to her family place in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma which was owned by her step-father, former AQHA president, Bill Thompson and her mother, Paula. They had always had a great admiration for Skip N General. When I moved him to our new home, it made for a wonderful relationship as Bill not only got see him out the window every day, he also got the joy of riding him. It’s 1992 and I’m still looking for my first world show buckle. Leigh had won one riding Skipa Stars Lace and I had been top three several times, but alas, no buckle. The biggest surprise of my life was under the Christmas tree that year and you can imagine the emotions when I opened and saw this buckle that Leigh had made for me. I wore it for years, even after I had won some of my own. One more thing that made this buckle even more dear to me is it was made by my great friend, the late Jerry Hull of Trophy Tack.
Jeff Johns – To me, each buckle I’ve been lucky enough to win is more than a title or trophy but it’s a memory. Currently, the buckle on my show belt is the one I received in 2014 at the AQHA World Show in Amateur Western Riding with Lopin For A Chex. This is one of my favorite show memories and is also my first and only AQHA World Championship that I’ve won in a riding event, so it’s very memorable. I also frequently swap this out though with other buckles I’ve won over the years. I also frequently wear my reserve trail buckle that I won with I Gotta Good Name and a reserve Western Riding buckle that I won with the late Majestic Scotch. Every time I change a buckle to a different one, it takes me back and allows me to remember some of the great times and rides I’ve had with different horses. I know a lot of people put emphasis on a certain buckle or win but to me, they’re all meaningful and it’s hard to over-emphasize one win/buckle or memory over another.
Elizabeth “Spike” Brewer – Interesting question – I don’t wear a belt unless I’m showing so I keep mine on a shelf in my house so I can see them every day. I have two that are the most sentimental and important to me. The first is the 2009 APHA World Champion Am. Jr. Western Pleasure with Shes Inviting, aka “Rosey”. She is the first World Champion Pleasure horse we raised and this is the last one my dad was alive for. He died two months after we won that buckle. I know he was so proud when we called and told him we had won. He had a love and passion for the breeding that is my main motivation. 
The second one is from 2012 when I was the unanimous World Champion Amateur Jr. Hunter Under Saddle with All Rise. He’s the only horse I have across the board with and I have a feeling I will never do that again. He is my once in a lifetime hunter under saddle horse that I feel raised the bar in the hunter under saddle arena. I sold him at the end of that show to Jennifer Schexnayder and he has continued his winning ways and is a 7X World Champion I think.
Charlie Cole – I’m kind of superstitious when it comes to belt buckles. Since I won my first one in 1981, I’ve only worn four different buckles. In 1981, I had set my goal to win the all-around cowboy buckle at Rawhide Ranch Summer Camp. I set my next goal to be an AQHA World Champion and finally retired my all around cowboy buckle in 1995 when I won the World in Jr Trail on Kluzos Kandy Kisses. Then, I wore that buckle until I won the Sr Western Pleasure at the 2006 World Show on Majestic, which was a dream of mine since I was a kid. Last year on Ima Petite Classic, I broke my own record for high score at the AQHA World Show in Western Riding, so that’s my current buckle.
Jason Martin – I probably change one out every couple years. Normally if one really is special, it will be my new one. My current belt buckle is our stallions, Slick By Design’s NFR 8th round win from last year in Las Vegas. It was a dream come true.
Larry Spratto – This is the buckle I won for the Senior Pleasure at the APHA World Show in 1993. I had been recently diagnosed with type one diabetes, doing five shots a day with about eight blood sugars tests a day. It was tough at the horse shows to maintain that regime. That win made me look at what can be done in spite of a few speed bumps, and I figured out how to balance it all out. Thanks to Rhonda and the great customers who understand.
Cathy Corrigan Frank – I usually don’t wear a belt buckle since my show shirts are longer, but when I do, it’s one I had made when I won the Amateur Reining at the Palomino World Show with Tuck R Command. John Slack won the Sr. Reining the same year on the same horse, so instead of getting two buckles, they combined the two wins into one buckle. I have been very fortunate and collected many that my horses have won over the years including three world show champion buckles, but I have a problem wearing a buckle I didn’t personally win.
Allen Mitchels – The buckle I wear now is for being the current NSBA President. When I was first asked whether I wanted a ring or buckle, my first inclination was to get a ring since I had worn a buckle for fourteen years that my father, Larry, wore until he passed away. It was a cutting buckle that I had won on my father’s horse, Pure Olena, and it was very special to me. However, I decided to get the NSBA President’s buckle because it is more visible than the ring. I wanted people to see how proud and honored I am to be involved with such a dynamic and forward-thinking organization like NSBA.
Hilary Reinhard – I wear the first buckle I ever won. It was 1991, and I was a freshman in high school. The California Jamboree gave a novice youth buckle before AQHA started the novice classes. I was tied with another kid going into the last class. I won the class and the buckle. I was so excited. It was a win where I had to be a winner to get the prize and I prevailed.
Debby Brehm – The buckle I wear is my 2013 Select World Champion Yearling Stallion buckle. My stallion, Kayotic, won the Select World, then my daughter Morgan showed at the Amateur World and won a World Championship, and finally the horse was shown by Ross Roark at the Open World and won that World Championship as well. Kayotic won the Triple Crown for Yearling Stallions that year.
Missy Thyfault – My favorite buckle would be from 2003 when I had a very good year on a horse named, Blue Chip Chocolate. I finally felt as if I had earned the right to call myself a legitimate “horse trainer” after I won that buckle, although I’d been at it for quite some time. In my eyes, that buckle represented proving something to my biggest critic (me). I still feel great when I put it on.
Laurel Champlin – I have two favorite belt buckles. One is the one I won as the Fiesta Del Sol Rodeo Queen in 1976 – a little-known fact about me. Isn’t it every little girl’s wish to be a rodeo queen? The next buckle was the first big futurity win for me. I was so 
excited, but the excitement was short-lived when someone stole the buckle out of my tack room the night after the futurity. A few months later, I received a package from the Houston Police that contained my belt buckle. Someone found it in a garbage can. The horse I was riding was SR Dorothies Star purchased by me from the Shelton Ranches and later sold to Marilyn Alkire. The mare produced some pretty nice halter horses.
Monica Hamm – The belt buckle I tend to wear the most is my 2009 AQHA World Champion buckle in Aged Geldings. This belt buckle is sentimental due to the fact that it was mine and my family’s first World Championship with RPL My Te Cheerful, “Henry”. The buckle holds importance to me for the fact that it was my second youth world and the year that I truly fell in love with showing halter. I love the design of this buckle because it is the older version with the full roped edge. This buckle also just holds so many memories of my time in the arena and the emotions of the hour long class and the work and preparation we put into this one moment.
Cleve Wells – Each buckle has a story because there is so much effort from my horse and myself. We have spent so much time together on a daily basis to produce a winning team. Some of the buckles my horses have won maybe were not my greatest achievements, but it was great for that horse and the story is the heart and desire to get there. Some horses are great and some horses have great moments and when they win you are proud for them. My most cherished buckle is from Zips Chocolate Chip. Winning the AQHA World was a dream, something you read about in magazines. The horses are your heroes and to ride one of the greatest horses that ever lived was awesome.
Jerry Erickson – The question asked which belt buckle do I wear, in reality, I wear two. The first world champion I rode was the great, Ruler I Am, in 1988. This win was especially gratifying because the previous world show he had basically run off with me. So not only was this the first time I had ridden a world champion, but the performance 
turn around from the previous year was amazing. I wear this belt buckle when judging. I keep a second belt buckle in the horse trailer and wear it whenever I show a performance halter horse. This buckle has assisted earning the halter points of four AQHA Champions. In 1982, I rode a mare named Birds Go Bruce who won the Sr Hunter Under Saddle at the Congress. This was the first Congress win for me. Her owner, Jack Finney, generously had this buckle made for me.
Dan Trein – The buckle I wear is the one I won with Vested Faith at the Congress in the Junior Western Pleasure in 2003. That mare was one of my favorite western pleasure horses of all-time. She swept the Congress Western Pleasure classes that year winning the Limited and Open Maturity, Junior Western Pleasure and the 12-14 Western Pleasure with Marissa Dalton. At the time, I think she was the first to sweep all the western pleasure classes. She was a neat mare because you literally got her out of a stall and went and showed her. You couldn’t prepare her much or she would run out of gas.
Debbie Kail – I wear an AQHA World Show Champion buckle that a special horse named, Tuff At Last, won. He won the AQHA World a total of seven times and was owned by Susie Johns and family. He was that once-in-a-lifetime horse for us.
Kaleena Weakly – I definitely now wear my 2014 AQHA World Champion Amateur Showmanship buckle when I show. Without a doubt, now and probably forever! It is my only AQHA World Champion buckle I have, and I won it with my favorite girl, Blondie. We put lots of hours, blood, sweat and tears into that buckle on top of it being my favorite class. It means the world to me, especially since we won it the year Jax was born. Anything is possible with hard work and determination.
Erin Mask – I always wear my AQHYA World Reserve World Champion Western Pleasure buckle. It is very special to me not only because it was my first world show buckle but because I was riding my favorite horse, Only Because Im Good. She is now retired, so it’s always like there’s a piece of her with me. It is important to me because no other horse will ever compare to her.
Linda Coakley – I have a buckle that is very special to me. It is my first AQHA World Show buckle. I was Reserve World Champion in the Select Showmanship. I had been dreaming of competing at the world show for 20 years and to make it into the finals the first year in the showmanship then finish reserve; I was ecstatic. I wear this buckle because it reminds me all the time that dreams do come true.
Karen Evans Mundy – I always wore the very first World Champion buckle I won for years. I wouldn’t wear any of the other buckles I won because the very first buckle was very special. Not that every other buckle was not just as special, it was just sentimental. It was in 1994 when I won the AQHA World Championship in the Amateur Hunt Seat Equitation.
Whitney Vicars – The belt buckles I’ve worn over the years have changed from time to time, but the one I currently wear I’ve worn since 2012. It’s my Amateur Horsemanship World Champion buckle that Southwestern Gunman and I won together. It meant so much to me to be a part of making him an AQHA World Champion for several reasons. My family bred, raised, trained, and we still show Gunner. His dam, Ms Southern Border, was my very first show horse, and his sire, Dress Western, my dad trained and showed to an AQHA World Champion title. It meant a lot to me to be able to add World Champion producer to their records because of the history my family had with these horses. Sissy (Ms Southern Border) took such great care of me and gave me my start and being able to show one of her babies is yet another blessing she gave me, so being successful with him is something I want to give back to her.
Becky George – I actually have two that I have in my chap bag. The first one is my NSBA World Champion buckle. It’s pretty special because I won it on one of my favorite horses ever, Mr Sudden Pleasure. My second buckle in there is a Top 5 buckle from the Congress in the Green Western Riding with another one of my favorites, RL Talk About Sudden.
Shannon Gillespie – I wear a buckle that I won in 2014 at the APHA World Show in Senior Western Pleasure with Seems Like Heaven. It was special to me for a couple reasons. First off, Seems Like Heaven is a horse we have had since he was a yearling. He’s always been close to my heart; he is very talented and has taught me so much as a horse trainer. Another reason this win/buckle was important to me is that another one of my most special all time horses, A Good Intention, was put down that day after a horrible infection and subsequent founder. I had won the Senior Western Pleasure in 2013 with him, and he would have been my entry in 2014 as well. Showing in that class was incredibly difficult and emotional for me, and I wasn’t sure I could do it. But “Eddie” took amazing care of me and gave me an extra special ride. It is really the most meaningful win of my career thus far.
