Select Amateur Bonnie Sheren of Studio City, California is thrilled to be showing at this year’s Select World Championship Show in Amarillo with her two geldings; 14-year-old Dun In The Dark and 19-year-old Corporate Credit. However, Sheren recently added a new and exciting member to her family. Sheren is now the proud owner of the 2015 Select World All-Around Champion, Heza Radical Zip who has been owned by Susie Johns for the past nine years. The 11-year-old gelding was bred by Olivia Hoecker and is by Radical Rodder and out of Sonnys Last Zip.
“It happened very fast and I remember being in a bit of a state of disbelief that this multiple AQHA World and Congress Champion horse was actually mine,” Bonnie told us. “I’m incredibly grateful and honored to have this horse in my life. I know it was not an easy decision for Susie Johns and Jim and Deanna Searles to part with Troy.”
Heza Radical Zip (Troy) has amassed over 2,000 AQHA points and a long list of accolades that include 2012 Congress Senior Western Riding Champion (with Deanna Searles), 2015 Select World Champion All-Around Amateur, 2015 Select World Champion Trail, 2014 Select World Reserve Champion Western Riding, 2012 Select World Reserve Champion Horsemanship, and 2011
Select World Champion Horsemanship. (Pictured right, Susie Johns and Heza Radical Zip at 2015 Select World Show)
Sheren, with the help of her trainer, Jason Martin of Highpoint Performance Horses in Pilot Point, Texas, had been looking for a new horse for a while. In May, at a show in Del Mar, California, Martin thought the two might be a good match.
“Jason said he had a horse he wanted me to ride. I asked him which one and he told me not to worry about it,” Sheren recalls. “A few minutes, later he walked up the barn aisle with a horse that I thought I recognized. I asked him, ‘Is that who I think it is?’ and he said, ‘Just get on and let’s go ride.’ I did a little trail and some lead changes and a few days later I was the proud owner of Heza Radical Zip.”
“I wish them all the best of luck and success with Troy,” Susie Johns told us. “He was and still is my once-in-a-lifetime horse. Troy holds a very special place in my sons’ and my hearts. I will continue to keep a piece of him with me as I wear a bracelet that Lou Petty made and Deanna Searles gave me with his (tail) hair…memories!”
Jason Martin told us how this new team came about. “I rode Troy around at the AQHA World Show last year and I just thought he was a really kind and safe horse,” Martin recalls. “Troy was never really on the market but we were just at the right place at the right time. He is very smooth, and I thought he would work great for Bonnie. She is a timid rider, and, when she rode him in Del Mar, he rode beautifully for her.”
Sheren was already planning to show at the Redbud Spectacular in Oklahoma City with Dun In The Dark. Jason arranged to have Troy hauled directly to Oklahoma City from the Searles’ in Arizona for Sheren to show. (Pictured left).
“Since I had only ridden him the one time in Del Mar and given Troy’s show record and amazing success, I was petrified,” Sheren admits. “But Jason encouraged me to show him. There was definitely a learning curve, but I improved with each ride and won the Select Trail class under both judges the last day, picking up almost enough points to qualify in trail for the 2017 Select World.”
Sheren adds, “I love everything about this horse. He has quite the personality but is also so sweet and gentle. Nothing bothers him, not even my short legs bouncing on his sides. He loves his peppermints and expects them after every ride. When I was at Highpoint last month to ride before the NSBA World, I visited him every night at his stall to give him more treats. So, I guess
he will remain spoiled.”
For the remainder of the year, Sheren plans to concentrate on the trail with Troy. “My goal for next year will be to eventually show him in the Novice Amateur and Select Western Riding. I’ve never done horsemanship before and since he is a superstar in that event, I might try it.”
Sheren’s plans for the rest of the year are to show all three horses in the Select Trail at the Congress and show Corporate Credit and Dun It In The Dark in the Novice Amateur Western Riding. Sheren says that she is hoping to qualify all three for the Select World next year in trail and continue to learn and improve in the western riding.
For the immediate future, her concentration is on the Select World. This will be Sheren’s first time showing Corporate Credit and second time showing Dun In The Dark (pictured left) at the Select World.
“I’m so incredibly lucky to have these three partners to learn and improve my riding skills,” Bonnie says. “As a Select rider who has come to this level of showing very late in life, there is nothing like having horses that give you the confidence to go out there and do this. Of course, none of it would be possible without the trainers that have worked with me, encouraged me and have always had my best interest at heart.”
Bonnie would like to thank Jason Martin and Charlie Cole and everyone at Highpoint for all they do for her. She would also like to send a special thank you to Kerri McKay who has worked with her and Corporate Credit in California since the beginning of this year.
Good Luck Bonnie!
CLICK HERE to view her ad in the August issue of GoMag
Photos © Bonnie Sheren, Larry Williams, Shane Rux, Susie Johns
