Sometimes things just come together perfectly, and it’s even better when it happens at the largest horse show of the year. That’s exactly what happened to Marilyn Masterson and KM WeKnowShesHot in the Select Amateur Western Pleasure at the Congress on Wednesday evening.
Marilyn and her Masterson Farms, LLC homebred mare “Mercedes” were named the unanimous Congress Champions under all four cards in a very deep class in the Celeste Arena. Although horses bred and owned by Masterson Farms have won countless titles at the Congress over the years, this is Marilyn’s very first Congress Championship. Congratulations Marilyn!
KM WeKnowShesHot is a gorgeous four-year-old sorrel mare by RL Best Of Sudden and is the result of three generations at Masterson Farms. Marilyn showed both her dam, WeKnowSheSomething and her grand dam, SheThinkSheSomething.
Originally, Marilyn wasn’t supposed to show at the Congress this year. Marilyn’s mare, KM Suddenly So Easy, who she has shown to major wins this year was, unfortunately, unable to show at the Congress so Marilyn had ruled out preparing for the class. Until she received a text from trainer Casey Willis.
“Casey had texted me a few days ago and asked what I thought about showing Mercedes (in the Select Amateur Western Pleasure),” Marilyn told us. “I was in Lexington, Kentucky with my parents, so I had to make a quick decision. I decided it would be fun to come back to Congress and ride her and see if it would work.”
Marilyn’s husband, Ken, admits he thought it was a good idea at the time. “It was kind of a conspiracy between Blair, Casey, and me to get Marilyn in the pen, but I knew she could do it,” he told us.
But first, Marilyn had to ride the mare…for the first time ever. “I had only ridden her three times before I showed her, and I had never been on her until the day before our class,” she admitted.
Looking back now, Ken realizes that “It was obviously the right decision. Marilyn showed her great and off the rail at times. Mercedes is a very confident and fearless mare and nothing seems to phase her.”
“She was great for me,” Marilyn said. “She’s a really sweet mare who wants to be a show horse.”
A show horse she most definitely is. Mercedes had an outstanding Congress with other wins in both the Open and Limited Maturity $10,000 Limited Horse Open Western Pleasure Stakes with Blair Townsend in the saddle. On Monday, she was also Reserve Congress Champion in the Junior Western Pleasure with Casey Willis with firsts on two cards. Mercedes started off the show by placing third in the Open Performance Halter Mares with Randy Jacobs.
“Our trainer Casey (Willis) is very superstitious, so we couldn’t get any of the win pictures taken until Mercedes was completely done showing,” Marilyn told us Thursday morning right after they had all their pictures taken with their win trophies. “I guess it worked!”
According to Ken, Mercedes was started slowly in her three-year-old year which clearly worked in her favor. She is the winner of $70,000 in earnings and has earned over 80 AQHA western pleasure points. In addition, not only is this beautiful mare a NSBA World Champion, but she has also won a number of futurities including the Tom Powers, the Little Futurity, and the Madness.
“Our future plans are to keep her and continue showing her,” Marilyn told us. “I love having three mares that I get to show next year. I’m a lucky lady.”
Ken and Marilyn Masterson would like to thank the great Masterson Farms team including Casey Willis, Blair Townsend, and Kaitlin LeBlanc for all their hard work getting their horses ready for the Congress. Their hard work and passion have not gone unnoticed and have made for a very successful Congress.
