We would like to congratulate Jason Martin and Elis A Sleepin on taking home the gold trophy in the Senior Western Riding on Friday night at the AQHA World Championship Show with a score of a 236. For the past five years, this fabulous gelding has been owned by Carol and Kirsten Thomsen of Nicolaus, California.
“I couldn’t even watch him today because I was so nervous,” Kirsten told us right after the class. “I think I might have seen one lead change down the line. As the announcer got down to the top five, my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest.”
This win marks an astounding twelfth in a row in the Senior Western Riding for Highpoint Performance Horses at the AQHA World Show. In addition to Eli, Jason Martin also had two other horses in the Top 5.
Jason and Eli were first to go in the finals and they set the bar high for everyone who showed after them. “Eli already knows how to do his job,” says Jason, who told us this is just the third time he has ever shown Eli. “Troy Compton, Leonard Berryhill and Nancy Renfro-Alto did a nice job training him, so I really just had to stay out of his way.”
Kirsten adds, “When Eli was announced the winner, it was truly a dream come true.”
With Leonard Berryhill in 2011, Elis A Sleeping won the AQHA World Championship in the Junior Western Riding. The Thomsen Family bought him shortly after his win. Last year, Nancy Alto-Renfro placed third in the Senior Western Riding on Eli, but this is Eli’s first win in the Senior Western Riding.
“This win has been a long time coming,” Kirsten said.
Before the Congress, Jason Martin had only ever shown Elis A Sleepin once, and that was as a catch rider in May. At the Congress, the two came out on top with an impressive score of 233.5 earning them the Congress Champion title.
Next up for Eli is the Amateur Western Riding preliminaries on Monday with Kirsten. We wish them the best of luck.
Highpoint’s 12 Consecutive AQHA World Championship Senior Western Riding Wins
2005–MAJESTIC SCOTCH
2006–HARLEY D ZIP
2007–HARLEY D ZIP
2008–HARLEY D ZIP
2009–HARLEY D ZIP
2010–VITAL SIGNS ARE GOOD
2011–HARLEY D ZIP
2012–VITAL SIGNS ARE GOOD
2013–IMA PETITE CLASSIC
2014–DUNIT ON THE RANGE
2015–IMA PETITE CLASSIC
2016–ELIS A SLEEPIN
Photo © Kaleena Weakly for GoHorseShow
