Amateur Shelly Germaine of Poulsbo, Washington had a run of bad luck a few years ago. She lost two all-around prospects within a couple of months of one another–one from colic and another from an abnormal brain aneurism. Despite these setbacks, it looks like her misfortune has changed around with her new horse, Leaguers Finale (“Spiderman”).
The four-year-old sorrel stallion by the great Certain Potential and out of Congress Champion, Leaguers Leadin Lady, is starting to make a name for himself in the all-around events. Spiderman is a throw back to the early years when horses could compete and be successful in both the english and western events. It is rare these days to find a horse that is competitive in both disciplines due to the industry being so specialized.
Leaguers Finale is a past top-10 placer in the Western Pleasure at the Congress and this year has a very busy schedule ahead of himself. He will be showing in the Green Trail, Junior Trail, Green Western Riding, and the Limited Open Four Year-old Western Pleasure Futurity with Bruce Vickery. He is also striding out for Stacy Huls in the Junior Hunter Under Saddle and Open Hunter Under Saddle Maturity. In addition, he will carry the owner, Shelly Germaine, into the pen for the Amateur Hunter Under Saddle.
Under the guidance of Bruce Vickery, Spiderman was crowned 2011 NSBA World Champions in Green Trail and Reserve World Champions in Junior Trail. They were also Reichert Reserve Champions in the Four Year-old Signature Open Trail and won the Junior Trail. They also claimed third place in their second appearance in the Junior Western Riding.
While Germaine is thankful for her recent success in the show ring, a few years ago she was dealt some major blows. “It was hard to fathom the string of bad luck we had in 2007. In over 25 years of showing horses, we had never had to deal with tragedies like this,” Germaine says, when talking about the two young horses she lost. “To help put the loss of our horses in the past, we attended the 2007 Reichert Celebration in Tulsa, Oklahoma as spectators instead of competitors. We watched the yearling sale which would turn out to be a life-changing event. This is when we made the decision to purchase Spiderman.”
Germaine adds, “Unannounced to us, Leaguers Finale would be much more than we originally thought, he was the only horse at the sale eligible for both western pleasure, and hunter under saddle futurities. Not only were we excited about the purchase of our young stallion, but our high hopes for an all around horse were once again revived.”
Originally named “Pup,” this stallion is sweet and easy to work with, Shelly says. After taking ownership and spending time with him, she noticed a superficial varicose vein that spreads across his right hip in the shape of a spider web. It was this unique trademark that resulted in them changing his name from “Pup” to “Spiderman.”
At the beginning of the year, Germaine pushed to get Spiderman ready for the hunter under saddle class at the Redbud. His success in Oklahoma showed that his days of being a one-class horse were over–he was now showing in six classes with three different riders.
At the 2011 Redbud, Vickery finished qualifying him in the Junior Trail while Stacy Huls rode him in the Junior Hunter Under Saddle and picked up eight points, ending up as reserve circuit champion. Additionally, Shelly showed in the Amateur Western Pleasure class where she continued to gather points and also picked up points in the Amateur Hunter Under Saddle. By the end of the qualifying season, Spiderman had found his rhythm and was qualified in Amateur Western Pleasure, Junior Trail, and Junior Hunter Under Saddle.
“This was exciting and rewarding for me since I hadn’t shown English in almost ten years at youth shows,” Germaine shares with GoHorseShow about riding in the hunter under saddle again. “Spiderman enjoys being the star of the show as well–the bigger the crowd the more he enjoys it. There has always been a certain presence about him when he enters the show pen. It’s not something that you can teach a horse, they either love to show or they don’t, and thankfully, Spiderman loves to have an audience.”
Click here to view Leaguers Finale’s latest ad in the October issue of GoMag
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Shelly said she would like to thank her parents, Tom and Ardy Germaine, for supporting her and allowing her to continue her passion for horse showing. Also, her trainer, Bruce Vickery, for putting his heart and soul into Spiderman and showing the rest of the world what a beautiful, talented horse he has become. She also wants to thank Brad Ost and Keith Boutet for always being there to assist her in getting ready to show, and lastly, Germaine would like to thank all of the judges and show personnel for making the 2011 show season and amazing year and a dream come true for her and her new horse. She wishes everyone good luck at the Congress!
