GHS: Congratulations on being named the GoHorseShow.com reader of the month! You’ve been a supporter and reader of ours from the beginning and we are thrilled for your recent, unprecedented success at the Congress. (See Sharnai’s ad on page 6-7 in the current issue of GoMag.)
Sharnai: Thank you! Gohorseshow.com has been more than accommodating for all my advertising and horse show needs. It is easy to navigate and very informative!
GHS: So tell us how you came to own Hot Ones Only aka “Bruno”. Did you raise him or buy him?
Sharnai: I raised him from day one (you can even see a baby picture of him on his website.) He’s always been monstrous and very lazy. He is by Invitation Only. I still have his mom (Hot Shot Hit) and she’s in foal to Artful Investment for next year. We named him Bruno after my mom’s friend, Bruna.
GHS: Bruno won the Masters and Junior Hunter Under Saddle at the Congress with Beth Case and the Amateur Hunter Under Saddle with you – all as a two year old. I’m sure you knew he was a nice horse, but did you know he was THAT nice?
Sharnai: I don’t think you ever realize a horse is THAT nice until something incredible happens, like winning the Masters at the Congress. Everyone that has been around him, Beth, Charlie, and Jason, especially, loved him and we were all just looking forward to having such an exceptional horse to show for years to come that anything he did in the Masters was metaphorically “gravy”. We had no idea that he would go on to win the Masters, the Junior, and the Amateur, it’s unprecedented.
GHS: Tell us about preparing for and winning the Amateur Hunter Under Saddle at the Congress.
Sharnai: The last Friday night and Saturday morning of the Congress was somewhat of a blur. We were all in shock from winning the Masters Friday night but couldn’t celebrate much because Beth was telling me to meet her the next morning at 5 AM if I wanted to show him in the Amateur. OF COURSE, I wanted to show him, I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity like that. So off to bed we went for a couple hours, I got up and rode for maybe 15 minutes and the next thing I knew Beth was showing him in the Junior and then I was in the very next class, the Amateur. I knew he would take care of me but he was SO tired. We didn’t even want to walk him back to the stalls in between splits so it wouldn’t take anymore of his energy! It never crossed my mind that I was on a two year old, he doesn’t look like a two year old and he certainly doesn’t act or show like one. Showing him was a blast.
GHS: The 12 judges he showed to at the Congress gave him 9 firsts, 2 seconds and 1 third place so the judges obviously think he’s speical. What makes him special in your eyes?
Sharnai: All I kept saying after the Masters was “He’s my baby.” I really feel like he is. I remember the day he was born and the first day he was saddled to the first day I saw Beth ride him and everything in between. It could not be more rewarding to me to have a horse I raised turn out to be so exceptional. This is a new high for me.
GHS: What has Beth said since the big wins?
Sharnai: Just a little side note about Beth – anyone that knows her knows that this highly uncharacteristic of her, but all during the Junior Hunter Under Saddle, she couldn’t stop smiling. We were laughing while she was showing and when she came out she said “I just couldn’t stop. I thought he had been perfect the night before in the Masters and now he was even better. He was so good!”
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Some other comments that Beth said to me: “He is the best minded horse I have ever ridden.”
“We literally pulled him out of the stall and saddled him. I rode him for two minutes and showed him.”
“Someone told me before I went in the Junior I would be the first person to win the Master’s and the Junior the same year on the same horse and I said, ‘Thanks, but that probably won’t happen,’ then it did!”
“When Sharnai showed him the only thing I was worried about was if she could keep him going because he is so lazy, but she did and he looked great.”
“Since the day I picked him up from Sharnai’s to start riding him, he never told me no. Even when I could tell things were hard for him he always tried.”
GHS: You’ve mentioned to me that he had to come back from adversity – can you tell us more about that?
Sharnai: Toward the end of February this year we noticed that he was growing SO BIG, SO FAST, we decided to give him some time off. We knew he was a very nice horse so we didn’t want to pressure him too much, and we even thought about holding him back to show him as a three year old simply to give him enough time to mature. He spent a couple months at what I call the “Horse Spa,” also known as Whitesboro Equine Therapy, swimming every day and spending the rest of the day turned outside. By the end of April he seemed to be ready to continue his training and we haven’t regretted it since. He learned quickly from an early age and didn’t miss a beat. Also, about a week before the Congress he came down with a bad cold and the vet told us he wasn’t even going to be able to go, but with the help of our vet, Tony Rocconi coming to check on him every day he finally said two days before we left he could go.
GHS: What are your future plans with Bruno? Goals?
Sharnai: Heading into the Congress, it never crossed my mind to breed him anytime soon. I actually had someone email me about breeding to him because she saw his picture in a magazine and I responded by saying basically we’re not planning on collecting him but if we do next year I’ll let you know. However, after the Congress we have been overwhelmed by people that have fallen in love with him and want to secure a breeding as soon as possible. So after much deliberation we have decided to stand him to a limited number of mares at Highpoint Performance Horses. However, we are planning on showing him very little next year at select futurities and possibly in the pleasure driving. I would love to see him show at the World Show next year.
GHS: Anything else?
Sharnai: One last thing I would like to add, our hearts and prayers go out to Nancy and Luke Wilkerson and Susan and Stanley Scott. Brad was a great father, husband, and friend and we will miss him greatly. May God bless them at this time.
