Amateur Kari Jewell of Walcott, Iowa recognized she was looking for a unicorn while horse shopping and all indications are that she has found it with the recent purchase of the 2008 brown gelding, KM Zip Me Suddenly. “Jack” who is by leading stallion RL Best Of Sudden was bred by Ken and Marilyn Masterson. He was owned by Jim Capron of Medina, Ohio and shown by his daughter, Gabrielle (Capron) Valco, who was married in October.
KM Zip Me Suddenly was the 2014 Congress Champion in the Novice Amateur Western Riding and returned the next year and won the 2015 Congress Reserve Hi-Point All-Around Amateur title which included Top-5 placings in Amateur Western Riding and Horsemanship. At the 2015 AQHA World Championship Show, he was the 2015 Amateur Level 2 Reserve Champion in Trail and Level 2 Bronze Champion in Western Riding. As a two-year-old while owned by Masterson Farms, he was third in the 2010 Equine Sports Medicine Challenge at the Reichert Celebration, Top-10 at the Congress in the Two-Year-Old Stakes class and was eighth at the AQHA World Championship Show in Two-Year-Old Western Pleasure. He has amassed over 700 AQHA points, attained his AQHA Championship, and multiple superiors.
“I’ve been leasing and showing my barn mate, Lauren Stepaniak’s horse, Native Iron, for the past couple of years,” Jewell explains. “I wanted to learn the trail and western riding, and Stan has been an awesome teacher, but he is going to be 24-years-old. So, as much as we hate it, and he will definitely hate it, we need to face the reality, that at some point, it will be time for him to retire.”
At the Congress this year, Kari and her Illinois-based trainer, Millissa Daurer, set out with high hopes to find the perfect horse to help Kari finish out her novice eligibility and still be able to step up and compete in the amateur events.
“Millissa started asking around at Congress, explaining that we needed a broke trail and western rider that could continue to teach me these events and would be honest, forgiving and able to eventually compete at the amateur level,” Kari explained. “Basically, we were in search of a unicorn. Most of the horses that we inquired about at Congress were absolutely not for sale, so we figured the search would take a while. We ended up leaving the Congress empty-handed but had agreed that we were going to be patient and wait for the right horse.” Jack pictured right with former owner, Gabrielle Valco.
A short while later at the AQHA World Show, Millissa approached trainer Michael Colvin who said he did have a horse available that he thought would fit the bill. Millissa rode Jack to try him out and felt he had the potential to be a good fit for Kari.
“So, as soon as we could, Millissa and I flew to Georgia so I could try Jack out. I watched Clint Ainsworth ride him first, and, then, I got on him and pretty much immediately knew that we had found the right horse,” Kari told us. “Jack seems to be the most patient and forgiving horse which is exactly what I need as I continue to try to progress as an all-around rider. Not to mention that he’s a pretty mover and just seems to enjoy his job!”
Trainer Millissa Daurer (pictured left with Jack) adds, “Jack is just such a phenomenal lead changer and has so much talent and feel over the poles. He is perfectly suited for what we were searching for. We can’t thank Clint, Michael, and the Capron family enough for the opportunity to own him and for being so amazing to work with. We are beyond excited to see what 2017 has in store!”
Jewell plans to show both Stan and Jack in 2017 with the hopes that Jack will carry her on to the next level. “Michael, Clint and Jack’s former owner, Gabrielle Valco, have had a lot of success with Jack, so I only hope we can follow in their footsteps. We are so grateful to them for the opportunity to own him and for being so wonderful to work with throughout the entire process.”
Jewell also recently had the opportunity to purchase Josh Weakly’s Congress Champion and Reserve AQHA World Champion Weanling Gelding, Be My Agent, so Kari will be making her entrance into the halter pen in 2017 under trainer Andy Staton’s guidance.
“I’m looking forward to working with Andy and Millissa has a lot of exciting things happening in her program, so we are revved for 2017!”
CLICK HERE to view Kari’s ad with Native Iron in the December issue of GoMag
