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 The
2006 KMSHA International Grand Championship Show attracted
hundreds of exhibitors and their horses from all across the
United States. Approximately 1,300 entries made the gate
call for the show’s 164 classes. Not only were entries
numbers up from 2005, but also individual horse numbers.
“This year’s show boasted 411 individual horses. That’s up
considerably from last year,” said Sandy McCart, show
manager.
The event began Monday, Oct.
9, at the Kentucky Horse Park with an examiners’ clinic
conducted by Dave Stefanic, KMSHA director. More than 30
members participated in the clinic – now required for all
examiners in order to renew their licenses. This was
followed by the first ever Executive and Advisory Board and
general membership meetings.
 The
show itself kicked off Tuesday with both regular and
Futurity classes. Amateurs, professional and very impressive
young people showed their fine horses before judges Tom
Davis, Steve Lampson and an unsuspecting Nancy Harding.
Michael Lynch; scheduled to be the third judge, was in an
auto accident the day before the show. (We are thankful to
report he suffered no serious injuries.) Nancy, who
was scheduled to be the ringmaster for the show, graciously
stepped up to become the 3rd judge. Thanks, Nancy, for
stepping in and saving the day.
Cherie Beatty, Director of
Judging, was on hand to answer exhibitor’s questions about
rules and the judges’ decisions. She spent many hours with
the rule book verifying the judge’s calls, answering
exhibitor’s questions, and keeping everyone on their toes.
At the end of each days events, Cherie met with the judges
to review the days classes and answer any questions or
concerns the judges had about specific instances in the
show. We appreciate her efforts to ensure all classes
were judged according to the standards set forth in the
rulebook and keeping exhibitors informed.
“We had great participation in
the majority of the classes,” Sandy said. “The amateur
classes all had a lot of entries and the youth classes were
huge. We tried to pay attention to the requests of the
membership by offering a large variety of classes for
juveniles, amateur, and novice riders. Opening those classes
for the Spotted Mountain Horses also helped. It gave those
owners and riders additional classes to show. We also
divided the Spotted Classes into gender specific divisions,
with Championships then held on Saturday night. The vast
majority of the exhibitor’s seemed pleased an enthusiastic
with the changes.”
One trainer, Allen Kesner, is
deaf, so his boss, Mark Williams, held up cards to tell him
when the change of gait was called. The system seemed to
work very well. “Allen is just the best there is with
horses,” Mark said. “He communicates with them so well. We
wouldn’t want anyone else working with our horses.”
Dusty, a KMSHA gelding, and
his owner, Mark Peterson, traveled the crowd and
demonstrated the horse’s many skills throughout the week.
Dusty easily followed his rider’s commands without the aid
of a bridle. He did counting tricks and gave out tiny
stuffed animals and kisses to the delighted spectators.
 The
KMSHA booth, in a new location this year, provided coffee
and doughnuts for participants and spectators each morning.
Tammera Porter, marketing, said hundreds of gallons of
coffee were made and consumed throughout the week. “We sold
tons of KMSHA merchandise, too,” she said. “Thanks to the
unseasonably cool weather, the new fleece jackets were
especially popular; as well as gloves and hats.”
Gail Shumaker and Judy Hart
volunteered at the booth and were a great asset throughout
the week. On hand from first thing in the morning until the
show ended each night, both ladies were assisting visitors
to the booth, selling merchandise, answering membership
questions and taking registration/certification
applications. (Although we did see Judy sneak away at
different intervals throughout the week to show her horse.)
Thank you to both of these ladies for their tireless help
all week.
The new “Wheel of Fortune” was
met with great enthusiam for spectators and participants of
the show. “A whole lot of people bought tickets and really
enjoyed the variety of prizes that were donated. Thanks to
several of our vendors and other sponsors, we had some
fabulous prizes – a beautiful western belt, english saddle,
meal vouchers for restaurants, and men’s & ladies’ watches –
to name a few. Judy was determined to win the raffle filly
Ben Rose donated,” Tammera said. “She bought $25 worth of
tickets every day for the Wheel of Fortune. When it came
time to draw for the filly I snagged someone walking by.
They drew Judy’s name and she was so happy.”
The raffle colt, donated to
the KMSHA Youth Program by Andrea Shaffer, was won by Peggy
Henry, Washington State. The colt has already been
transported across the U.S. and is settled in his new home
on the west coast. “They’d bought the ticket months ago and
forgotten about it,” Tammera said. “I could hear them
screaming from the stands when their name was called.”
Pat Sipes handled the big
screen marquee that projected the classes as they were
occurring. He also taped several of the classes to make the
new judge’s training video and is currently working on
putting together the highlights of the show. Look for the
tape to be available for purchase on the website in the near
future.
Also new this year were snack
baskets for sponsor box seats. Tracy Burchell, volunteer,
was in charge of the snack baskets placed in the box seats.
She bought a week’s worth of drinks and snacks and hauled
them back to the horse park in her horse trailer. In
addition to showing a number of horses at the show, she
managed to find time, each day, to fill the baskets,
distribute them to the box seats, and gather them again at
the end of the evening. Our thanks and appreciation to
Tracey and helper Shelly Watanabe for their hard work
throughout the week.
 The
KMSHA Juvenile Drill Team entertained the crowd prior to the
start of the Friday night performance with a lively
exhibition. The Licking River Riders continue to improve and
have received several state and national titles over the
years. Following the Friday night classes, KMSHA hosted the
membership party at the steeplechase barn. The Greg Austin
Band performed and Ben Rose cooked up a traditional down
home feast. Our thanks to Ben for always being on hand to
cook a delicious and hearty meal.
Saturday started with several
trail obstacle courses, followed by the newly offered gaming
classes. Congratulations to Jenna Ratliff and Goldfinger’s
Jenna Bug in the Barrel Races, Little Ann and Travis
Robinson in the Flag Race, and Cassie Thompson with New
Addition for the In-Gait Polebending class. These classes
were met with great success and gave spectators and
participants a chance to kick up their heels after a long
week of showing.
Saturday evening was kicked
off with a flag presentation organized by Tracy and
presented by the Lexington Fayette Urban County Police
Department. As the evening began,
awards were presented
for the various versatility competitions held throughout the
week. Winning the General Jackson Amateur Award was Terry
Kleier, Lazy K Ranch, Brookville, IN, on New Addition. The
James Powell Trainer Award went to Chris Tipton, Van Bert
Farms. A tough juvenile competitor throughout the week,
Jesse Bryson with Sweet Georgia Brown
was awarded the Carson Masters Juvenile Award. The newly
offered SMHA
Versatility award went to Julie Adams for Rockin’ Gait
Stables on Carbon’s
Swinging Sweetheart. The Junior Robinson Award went to
LWR Prince Valiant, owned by Gary and Lynette Blake and ridden
by Jason Stefanic. And proving once again the KMSH is as
good on the rail as they are on the trail, Travis Robinson
and Little Ann were awarded the Al Prewitt Versatility Award
for Don and Nancy Copeland, Hidden Barn Farm, California,
KY.
Unfortunately, the show was
halted briefly when a
spectator, Leroy Laye, had a heart attack in the stands.
Thankfully the EMT was on hand and worked with him, as did a
doctor also watching the show. The Horse Park was on top of
things and within minutes of hearing the 911 call was at the
arena, ensuring the safety of riders and horses when the
ambulance arrived. Several nurses appeared to help in the
long minutes while they waited for the ambulance. Leroy was
taken to a Lexington hospital and is now home and in good
condition. Thank you to Diana Wright for her assistance to
Leroy and his family during their time of need.
Temperatures dropped as the
action heated up, so many spectators broke out the blankets
and electric heaters. Ten beautiful entries made the gate
call for the Conformation Grand Championship with Jakes
Mirror and Derick Tipton for Trickle Farm of Collegeville,
PA taking the Grand Champion title.
After the juveniles, novices
and amateurs claimed their victories, the Country Trail
Pleasure Grand Championship and 7 entries were called to the
ring. Natalie Wright and Volz’s Sony, owned by Sue Lassanke
walked away with the Grand Championship title and defeated
the 05 Grand Champion Turner’s Secret
 Angel
ridden by Tim Little, who had to settle for reserve. Next
up, the Trail Pleasure Grand Championship. Sharp Dressed Man
with rider Derick Tipton for Shooting Star Ranch gave a
flawless performance, defeating the remaining 13 entries to
be deemed Grand Champion. Always a consistent and talented
performer, Shepherd’s Snowy River with Paul Willis for Chad
& Sandy Shepherd finished as reserve. Winning the title of
Western Pleasure Grand Champion was Jason Stefanic with Not
So Plain Jane for Classic Farm. Nine eye catching and
brilliant performers entered the ring for the Park Pleasure
Grand Championship. Never giving an inch, it was Jason
Stefanic up to claim the winning ride with Holy Knight for
owners, Norman & Phyllis Spalding. Gilpin’s Southern Comfort
and Henry Elam were there to claim reserve for owners
George & Patty Gilpin. A total of 16 entries made the gate
call for the last class of the evening, the Classic Pleasure
Grand Championship. After watching the talented group
perform, it was decided by the judges to cut that number to
7. After a hard battle, it was Henry Elam and Hit The Big
Time to claim all the glory as Grand Champion. LWR’s Prince
Valiant and Jason stepped up to claim reserve.
Thank you to all who
participated in this year’s event. And Thank you to all who
volunteered to help out. A show of this size could not be
done without you! For all of you who missed this year’s
event, we hope you will join us next year – October 16-20,
2007 as we conintue to promote and reward the best of the
best at the International Grand Championship.
KMSHA would like to extend
our appreciation to V.W. Perry for the use of his
photographs in preparation of this article.
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