Tuesday Evening Summary
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
We thought Monday night was stellar, and it was, but tonight’s session might have stepped it up to even another level. For those who preach doom and gloom for the American Saddlebred and Hackney you certainly couldn’t tell it here, in the house where legends are made.
The evening started off with the largest group of First Timers since ASHA started the program. Young and old alike filed into the arena at 5:30 to receive their welcome to Louisville tricolor ribbons, which were sponsored by Independent Insurance Company and Winner’s Circle Horse Equipment, take individual and group pictures, and play on the green shavings. Several “victory passes” were made by those in attendance for this program.
It was a good night for ASHA and the ASR as several of their Futurity classes were held with many top youngsters vying for the larger purses and the prestige that comes with a win in those events. Additionally, the amateur and amateur ladies classes were off the charts and the evening ended with a highly competitive Five-Gaited Mare Stake, to take another step closer to Saturday night’s grand finale. Kenny Smith and the black mare Divergent got a strong round of applause for her go-forward performance for the Goodman/Manilow family to capture that $10,000 Five-Gaited Mare Stake.
Taking the top money in the Futurity events this evening were Slamcracker (Undulata’s Nutcracker x Brookhill’s Glam Slam) and Bret Day in the Two-Year-Old Fine Harness section. This was the third consecutive year Day won this Futurity. Smart Fortune (Mountainview’s Heir To Fortune x Smart Asset), Day’s winner last year, took the Three-Year-Old Three-Gaited Futurity tonight with Danny Lockhart riding for Hillcroft Farm. Nancy Troutman had owner Carol Reedy in tears with her winning drive in the Three-Year-Old Fine Harness Futurity with Lovely, a daughter of Bob Bobaloo and Pleasantview’s Eye Kandy. Uptown Funk (Tango’s Parting Kiss x Night Night) was rocking it to take a deep Three-Year-Old Five-Gaited Futurity for Bob Brison and owners Amy and William Heuslein.
Winner of the Ladies Five-Gaited Mares last year, CH Fox Grape’s The Tiger Lily landed the Amateur Five-Gaited Mares title tonight with Elisabeth Goth in the irons. For the third consecutive year CH Memories Of Cabo nailed it win the Amateur Five-Gaited Stallion/Gelding event, giving Ali DeGray another world’s champion ride.
From the walk-trot division, Lexington winners Samur’s Cover Girl and Deirde Oakley continued their great season with a victory pass in the ladies amateur 15.2 & under section, giving Judd Stables another win for the week. Phyllis Brookshire debuted with Lexington’s Open Park winner The Great Oz in his first trimmed class to take the over two section of the ladies amateur division in what would be a good night for the Matt Shiflet Stables as a few classes later Shiflet would win the Three-Gaited 15.2 & Under Stake with the former gaited sensation, Roselane’s Angelo. This entry is owned by the Kellett family. One of the smoothest gentlemen riders out there, David Rudder topped the Amateur Gentlemen’s Three-Gaited class with his I’m A Mystery.
If you are a Hackney fan you got to see two great ones tonight. Heartland Demonstrator was all that to take another victory pass in a well filled and talented Amateur Ladies Harness Pony class. It was their fourth consecutive year to do so. Heartland High Tech will certainly go down in history as one of the greatest cob-tails ever. Finely chiseled and so four-cornered he took Ali DeGray to her third consecutive Amateur Ladies Hackney Pony World’s Championship.
To throw in a little diversity tonight the Roadster To Wagon class featured a really healthy seven entries and Steve Crabtree had a hand in both of the top two ribbons. He won it with Wesley Slobody’s Rumor Has It and he owned the reserve winner, Scatman Du, who was driven by Raymond Shively.
Round eight begins tomorrow morning at 9:00 with the munchkins going for the 8 & Under Walk and Trot Equitation title.
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