ASHA Horse Of The Year: CH The Daily Lottery
Monday, February 10, 2020
It comes as no surprise that we again honor CH The Daily Lottery as the ASHA Horse Of The Year. What more can be said? What more can be done? Those were the exact thoughts of Misdee Wrigley Miller and the Kalarama team of Larry Hodge, Danny and Kelly Lockhart when considering the future of “Dan,” the 15-year-old son of world’s champion Sultan’s Great Day and Callaway’s Lady Lottery, a daughter of 1976 Five-Gaited World’s Grand Champion CH Will Shriver.
They decided the 2019 UPHA/American Royal’s Five-Gaited National Championship would be his final go and the gutsy gelding delivered his third consecutive and sixth career Five-Gaited National Championship. These last three with Danny Lockhart in the irons for Hillcroft Farm.
This of course followed their second consecutive World’s Grand Champion Five-Gaited and World’s Champion Five-Gaited Gelding performances at Louisville. Nominated as a 2019 USEF National Horse of Honor, Dan has three Five-Gaited World’s Grand Championships to his credit, having previously worn the roses with Peter Cowart for Ray and Nancy Hawley in 2014. They won the gelding stake that year as well.
Bred by Penny Lane Farm, CH The Daily Lottery debuted as a three-year-old winning with their trainer, Jon Wallace. The gelding was soon purchased by Dan and Dianna Martin and put in training at DeLovely Farm, where Mark Turner worked him.
The following year is when it all began. Mark put the Martin’s daughter, Mandy, in the irons for his junior season and when they hit the green shavings it was game over! World’s Champion of Champions Junior Five-Gaited and World’s Champion Junior Five-Gaited Stallion/Gelding were the first of 17 career world’s titles. That record alone has to put him on the shortest of lists when talking about the greatest gaited horse ever.
In fact, CH The Daily Lottery is the only horse in history to win Louisville championships in the Open, Junior, Amateur, and Junior Exhibitor divisions.
He is a six-time World’s Champion of Champions. In addition to Mandy Martin in the junior championship, he wore the amateur roses for Gabe Deknatel and trainer John Conatser in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
Following those thrilling years, he was purchased by Raymond and Lillian Shively and then Rainbow Princess Farm, returning to the direction of Mark Turner. He teamed Eleanor Rainbolt-Forbes to consecutive World’s Champion of Champions Junior Exhibitor Five-Gaited 14-17 performances, closing out their great two-year run with the 2016 Junior Exhibitor Five-Gaited 14-17 National Championship.
Misdee Wrigley Miller would be his final owner. “I was thrilled for the horse that he could go out on top, the way a great horse should,” said Danny Lockhart. “It was bittersweet. As much as I wanted it for him, I’m going to really miss working and showing him. He has taught me so much, I can’t thank him enough. This just goes to show what a class act Misdee is. She always puts her horses first.”
“On that Saturday night I wanted the class to be in slow motion,” said Misdee. “I wanted to slow it down and for it to never end and then he was so brilliant. I can’t explain all the emotions.”
Fueling our emotions for a great American Saddlebred is what “Dan” has done his entire career. And we can’t talk about how brilliant he has been in his senior years without mentioning the care of Jose “Maestro” Mejia. Make no mistake, this is his horse.
We all look forward to Dan’s final trips around Freedom Hall this coming August in his formal retirement. As Misdee said, when you see brilliance like that over and over again, you don’t want it to end.
Until then, CH The Daily Lottery is the ASHA Horse Of The Year.
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