Equine Obituary - CH Sprinkles
Monday, September 21, 2015
CH Sprinkles
One Of A Kind In Every Way
by Bob Funkhouser
Eleanor Rainbolt-Forbes grew up as a horsewoman with CH Sprinkles. They had a lot of fun in and out of the show ring.
There have been few like her. Whether you are a fan of “color” on an American Saddlebred or not, there was no getting around loving the late CH Sprinkles. It wouldn’t have mattered if she were purple; the bottom line is she was a Saddle Horse!
The 19-year-old daughter of Chubasco and Faraway Belle (by Supreme Sultan) died unexpectedly in August. She left behind many that loved her quirky ways and even more who loved her thrilling show ring performances. Her career started as a yearling with owner/breeder Michele Macfarlane and after many triumphs in hand moved to the harness division as a two and three-year-old. Her three-year-old season was also her first world’s title, a reserve in the Three-Year-Old Show Pleasure Driving class.
As a four-year-old the gifted mare started out the season with a few wins in park before returning to the fine harness division. Then that fall at the California Futurity she debuted in the gaited division, winning the amateur qualifier and championship. In 2001, Macfarlane and Sprinkles racked up an undefeated season on the west coast in the amateur division before shipping east to Kentucky and winning division one of the Adult Five-Gaited Pleasure qualifier and finishing as the Reserve World’s Champion of Champions. They would win that Louisville qualifier the next two years and in 2003 the spotted mare also wore her first blanket of roses in the Adult Five-Gaited Show Pleasure championship. They swept the division again in 2004 and after skipping Louisville in ’05, returned the next year to take reserve in the qualifier and win their third World’s Champion of Champions title.
In the summer of 2008 the popular mare had a new owner. Randy Cates teamed her with pert Eleanor Rainbolt-Forbes. They debuted in the junior exhibitor five-gaited division the following year winning both their classes at the Colorado Classic. It was a good season, winning their only class at Lexington and then taking on the best of the best in Freedom Hall where they were reserve in the 13 & under qualifier and came back to win the championship and Eleanor’s first blanket of roses.
Under the DeLovely training team of Todd Miles and Mark Turner the team of Sprinkles and Eleanor Rainbolt-Forbes had a most memorable 2010 season winning ASHA Horse Of The Year honors and Junior Exhibitor Five-Gaited Championships at Lexington, Louisville and Kansas City to capture a performance Triple Crown. They would win another World’s Champion of Champions title before moving to the mare’s final division in 2013 to be crowned World’s Champion of Champions Five-Gaited Pony and World’s Champion Five-Gaited Pony. Their final show ring appearances would be Louisville 2014 where they won the qualifier and were second in the championship, closing out a most remarkable career.
It’s hard to fathom she had a show career that spanned 18 years and seven different divisions with only two different riders/drivers to win 128 classes and 16 reserves. She’s also probably competed at as many different shows as any horse in history. CH Sprinkles was a crowd favorite no matter which coast or which region of the country in between.
One of the greatest things about Sprinkles is her popularity went far beyond the show ring. She was selected as a model for the famed BreyerFest series and when Eleanor presented her at BreyerFest, held at the Kentucky Horse Park, they were a huge hit and put the American Saddlebred in the spotlight for thousands of children and their parents.
She leaves a void at Desmar Stables and with Leslie, Caroline and Eleanor Rainbolt-Forbes, but with her time here, this rackin’, trottin’ entertainer put a smile on the faces of many when they witnessed her amazing desire and athletic ability. Yes, a true Saddle Horse!
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