Winning the first Saddlebred performance world’s title of the week Just About Perfect was driven to perfection by Lisa Strickland to claim the junior harness mare blue ribbon for an elated Ellyn Dorsey. The elegant mare had plenty of competition especially from the high trotting Xuxa, driven by Janet Crampton for Edmund Perwien. John Field drove the highly decorated Go Baby Go to third place honors for Betty Petit.
Also starting out the week on top, If I Had A Love continued his winning streak at Louisville with a victory pass in the junior stallion/gelding section. Nelson Green was again driving for Susan Phillips. A crowd pleaser since he debuted last year, Harlem’s C My Radiance left Freedom Hall with another reserve world’s title for trainer Pres Oder and owner Mary Jensen. Purchased right before UPHA Chapter 5, Frontline and Jimmy Miller have had a good season and they claimed the yellow prize in the 14-horse class.
Ten entries returned for the Thursday night’s showcase, the Junior Fine Harness Championship and the mare from early on Sunday night was back even stronger. Beautiful with every step and never backing an ear, Just About Perfect lived up to her name with a unanimous world’s grand champion title for Lisa Strickland and Ellyn Dorsey. Just as she had been in the mare qualifier, Xuxa was the closest competition again with Janet Crampton at the whip. The next six ribbons went to Frontline, Go Baby Go, Queensbury Jasmine, Harlem’s C My Radiance, Watermark’s Believe Me, and VHG Foxx Two Thousand.
Competition has picked up immensely in the ASHA Foundation Fine Harness Junior Exhibitor Driving Challenge as there was a group of nice horses competing for this year’s title. When all the cheering had died down Callaway’s Trade Wind was crowned the champion. Dakota Willimon drove the Callaway’s Blue Norther son for owner Randi Wightman and trainer Casey Crabtree. The cheers also rang out when Kendall Blue and It’s My Prerogative accepted the reserve champion ribbon for owner Sandra Salmen and trainer Bret Day. Adding to the depth of the championship class Ali Rosburg and By Honor Bound returned to the Ruth Gimpel Stables with a third place finish. Margaret Stewart and Michelle Chauvin, Prince Dante and Melissa Donovan, and Spot A Victory with John Trail rounded out the ribbon winners.
Every since the gray gelding Absolutely Fabulous made his first appearance in Freedom Hall he has been a crowd favorite and most of the time the judges’ favorite. For the third consecutive year he took Susan Phillips to the winner’s circle of the Amateur Ladies’ Fine Harness Stake under the direction of Nelson Green. This year John Conatser had Eleanor Pedersen and Metro Heirea primed for a grand performance resulting in a unanimous reserve decision. Also stepping up with a big performance was Warming Trend, the third place finisher driven by Stephanie Lackey Sanchez under the West Wind Stables banner.
Repeating their 2001 title, William Shatner and the Sultan’s Santana stallion Revival ruled the amateur gentlemen’s class with three first place votes. Melissa Moore again directed their winning performance which was followed in reserve by Larry Boyd and My Special Dream for Judith Heinbach. This too was a repeat title for the George Nash trained team.
The elegance of the Ladies Fine Harness class is always a sight to behold and this year Janet Kellett and CH Crystal Illusion delivered a unanimous win for Alde-Mar Farm. Also with unanimous votes, Melinda Moore and Cary’s Moonraker were the reserve world’s champions ahead of Lisa Strickland and Moore’s former gaited mare, the extremely popular Purfectly Purrfect.
Thursday night’s 13-horse Amateur Fine Harness Championship would prove to be an extremely entertaining class for the exhibitors and spectators.There were several years of driving experience represented along with a few newcomers who got a couple of the ribbons. William Shatner and Susan Phillips have met many times before and on this night Shatner turned the tables defeating last year’s amateur world’s grand champion [Absolutely Fabulous] with a picture perfect performance by Revival. The crowd could hear Susan Phillips ask her gray horse for another pass as they were called from the line up as the reserve world’s champions. Also having been in the mix many times before Janet Kellett and Crystal Illusion were third among the all-star cast.
As has been the formula for several years, Larry Boyd qualifies My Special Dream and owner Judith Heinbach shows him back in the amateur championship. She was at the whip for a fourth place finish this year having switched places with Crystal Illusion from last year. Misdee Wrigley and Metaphor were next in line for a ribbon, followed by Stephanie Sanchez and New York Trend, Danny Bugg with Very Presidential, and Ann Cannon behind CH Devoted To The Cause.
"I don't know what we will do with him [Revival] now," said winning trainer Melissa Moore. "I told Bill [Shatner] there's really nothing left for him to accomplish but he's such an easy horse to train and keep together I don't know what we'll do."
They were shown under the same ownership as four-year-olds; as five-year-olds they became rivals starting early in the year at River Ridge and finishing as Fine Harness World’s Grand Champion and Reserve World’s Grand Champion; and now at six Callaway’s Copyright and Kalarama’s New Sensation would meet again with the world’s grand championship again on the line. Of the three open divisions this was the match up most everyone had penciled in since early in the year.
Wednesday night’s stallion/gelding class brought the first part of that formula to fruition as Copyright made his third performance of the season a unanimous decision. A most unique son of Supreme Heir, Copyright has shown an abundance of athletic ability since Larry Hodge won a two-year-old world’s championship with him and this time he was back even bigger and bolder. You could tell John Jones was having the time of his life driving the world’s champion for Fox Grape Farms. The royally bred stallion Call Me Ringo (Sultan’s Great Day x Eleanor Rigby) bounced up one side and down the other in a most impressive fashion to garner the reserve world’s title in the six horse class for Melissa Moore and William Shatner.
A few classes later six open mares made their way down the ramp into Freedom Hall. Sure enough the bay mare was there but she had unexpected competition from the 1996 Fine Harness World’s Grand Champion and 1999 Three-Gaited World’s Grand Champion CH A Sweet Treat. Kim Cowart and Emily Hess had moved Sweet Treat back to the harness division this year with Kim winning at Lexington and Emily winning at the Blue Ridge Classic just a few weeks prior to Louisville. Following that show Stonecroft Farm purchased the history making mare and put her back in training with Nelson Green who had driven her to the Fine Harness Worlds’ Grand Championship in ‘96.