Vote Now for the 2006 USEF Horse of the Year
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
The tally has just begun and all members’ votes will be an integral part of deciding which of the nation’s leading equines will be named the Farnam®/ Platform™ • USEF Horse of the Year. Merely weeks away from the 2007 USEF Annual Meeting, all heads are turning to five finalists in anticipation of which horse will be adorned with the title—one of the most prestigious awards the USEF bestows.
These five stand-outs are among the very finest in our sport and each is worthy of the highest consideration for this celebrated honor. USEF members may place their votes today by going to http://www.usef.org/hoty/voting/index.php.
Authentic
Show Jumper
Owner: Abigail Wexner
The last three years have not only been a whirlwind for Authentic and his rider Beezie Madden, it has been an amazing medals haul. It began in 2004 when Authentic and Madden wowed crowds at the 2004 USEF Olympic Selection Trials, where he accumulated an unbelievable eight faults across six very challenging selection events. Later that year, he was one of the stars of Team USA in the show jumping competition at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, where he jumped the first three rounds with zero faults, and ultimately received a Gold Team medal. In 2005, the bay gelding amazed everyone by helping the American team show the world the power and talent of our contingent at the Samsung Super League by winning its first Nations Cup. In 2006, at the FEI World Equestrian Games, the horse and his rider won the Individual Silver medal and contributed to his team’s bringing home a Team Silver. Authentic made the show jumping world stand up and take notice by jumping nine rounds without dropping a rail (and only clipping a water obstacle during one phase of competition). This was not the first time the stunning 11-year-old Warmblood would hold the world’s attention and cause crowds to leap to their feet.
2006 Accomplishments:
- Individual Silver medal – FEI World Equestrian Games, Aachen, Germany
- Team Silver medal – FEI World Equestrian Games, Aachen, Germany
- Winner – $25,000 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) Challenge Cup Florida Classic, Wellington
- Winner – $25,000 WEF Challenge Cup CSIO Wellington
- Winner – $43,037 RBC Financial Group Cup, Spruce Meadows, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Winner – $172,146 ATCO Power Queen Elizabeth Cup, Spruce Meadows, Canada
- 2nd Place – Nations Cup CSIO Aachen, Germany
- 3rd Place – Nations Cup CSIO Barcelona, Spain
Additional Accomplishments:
- In 2005, one of two mounts ridden by Beezie Madden, anchor rider, for the champion Nations Cup teams at four of eight Samsung Super League competitions, including being first individually at CSIO Hickstead
- Winner – 2005 $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational Grand Prix, Tampa
- Winner – 2005 $210,000 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Spruce Meadows
- Winner – 2005 $75,000 New Albany Classic Invitational Grand Prix, New Albany
- Winner – 2005 Irish Sport Council Classic CSIO Dublin
- Team Gold medal – 2004 Athens Olympic Games
- Winner – 2004 $25,000 WEF Challenge Cup
- Winner – 2003 Grand Prix CSI****, Maastricht
- Winner – 2003 Masters CSI***, Stuttgart
- Winner – 2003 Steele Open CSI****, Syracuse
CH Callaway’s Copyright
Saddlebred
Owner: Fox Grape Farms, Inc.
CH Callaway’s Copyright has raised the bar for his breed and forged an incredible competitive show record to rival the likes of American Saddlebred’s greatest horses – no easy feat and one that is certain to stand up alongside his predecessors for years to come. In a most impressive winning streak, this champion chestnut gelding won a sixth straight Fine Harness World's Grand Championship in 2006 with John T. Jones. Beginning in 1999, Callaway’s Copyright took the Saddlebred show world by storm, putting down his first in a string of wins in the Three-Year-Old Stallion/Gelding Stakes at the famed and revered Kentucky State Fair World Championship Horse Show, and this now-legendary champion hasn’t lost a class at the World Championship Horse Show since his initial victory. When he enters the show ring, there is no doubt that a true champion is in the midst as evidenced by the crowds roaring with approval. Such a striking Saddlebred, 10-year-old CH Callaway’s Copyright has even had his likeness featured on a wine label for the Chamonix winery.
2006 Accomplishments:
- Grand Champion – Fine Harness, Kentucky State Fair World Championship Horse Show
- Winner – Fine Harness Stallion/Gelding Stake, Kentucky State Fair World Championship Horse Show
- Winner – Fine Harness National Championship, American Royal National Championship
- Winner – Fine Harness Stallion/Gelding class, American Royal National Championship
Additional Accomplishments:
- Grand Champion – 2005 Fine Harness, Kentucky State Fair World Championship Horse Show
- Winner – 2005 Fine Harness Stallion/Gelding Stake, Kentucky State Fair World Championship Horse Show
- Grand Champion – 2004 Fine Harness, Kentucky State Fair World Championship Horse Show
- Winner – 2004 Fine Harness Stallion/Gelding Stake, Kentucky State Fair World Championship Horse Show
- Grand Champion – 2003 Fine Harness, Kentucky State Fair World Championship Horse Show
- Winner – 2003 Fine Harness Stallion/Gelding Stake, Kentucky State Fair World Championship Horse Show
- Grand Champion – 2002 Fine Harness, Kentucky State Fair World Championship Horse Show
- Winner – 2002 Fine Harness Stallion/Gelding Stake, Kentucky State Fair World Championship Horse Show
- Winner – 2002 Fine Harness Championship, Devon Horse Show
- Grand Champion – 2001 Fine Harness, Kentucky State Fair World Championship Horse Show
Floriano
Dressage
Owner: Stephen and Laurelyn Browning
2006 saw a bright and shining dressage horse come into his own – Floriano ridden by Steffen Peters. This extraordinary Westphalian gelding put all the pieces together and wrote a wonderful chapter in the story that was the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen, Germany. It began in June at the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Grand Prix Dressage Championship. The horse-and-rider combination absolutely dominated the competition, winning the grand prix, grand prix special and grand prix freestyle. This secured their place on the WEG team to compete in August. As the Games played out, Floriano stepped up his own game and led the American team into the individual competition. With his elegant transitions, Floriano and Peters, alongside his other teammates, were able to help bring home a Team Bronze medal for the U.S. and become one of our country’s fan favorites. He made his country proud with a fourth-place finish in the grand prix special, and a hard-fought sixth-place finish overall in the musical freestyle – the top placing for an American.
2006 Accomplishments:
- Highest-placed U.S. dressage horse at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games, Aachen, Germany
- 4th – Individual Grand Prix Special
- 6th – Individual Grand Prix
- 6th – Individual Final/Freestyle
- USDF Grand Prix Horse of the Year
- Winner – 2006 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Grand Prix Dressage Championship
- Winner – Grand Prix, CDI*** Burbank, CA
- Winner – Grand Prix Special, CDI*** Burbank, CA
- Winner – Grand Prix, CDI*** Del Mar, CA
- Reserve – Grand Prix Freestyle, CDI*** Del Mar, CA
Additional Accomplishments
- Winner – 2005 Grand Prix Invitational Las Vegas
- Highest-placed U.S. horse at the 2005 CDIO*** Aachen, Germany
- U.S. Bronze in 2005 Nations Cup
- Winner –Group One CDIO Grand Prix, CDIO***, Aachen, Germany
- 2005 USDF Horse of the Year – Grand Prix Reserve Champion
- First Alternate – 2004 U.S Olympic Dressage Team
Mister Nicadual
Reining
Owner: Jerry Kimmel
With only a limited amount of showing by two talented Western riders, in 2006, Mister Nicadual amassed $78,954 in National Reining Horse Association paychecks, not to mention the prize money awarded at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. This six-year-old American Quarter Horse epitomizes the qualities we love to see in champion reining horses – intelligence, ability to learn, willingness, and best of all, he is kind. Mister Nicadual is the type of horse that will welcome a youngster’s affectionate pet following an explosive and thrilling run in the show pen.
Nicknamed “Dually,” this electrifying horse qualified for the trip to Germany at the Adequan/USEF Open Reining Championship, where he put down an impressive 229.5 to earn his chance to dazzle the international crowds. Along with rider Tim McQuay, this energetic and show-stopping chestnut stallion came home from the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games with the Individual Silver medal, in addition to his Team Gold-medal honors. Just as important as the many medals and prizes he has won over the last year, Mister Nicadual gained the admiration and appreciation of thousands of fans of Western horse sports and reining all over the world.
2006 Accomplishments:
- Team Gold medal – FEI World Equestrian Games, Aachen, Germany (with Tim McQuay)
- Individual Silver medal – World Equestrian Games, Aachen, Germany (with Tim McQuay)
- Reserve Champion – Adequan/USEF Open Reining Championship, Lexington, KY (with Tim McQuay)
- Third Place – National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC), Katy, TX (with Todd Crawford)
- Fifth Place (Tie) – NRBC Open First Go (with Todd Crawford)
- Sixth Place – NRHA Derby, Oklahoma City, OK (First-round win; with Todd Crawford)
Additional Accomplishments:
- Winner – 2005 NRHA Open classes from Illinois to Texas
- 2003 NRHA Futurity money winner, Oklahoma City, OK
Selwood Park Deneuve
Half-Andalusian
Owner: Gareth Selwood
Over her five years in the show ring, Selwood Park Deneuve has won multiple national championships and reserves in halter and performance divisions, as well as consecutive International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association's High-Point Awards. Perhaps the nickname “Miss Versatility” is in order, as the pinto mare has garnered one of the most diverse list of champion titles across classes ever seen in the breed. The exceptional mare has not only racked up a list of awards an arm’s length long; she has become a great ambassador for the breed, showing extensively on the open show circuit and at USDF dressage and sport horse breeding events. Among her many honors this year are three national championship titles, two reserves and two top five finishes at the U.S. Nationals, not to mention the 11 regional champion wins and seven regional reserves—enough ribbons and awards to fill any tack room. The beautiful and prolific mare’s unprecedented performance has led to yet another award—being the first Half-Andalusian to accumulate enough points to receive her Lifetime Achievement Award from the IALHA, winning both the El Premio de Merito and El Premio do Oro in 2006.
2006 Accomplishments
- U.S. National Champion Saddle Seat Open
- U.S. National Champion Heritage Tack & Attire
- U.S. National Champion Walk/Trot Equitation 10 & Under (ridden by Michelle Meyers)
- U.S. National Reserve Champion Driving Open
- U.S. National Reserve Champion Driving Junior Horse
- U.S. National Top Five Dressage Suitability Amateur
- U.S. National Top Five Dressage Suitability, Open
- U.S. National Top Five Show Hack Open
- USEF Grand Champion Horse of the Year Half-Andalusian/Lusitano
- 11 Regional Champion Titles
- 7 Regional Reserve Champion Titles
- 8 Regional Top Ten Titles
Additional Accomplishments
- 2005 U.S. National Reserve Champion Heritage Tack & Attire
- 2005 U.S. National Top Five Hunt Seat Open
- 2005 U.S. National Top Five Hunt Seat Amateur
- 2005 U.S. National Top Five Western Pleasure Amateur
- 2004 U.S. National Reserve Champion Senior Mare
- 2004 U.S. National Top Five Hunt Seat Amateur
- 2004 U.S. National Top Five Dressage Suitability
- 2003 U.S. National Champion Junior Filly
- 2003 U.S. National Reserve Champion Western Pleasure Junior Horse
- 2003 U.S. National Top Five Hunt Seat Amateur
- 2003 U.S. National Top Five Hunt Seat Junior Horse
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