By Catherine King
Memphis, TN – This year was a mix of the old with the new at the 39th Annual Paso Fino Grand National Show. Returning to the site of the show in the 1980s, Memphis was a familiar location, but new to those who haven’t shown in the past 13 years. The brand new Cowboy Mounted Shooting, Horse Soccer, and Obstacle Trail Challenge competitions were designed to bring in some new faces and add diversity to the show atmosphere. Another new aspect this year was the Ride a Paso attraction, which brought in many from the Memphis community to ride a Paso Fino for the first time.
Cowboy Mounted Shooting clinics were held every day, leading up to the official competition with the semi-finals Friday and final runs Saturday. Each day, attendance in the stands grew, and many spectators expressed interest in getting involved in the sport. When the dust finally settled, contestant Jerry Jacobs and his horse Mi Corazon were crowned the National Champions, having made four straight clean runs (no misses) to earn the Montana Silversmith belt buckle, donated by Mr. Don Schanche. Many feel that Cowboy Mounted Shooting has secured its spot as a permanent part of the Paso Fino Grand National Show.
Other fun attractions included live music entertainment, a live auction, and a Presidential Parade of Flags, featuring past Presidents of the PFHA. Horse soccer demonstrations were fun to watch, and exhibitors had a blast teaching their horses to play. The Paso Fino Horse Association Executive Director worked with Carmen Micheletti, National Show Chair, and her committee for months before the show to have all the plans set. Don says, “I want to thank the Memphis community for welcoming our show with open arms, including publicity from the newspapers and the Convention & Visitor’s Bureau for their support. We appreciate all the people who came out to ride and see our beautiful horses.”
Total prize money payouts this year were nearly $90,000. The largest money producer was the popular Fabulous Futurity Program, where owners make nomination payments for three years prior to the show and have the opportunity to win back the total purse money in their respective three-year-old class division – pleasure, performance, or classic fino. This year’s total payout from the program was over $35,000, with each of the Futurity class winners taking home just over $7,000. The winners were: Performance Futurity - Barbaro del Bosque, owned by Woodmont Stables and shown by Carlos J. Figueroa. Pleasure Futurity - Picadora de Eco, owned by Greg and Lori West and shown by Pat Figueroa. Fino Futurity -Alano IA, owned by Dick Miller and shown by Jorge Suarez.
This year’s judges worked the exhibitors hard, putting the finalists through a series of work-offs which included figure eights, serpentines, working down the sounding board, moving from a halt to a fino or largo, and more to prove their horses’ talent. There were many hard earned Grand National Champion titles this year, but as usual, the last day of the competition proved the toughest. The winner of the acclaimed Fino Stallions division was Jordan de JN, owned by Criadero La Quinta Real and shown by Ruben Ibarra. Performance Mares Grand National Champion was Mulan de AR-Kansas, owned by AR-Kansas Pepper Farm and shown by Jorge Suarez.'
The Grand National Show is scheduled next year in Lexington, KY from October 7-13, 2012. Admission is free, and we invite all to come out and join the excitement. For more information, visit the PFHA website, www.pfha.org. If you can’t attend, the entire 2012 show will be streamed online at www.pfhalive.com. For free information on the Paso Fino, please call 859-825-6000.
The Paso Fino Horse Association is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and enhancing the Paso Fino breed and maintaining the official registry. Since 1972, the mission of the association has been to expand the versatility of this naturally gaited breed, and to provide opportunities for riders to experience the smoothest ride in the world.
Photos:
137 892 1066and 892 137 8966: Fino Stallion Grand National Champion (Credit: Larry Williams Photography)
136 892 1052: Performance Mares Grand National Champion (Credit: Larry Williams Photography)
892 AL 2621: Cowboy Mounted Shooting National Champion (Credit: Larry Williams Photography)
892 065 4217: Trail Class Exhibitor
892 al 8475: Rick Meyer, 2ndplace Cowboy Mounted Shooting Competition
892 c 6193: Horse Soccer Demonstration
892 c 6648: Profeta de Besilu, owned by Mr. Benjamin Leon, Jr., is inducted into the PFHA Hall of Fame
DSC_0278: Paso Fino Cowboy Mounted Shooting National Champion Belt Buckle
892 a 7734: Presidential Parade of Flags
Memphis, TN – This year was a mix of the old with the new at the 39th Annual Paso Fino Grand National Show. Returning to the site of the show in the 1980s, Memphis was a familiar location, but new to those who haven’t shown in the past 13 years. The brand new Cowboy Mounted Shooting, Horse Soccer, and Obstacle Trail Challenge competitions were designed to bring in some new faces and add diversity to the show atmosphere. Another new aspect this year was the Ride a Paso attraction, which brought in many from the Memphis community to ride a Paso Fino for the first time.
Cowboy Mounted Shooting clinics were held every day, leading up to the official competition with the semi-finals Friday and final runs Saturday. Each day, attendance in the stands grew, and many spectators expressed interest in getting involved in the sport. When the dust finally settled, contestant Jerry Jacobs and his horse Mi Corazon were crowned the National Champions, having made four straight clean runs (no misses) to earn the Montana Silversmith belt buckle, donated by Mr. Don Schanche. Many feel that Cowboy Mounted Shooting has secured its spot as a permanent part of the Paso Fino Grand National Show.
Other fun attractions included live music entertainment, a live auction, and a Presidential Parade of Flags, featuring past Presidents of the PFHA. Horse soccer demonstrations were fun to watch, and exhibitors had a blast teaching their horses to play. The Paso Fino Horse Association Executive Director worked with Carmen Micheletti, National Show Chair, and her committee for months before the show to have all the plans set. Don says, “I want to thank the Memphis community for welcoming our show with open arms, including publicity from the newspapers and the Convention & Visitor’s Bureau for their support. We appreciate all the people who came out to ride and see our beautiful horses.”
Total prize money payouts this year were nearly $90,000. The largest money producer was the popular Fabulous Futurity Program, where owners make nomination payments for three years prior to the show and have the opportunity to win back the total purse money in their respective three-year-old class division – pleasure, performance, or classic fino. This year’s total payout from the program was over $35,000, with each of the Futurity class winners taking home just over $7,000. The winners were: Performance Futurity - Barbaro del Bosque, owned by Woodmont Stables and shown by Carlos J. Figueroa. Pleasure Futurity - Picadora de Eco, owned by Greg and Lori West and shown by Pat Figueroa. Fino Futurity -Alano IA, owned by Dick Miller and shown by Jorge Suarez.
This year’s judges worked the exhibitors hard, putting the finalists through a series of work-offs which included figure eights, serpentines, working down the sounding board, moving from a halt to a fino or largo, and more to prove their horses’ talent. There were many hard earned Grand National Champion titles this year, but as usual, the last day of the competition proved the toughest. The winner of the acclaimed Fino Stallions division was Jordan de JN, owned by Criadero La Quinta Real and shown by Ruben Ibarra. Performance Mares Grand National Champion was Mulan de AR-Kansas, owned by AR-Kansas Pepper Farm and shown by Jorge Suarez.'
The Grand National Show is scheduled next year in Lexington, KY from October 7-13, 2012. Admission is free, and we invite all to come out and join the excitement. For more information, visit the PFHA website, www.pfha.org. If you can’t attend, the entire 2012 show will be streamed online at www.pfhalive.com. For free information on the Paso Fino, please call 859-825-6000.
The Paso Fino Horse Association is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and enhancing the Paso Fino breed and maintaining the official registry. Since 1972, the mission of the association has been to expand the versatility of this naturally gaited breed, and to provide opportunities for riders to experience the smoothest ride in the world.
Photos:
137 892 1066and 892 137 8966: Fino Stallion Grand National Champion (Credit: Larry Williams Photography)
136 892 1052: Performance Mares Grand National Champion (Credit: Larry Williams Photography)
892 AL 2621: Cowboy Mounted Shooting National Champion (Credit: Larry Williams Photography)
892 065 4217: Trail Class Exhibitor
892 al 8475: Rick Meyer, 2ndplace Cowboy Mounted Shooting Competition
892 c 6193: Horse Soccer Demonstration
892 c 6648: Profeta de Besilu, owned by Mr. Benjamin Leon, Jr., is inducted into the PFHA Hall of Fame
DSC_0278: Paso Fino Cowboy Mounted Shooting National Champion Belt Buckle
892 a 7734: Presidential Parade of Flags
