Desarae and Bob Sim 2yr old RRD Close Range
The pinnacle event for Western Pleasure enthusiasts in
Australia is without doubt the National Pleasure Horse
Association’s Pleasure Celebration. Held annually in May,
this event draws contestants from across the nation and
beyond. Entries from New Caledonia and New Zealand added
an International flavour to this year’s Pleasure Celebration.
With numbers remaining about the same as last year, there
was a move to larger Amateur Classes, with one class,
the Amateur Limited Western Pleasure Stakes, having 28
entries. Amateur and Select Amateur Classes are continuing
to see growing participation.
Not only contestants, but also spectators, congregated in
their hoards at Sydney International Equestrian Centre,
eager to absorb the performances of the well trained and
superbly turned out horses that were competing for over
$60,000 in prize money. The traders booths are also a big
draw card, where everyone can go and shop for equipment,
saddlery items and the latest in western and English
fashions, as well as the latest rug fashions for their equine
partners.
The important people, the judges, were two American
accredited judges – Manita De Foor and Jennifer Goss. They
spent long days judging not only the feature events, which
carried the big prize money, but also the AQHA double judged
show, which were a AA (judged by Manita De Foor) and an A
show with Jennifer as the judge.
The “Showstopper” class, the Di Candilo Family sponsored
Page 60 • The Australian Quarter Horse Magazine • July • August 2015
ifer Goss
r and Jenn
Foo
Manita de
Cavallino Estate 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure Futurity was
the major draw card, and after the go round earlier in the
week, the Top Ten on show on Friday evening were perfectly
prepared for exhibition to the judges.
The two judges placings were announced separately, after
which the finalists lined up at the end of the arena waiting
for the aggregate winner to be announced. The last horse
left in the line up that got to do the winner’s lope down to the
award ceremony was Desarae and Bob Sims’ lovely roan RRD
Close Range. Desarae purchased the dam, the well-performed
Winderadeen Hot Lil Lisa, at the Winderadeen dispersal sale
2010 with a view to breeding her to Smoochin (imp). This
faith in her vision has proven a huge success.
This is Desaraes third NPHA 2-Year-Old Futurity winner
– surely a record! Her first, Winderadeen Gay Cee Gold
in 2002, her second, a daughter of Gay Cee Gold by HF
Somethin Hot, RRD Somethin to Cee in 2008, and now the
2015 win. All of her horses are trained by Rockin Horse
Ranch and this year it was the very successful Holly Johnson
who piloted her way to the Champion accolades. Take home
cheque to the winner of this $15,000 class was $7,500.
Second went to Kane Skopp on Teneille O’Brien’s MTC Feels
Good to be Mee, while the New Zealand entry owned by
Adrienne Hodgson, the handsome CP Surely the Best and
Natasha Humphries took out 3rd, and A League of her Roan
4th, ridden by Kyle Mobberley and owned by Pam and Wayne
Jones of Tasmania.