It
was a ... CLICK HERE TO SEE AN AMAZING LIST OF WINNERS! |
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| Six offspring of 'Chip' win futurities | ||
Zips Chocolate Chip's owner, Ann Myers, was busy at this year's
Congress, handing out 165 dozen homemade "secret recipe" chocolate
chip cookies to winners who were sired by "Chip". The stallion's
offspring dominated the Western pleasure futurities by winning six of the nine
futurities held.
Myers said she and her housekeeper have a secret recipe (one of the ingredients being cinnamon) and bake the big batches each year before the Congress and the AQHA World Championship show. When a Chip wins, Myers is always at the gate, with her Tupperware container full of delicious cookies for the winners. One of Chips's offspring, Chipped In Chocolate, (pictured here) was the biggest money earner and the winner of the Open and Limited Open Divisions of the 2-Year-Old Snaffle Bit Western Pleasure, taking home a total of $21,613.73 The stallion, by Zips Chocolate Chip and out of The Belle Of Boston by Boston Mac, was shown by Bret Parrish, Pavo, Ga., for owners, Richard and Barbara Sokolowski, Ashland Ohio. Chips Original Cooki, also by Chip, was shown by Mitch Leckey, Peotone, Ill., for owners Tim and Lou Petty, Ada, Mich., to win the Limited Division of the Western Pleasure Maturity Shane Dowdy, Burleson, Texas, and Cleve Wells, Burleson, had a successful Congress on Chip's offspring. Dowdy showed One Red Hot Zip to win the Open and Limited divisions of the 3-Year-Old Snaffle Bit Western Pleasure. The gelding, by Zips Chocolate Chip and out of Tinks Windy Star by Might Tink, is owned by Misty Lane Hayre, Sheffield, Texas. Wells showed another Chip offspring, Hotroddin Zippo, for owners Clint and Sonja Mickelsen, Toledo, Wash., to win the Open Western Pleasure Maturity and the Junior Western Pleasure. Since both work out of Wells' Burleson facility, is there some sort of lucky horse feed being fed there? According to Dowdy, it is just great horses. "It takes great horses to make great horse trainers, " Dowdy said. One of the great horses included One Red Hot Zip, "Charlie." Dowdy said Charlie has been a great horse from the start. "He is the kind of horse that makes a trainer look good," Dowdy said. Dowdy said when he broke the colt as a yearling, he was already a natural loper. Dowdy, shunning any credit, said the colt basically broke himself. Hayre, Charlie's owner, was second in the 15-18 Western Pleasure with him. Hayre also was the All-Around Youth Exhibitor earned from wins while riding Charlie, Sonnys Black Gold and A Real Chance View. Dowdy also showed Zippos Sheik, owned by Kenneth and Nancy Masterson, Memphis, Tenn., to place fifth in the Open and Limited divisions of the Western Pleasure Maturity and fifth in the Junior Western pleasure. "Sheik" is a 5-year-Old stallion by Zippo Pine Bar and out of Sheiks Cover by Sheiks Image. Dowdy was also forth in the Senior Western Pleasure, riding Shine My Zipper, owned by Dene Shaver, Lancaster, California. Dowdy said the important thing for him when he gets to big shows such as the Congress, is that the horses are ready to show. "Get to the show ready," Dowdy said. "What you do after that is just maintenance." Wells won the Junior Western Pleasure for the second year in a row, making this his third Congress Junior Western pleasure win, riding Hotrodddin Zippo. He rode Zippo Erin to the winners circle in the Senior Western Pleasure for owner Jerry Kimmell of Fort Worth, Texas. Wells said he is very appreciative and thankful for back-to-back wins, but says he would have been happy just to have placed in the top five. He was two-for-two with Hotroddin Zippo a 5-year-old sorrel stallion by Zips Chocolate Chip and out of The Sweet Hotrodder by Hotrodders Jet Set. "He is a great-minded horse and super talented," Wells said. "He wants to do what he is bred to do." Wells said "Hotrod" wants to go slow. The only task is maintaining the quality of movement. In preparation for the Congress, Wells said he ponied horses off the stallion so he would be at ease with horses coming through him and the heavy traffic associated with the large classes. Hotrod is owned by Clint and Sonja Mickelsen of Toledo, Wash., and will stand the 1998 breeding season at Bob Perry Quarter Horses in Valley View, Texas. The thing Wells likes most about his Senior Western Pleasure Champion, Zippo Erin, is that the mare is such a great trotter. He said this is an advantage because it promotes a good position on the rail for the lope. The mare is by Zippo Pine Bar out of Illini Skip Elena by Skip A Double. Erin's owner Kimmel, had just flown in from Chicago, Ill., where he was on a business trip, just in time for the finals of the Maturity. He had to fly that night back to Texas, but admitted that he had taken off his Congress win jacket only to sleep and took all of prizes home to Texas on his plane that night, including the saddle and the trophy. Kimmel shows Erin in the amateur Western Pleasure. Zippo Can Do was shown by Wells to third place in the 3-Year-Old Open Snaffle Bit for owner Paul Lawrence, Welch, Minn. Wells said plans for the Stallion, by Zippo Pine Bar and out of A Girl Named Jones by Jasper Jones, are to continue showing him next year in the Junior Western pleasure. The stallion will stand the 1998 breeding season at a site to be determined. Wells thinks the Congress is an extra tough horse show, particularly because of the hard ground that is tough on the horses. He offers a few "Congress tips" that he has learned over the years. He said it is very important to keep the horses feet moist, he packs their feet to keep the moisture in the hoof, picks soft ground to longe and rides early in the morning, just after the dirt has been worked, when it is soft and loose. He also said for the first few days after he arrives at the Congress he just longes his horses and gets them used to the surroundings. "The goal is to get ready and go," Wells said. "Not go and get ready." SEE CLEVE WELLS' TRAINING VIDEOS - JUST RELEASED! |
