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2019 IRHA Heber Show

By September 1, 2019September 6th, 2019News
irha heber reining horse show

Way to go Peggy Peterson! She won the Prime Time Non Pro and was reserve champion in the Limited Non Pro at the IRHA Heber Show on her mare, Holly Tinsel Shine.

Peggy writes:

There is quite a story behind this one, so bear with me! 2019 is the first year for Holly Tinsel Shine and me, so we’re certainly getting to know each other better. Even though it was me who put those first few months of riding on her, she is a ‘new’ horse, especially when talking about the show pen!

I was draw 7 in a class of 51 horses. I personally thought the judge at this last show was pretty tight with her scores as I heard VERY FEW 70’s or above. I think one of the Open classes was won with a 69! We also fought ground conditions for the first couple of days. Thank goodness Preston Kent had his tractor and drag hauled to the arena, which pretty much saved the show.

I was pretty happy to hear our score of 70.5 when I exited the show pen, but didn’t think it would hold. The IRHA has a lot of super talented non-pro riders who have a lot more time to ride their horses with their trainers than I. I took Holly back to the stalls, untacked her, and took her to the wash rack for a well-deserved bath followed by probably 30 minutes of braiding that mane. I loaded the trailer with my tack and all since I was done for the weekend (we were heading home on Sunday).

Later that afternoon, the president of the IRHA, Jim Mitchell, informed me that I was tied for 1st in the Limited Non-Pro class with Arielle Hacking and the Prime Time Non-Pro class with Kathy Roach. Wow – this sort of thing just doesn’t happen to me, seriously! We had 3 choices: do a run-off, agree to be co-champions and split the money/prizes, or if one of us didn’t want a run-off, the person who would want one would automatically be the winner. Oh boy… again, this sort of thing doesn’t happen to me! Arielle Hacking wanted the run-off; Kathy could not be found to discuss the options. Preston Kent outlined that I really had nothing to lose, Holly had plenty of time (like 6 hours) to rest, so give it a whirl.

A whirl it was… everyone who rides with Preston Kent pitched in to help me get ready for a run off. It was an amazing demonstration of team work! Holly Valerio and Terry Schroeder helped get all my things out of the trailer; Preston’s assistant, Kelen, took all those braids out and tacked up Holly for me; and of course, I had to get dressed back in the garb to go show!

Holly and I missed our first stop (it was the same pattern (10) – a run-in) but we seriously nailed everything else. I was so happy with her! We scored a 69.5; Arielle Hacking scored a 70.5 again, so she took the win. I feel so honored to have had the opportunity to compete with such a tough competitor! This gal shows well and looks great doing it while her horses always look so together.

It was probably total overkill to get everyone in the photo, but what fun! I seriously appreciate each and every person in that photo (and those who weren’t). What a fun way to wrap up the IRHA show season. Here’s to 2020!