Jillane Brown and Chardonnay (Spooks Gotta Whiz x Hail Of A Princess x Custom Crome) took the championship titles in the All Star Reining Stakes Non-Pro Levels 2 & 3 Futurity at All American Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio last week.
“I bought her as a yearling from Eric Mendrysa, and he named her — he always comes up with the coolest names. I owe everything to Morgan Mosher, though, since she did all the training work on her — she is the bomb,” said Brown.
However, they had a rough start during trailering on their way to Congress that could have easily affected winning the championship title.
“She actually got hurt on the way here, and she’s got stitches in her hock. She’s been off about a week now, so we haven’t had a chance to prepare like we would have liked,” said Brown.
They’ve also had a great show record this year so far before their Congress win.
“Chardonnay won at the Williamson Show, and she won at the 100x in Tulsa, in a couple classes there. She also won [North American Reining Stakes] (NARS) back in July, so we’ve had a good year,” said Brown.
While the injury Chardonnay sustained right before Congress didn’t stop her from winning the championship title, it did make things harder when preparing for and during her winning ride.
“When schooling before the class, I just worked on her circles and tried to get her to steer well before we went in. Her turnaround was a little off today, but she still stopped big, and she really ran for me anyway. Normally, she’s an amazing stopper as it is,” said Brown.
While she has had a Congress win back in 2005, this was her first time winning a saddle—a long-time goal of hers.
“I’ve never won a saddle, and today I won two. In 2005 when I won, you couldn’t win saddles. It felt great to come back and win again,” Brown adds.
The last show of the year for Brown and Chardonnay will be the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity.
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