October boasted two major GH breed shows—the Feathered Horse Classic (Perry, GA, Oct. 13-15) and the National Gypsy & Drum Horse Classic (Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, KY, October 17-18). GHA members were some of the stars in both shows.

Feathered Horse Classic

Bit-N-Heaven Stables’ Arkan placed 1st in Gypsy Geldings 4 & Over and pinned in Gypsy Western Pleasure WJ and Gypsy English Pleasure WT. Phantom placed 2nd out of 4 entrants in Gypsy Stallions 4 & Over. SD Laddie placed 2nd in Gypsy Western Pleasure WJ and in Gypsy English Pleasure WT out of 5 entrants. Rudy placed 5th out of 7 entrants in Gypsy Bred by Owner.

Golden Signature Farm’s SR Just Bucking Around, bred by Lucky Charm Ranch, placed 2nd in Gypsy Geldings 2-3 Years Old.

Grey Ghost Gypsy Horses’ G.G. Phantom was 1st out of 3 entrants in Gypsy Green Horse English Pleasure WT, 1st out of 5 in Gypsy English Pleasure WT, 1st out of 4 in Gypsy English Equitation WT, 6th out of 7 in Gypsy Dressage Suitability in Hand, and 4th out of 6 in Gypsy Favorite Gait.

Gypsy Fortune Farm’s Her Royale Highness placed 6th in Gypsy Mares 2-3 Years. Royale Queen of Hearts placed 2nd in Produce of Dam based on Her Royale Highness and Out of the Blue, who placed 4th out of 7 in Gypsy Bred by Owner and 4th out of 8 in Ground Obstacles in Hand.  In Gypsy Ground Driving in Harness, Her Royale Highness and Out of the Blue placed 1st and 2nd respectively.

LexLin Gypsy Ranch’s The Producer placed 3rd in Gypsy Stallions 4 & Over.

Stillwater Farm’s SFG Summer Rose, bred by Silver Feather Gypsies, earned 2 1sts, 5 2nds, one in Gypsy Mares 2-3 Years, 2 3rds, and 1 4th, most in performance classes.

Westmoreland Farm Gypsy Horses supplied the FHC’s Supreme Champion Gypsy, W. Lucky, Champion Gypsy Stallion, W. Lucky, Reserve Champion Stallion, W. Dazzle Bobby, and Champion Gypsy Mare, W. Blue Girl. W. Troy placed 3rd out of 14 in Gypsy Weanling & Yearling Colts and Geldings.

National Gypsy & Drum Horse Classic

Lise and Steve McNamara’s Blarney Stone Acres showed Clononeen Rossa, B.S.’s Tracey, B.S.’s Sailor, Deirdre’s Charm, B.S.’s Smooth Operator, and B.S.’s Matisse in a grand total of 45 entries covering the complete range of performance and halter. Handlers, riders, and drivers included associated training facility Full Circle Dressage, youths Kelsey McNamara and Irene Dupont, and amateur owner Lise McNamara, who showed B.S.’s Tracey in 4 driven and ridden classes, earning 3rds in all.  BSA racked up 13 1sts, 6 2nds, 8 3rds, 2 4ths, 2 5ths, and 3 6ths. The McNamaras, aided by Full Circle Dressage, have dedicated themselves to proving the worth of the GH in performance over the years by participating heavily in shows such as this.

Crab Creek Bed and Bale’s C.C. Sagebrush placed 6th out of 7 entrants in Gypsy Colts 2 & Under. Clononeen Bramble placed 5th out of 7 in Gypsy Senior Mares 6 Years & Over.

Dancing Water Stables’ Drum Horse Eclipse placed racked up 6 1st places in English, Dressage, and In Hand classes and tied for 1st out of 5 entrants in Freestyle under saddle. Highest level dressage test was First, Test 2.

Chelsea Richter showed Heaven Sent Gypsy Farm’s Blootiful in Gypsy/Drum Adult Amateur WT – Mares Open to All Riders and placed 3rd out of 8.

Lucky Star Stables’ Leslie Barnes showed Sterling Sylvia in Gypsy/Drum Adult Amateur Equitation W/T to place 4th out of 8 entrants. The pair also tied for 1st place in Freestyle under Saddle out of 5 entrants. Leslie showed Sylvia in Dressage Intro Level A and B Tests.

Image Setter Ranch, Inc., gave the ’09 NG&DHC its Supreme Champion Gypsy--I.S.’s Jimbo, its Champion Gypsy Stallion--I.S.’s Jimbo, its Reserve Champion Gypsy Mare--I.S.’s Jojo, and its Reserve Champion Gypsy Gelding--I.S.’s Henry, who also placed 3rd in the Gypsy & Drum Color Class out of 21 entrants. More than just pretty faces, Jimbo earned a 1st and 2nd in two driving classes, and Jojo 2 2nds under saddle and in harness.

Shamrock Farms showed S. Billy O’Brien, S. Swanky Lashes, and S. Silverado in a total of 8 entries and earned 3 1sts, 4 2nds, and 1 3rd in driving, saddleseat, and halter classes. Of particular note was Silverado’s 2nd out of 8 entrants in Gypsy Junior Stallions.

Silver Feather Gypsies supplied the Champion Drum Mare of the NG&DHC—Dances in Heather, daughter of SFG’s BWS Feather Dancer. Heather also placed 5th out of 14 entrants in In Hand Trail Open Gypsy/Drum and 2nd in Drum Horse Dressage Sport Horse in Hand Open. SFG Silver Phantom and Tullamore Dew pinned 6 times between them in halter and performance classes.

Stoney Creek Farm showed Secret Desire, SCF’s Secret Treasure, Rom Rye, and SCF’s Classic Harley in a grand total of 18 entries and pinned in 12 of them. Entries included driving, Western, English, dressage, and in hand classes. Of note was Secret Desire’s 2nd in Gypsy Senior Mares (7 entrants) and Rom Rye’s 3rd in Gypsy Senior Stallions (5 entrants).

The Pelton Vanners’ Lion King son D’Jango Jazz placed 1st in Gypsy/Drum 2” over Fences – WTC.

Ably shown by Villa Vanners’ trainer Jessica Caldwell, Mull of Kintyre (aka Romeo) placed 2nd in Gypsy Senior Stallions (5 entrants) and Villa Vanners Bullet 3rd in Gypsy Junior Stallions (8 entrants). Romeo placed 3rd in Gypsy/Drum Stallions – Pleasure Driving out of 3 entrants and V.V. Bullet placed 1st in Gypsy/Drum Green Horse WT – Stallions & Geldings Open to All Riders out of 6 entrants. Both pinned out of 21 entrants in the Gypsy & Drum Color Class.

Westmoreland Farm Gypsy Horses supplied the Reserve Champion Gypsy Stallion, W. Lucky, who placed 1st in the Gypsy Junior Stallion class out of 3 entrants. W. Blue Girl placed 2nd in Gypsy Fillies 2 & Under out of 6 entrants. W. Dazzling Bobby placed 2nd in the Gypsy & Drum Color Class out of 21 entrants.

One of the high points of the ’09 NG&DHC was a quadrille performed to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Making up the quadrille were Leslie Barnes on Sterling Sylvia, Jeanna Haggard on Killian’s Irish Red, Laura Green on LSS alumnus ‘Ol Blue Eyes, and Chelsea Richter on HSGF’s Blootiful. All riders wore short red jackets, black pants and hats, and, of course, The Glove. Ellis Barnes of LSS stole the show as The Werewolf.

Youth

Four youth riders associated with GHA member farms showed at the NG&DHC and deserve special recognition.

Showing for Blarney Stone Acres, Irene Dupont on Deirdre’s Charm placed 3rd out of 6 in Youth Showmanship Halter Gypsy/Drum 11-18 Years, 1st out of 3 in Gypsy/Drum Hunter under Saddle Equitation WT 12-18 Years, and 1st out of 10 in Gypsy/Drum Green Horse WT – Mares Open to All Riders.

BSA’s Kelsey McNamara riding gelding Clononeen Rossa placed 1st in Youth Showmanship Halter Gypsy/Drum 11 to 18 Years (5 entrants), 6th in Showmanship Halter Gypsy/Drum Open to All Ages (9 entrants), 1st in Trail Open Gypsy/Drum WT (9 entrants), and 1st in Costume Funny & Fancy (8 entrants). Kelsey also showed Blarney Stone’s Smooth Operator, a recent import from England, in Gypsy/Drum Hunter under Saddle Equitation WT 12-18, in which she earned a 2nd out of 3, and in Gypsy/Drum Green Horse WT – Mares Open to All Riders, in which she placed 2nd out of 6 entrants.

Carly Redback rode Heaven Sent Gypsy Farm’s Blootiful in Gypsy/Drum Hunter under Saddle Equitation WT 12-18 and placed 3rd out of 3 entrants, in Gypsy Drum Green Horse WT – Mares Open to All Riders and placed 5th out of 10, in Dressage Intro Level B and placed 6th out of 11.

Image Setter’s Bayonetta, ridden by 11-year-old Laura Ann Towson in the NG&DHC, placed 1st in Gypsy/Drum Hunter under Saddle WT 11 & Under, 4th in the crowded Gypsy/Drum Green Horse WT - Mares Open to All Riders, 1st in Gypsy/Drum Western WJ 11 & Under, and 6th in Gypsy/Drum Green Horse WJ Open to All Riders.

GHA would like to thank all members who participated in both shows. For more photos, see GHA’s presence on Facebook and its web site located at www.gypsyhorseassociation.org. Also, make plans to attend the 2010 Pomona Equine Affaire, where GHA will have a breed booth and stall, on February 4-7.  Several member farms will be in attendance.

Laura Ann Towson of Image Setter Ranch on I.S.'s Bayonetta, 2009 NG&DHC

Shamrock Farms' Silverado, 2009 NG&DHC.