November 8-23, 2013, Oklahoma City

Senior Western Pleasure

AQHA Professional Horseman Karen Hornick and A Certain Vino snag gold in senior western pleasure

by Becky Newell
The American Quarter Horse Journal

AQHA Professional Horseman Karen Hornick got a late-night birthday present November 19 when she and AQHA Champion A Certain Vino won the world championship in senior western pleasure at the 2010 AQHA World Championship Show. And even though it wasn’t their birthdays, owner Lee Reeve and his daughter, Darcy, were just as pleased with the win.

This is the second time “Vino” has won the world title in senior western pleasure. He also won junior western pleasure twice at the 2007 and 2008 World Shows. Darcy nabbed three youth world titles with the 2003 gelding, whom Lee bought at the World Show when the gelding was a 2-year-old.

“When we get here, you can just call on him and he just gives 150 percent,” Karen told the Journal after the finals Friday night. “He just is an incredible horse.”

Lee and Darcy are proud of their horse.

“This is great,” Lee said. “It’s what everybody strives for, and we just feel real fortunate that we found him.”

Darcy advances to amateur next year, so she and Vino will be competing against a whole new group of exhibitors. But she’s not deterred.

“It really doesn’t bother me (to advance to amateur competition),” Darcy said. “You’re going to go to the same shows. I’m kinda ready for a change.”

And she admits that her trusty mount makes the task a lot easier.

Vino is up in the senior western riding November 20.