(
Brandon
,
MB
–
February 15, 2005
) --- According to American
Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Show and Contest records as of
December 31, 2004, this prestigious title has been awarded 25 times
and only three times to Canadians. AQHA statistics indicate how
rarely this award is achieved. The live population of
registered American Quarter Horses is 3,147,151 worldwide, of which
225,164 are in
Canada. Total AQHA membership is 347,911 of which 36,322 are amateurs,
according to the 2003 AQHA Annual Report.
In order
to win an Amateur Supreme Championship, an exhibitor must earn 50 or
more points with one horse, in five or more shows or contests, under
five or more different judges. Of the 50 points, a minimum of 15
points must be earned in amateur halter classes, and a minimum of 20
points (five points in each of four categories) must be earned in
amateur performance events. The remaining 15 points may be accumulated
in amateur halter and/or amateur performance events.
Canada’s first AQHA Amateur Supreme Championship was earned in 1995 by
Joanne Baines Dolan of
Edmonton,
Alberta. Dolan’s equine partner was Skips
Zan Parr Tee, a 1984 sorrel gelding, which she still owns
today. The 1984 sorrel gelding is sired by Skip
Zan Parr and out of Salty
Tee Pot. The breeders were Wilfred and Victoria Fulks of Spruce Grove,
Alberta.
It would
be nine years until any other Canadian amateurs would earn an Amateur
Supreme Championship. But 2004 was a very good year for
Canada! Eryn Butterfield of Brandon, MB
and her AQHA gelding Zips
Legacey, were one of two horse and rider combinations to earn
this title. The other winner was Kenneth O’Donnell of Delaware,
ON and his AQHA gelding BSB Dont Ask Me.
Eryn
Butterfield is the proud breeder, trainer and owner of Zips
Legacey, a 1994 chestnut gelding sired by Zips Dynasty and out of Mexpressive.
Butterfield, 25, and Zips
Legacey competed between June of 1999 and August of 2004,
earning a total of 71 AQHA Amateur points in nine events, and has won
two AQHA Amateur titles: 2001 - AQHA Champion; 2004 – Supreme
Champion. Butterfield and Zips
Legacey also competed in Open events during this period,
earning an Open AQHA Championship in 2000.
Asked
about Zips
Legacey, Butterfield said, “His best quality is his mind.
Nothing fazes him.” What did earning this award means to her? She
responded, “I accomplished something that not too many people have.
And, I was happy to earn the first one to come to a Manitoba
amateur.”
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