(Brandon,
MB -- March 27, 2006 ) -- As
recently as 2003, Marie Elliott of
Brandon,
Manitoba was the Manitoba AQHA Justin
Amateur Rookie of the Year. She also ended up as 10th in
the Nation overall (Canada
and the US) in AQHA’s Justin
Rookie of the Year – Aged 50 and Over category in 2003. Building on
those Rookie accomplishments, Elliott has now earned her AQHA Amateur
Championship from points earned up to the end of 2005.
Elliott’s talented equine partner is Just Call Im Famous (a.k.a.
Einstein) a Canadian-bred Quarter Horse. Einstein is co-owned by Marie and her husband, coach and
mentor, Morris Elliott. They purchased
Einstein
in 2003, as a four-year-old from his breeders, David and Joan Lockie
of Broadview, SK. Einstein is a brown 1999 gelding sired by Zips Famous Amos and out
of Mistys
Crook. Marie said,
“Scott Lockie, our Farrier, had to talk me into going and looking at
Einstein,
because I didn’t want just a plain ol’ brown horse. Of course,
once I saw him I changed my mind. Now Scott teases me when he comes to
our barn, saying it’s time to shoe that plain ol’ brown horse!”
(Click
thumbnail for larger image)
Photo
by Marnie Somers: Morris & Marie Elliott
“What
I like best about Einstein”, said Elliott, “Is his willingness to co-operate,
to forgive my boo-boos and go on, so we can do our best. His funniest
character trait is that every time he can see me from our barn, if I
come out the back door of our house or I’m out in the yard, he just
screams for his feed.”
Elliott
started her horse show career early, as a five-year-old with a pony at
the local fairs. She won her first big trophy in a pony flat class at
the Brandon Winter Fair, and progressed to showing in Dressage, Barrel
Racing, and she also team roped and team penned.
As a
couple, the Elliotts spent about 10 years breaking and galloping
Thoroughbreds which eventually raced at the track in
Winnipeg. Marie said, “Later we
became involved in the PMU industry, and we bought a load of mares
from the
U.S.
One of those mares was a
really nice Appaloosa. Through her, we became interested in that breed
and showed for six years on the Appaloosa circuit in Manitoba. When Appaloosa shows began
to wind down in Manitoba, we became interested
in showing Quarter Horses.” Now retired from the PMU business, the
Elliotts keep a few good horses at home and have several carbon copies
of Einstein
waiting in the wings.
Elliott
began her AQHA show career in the Amateur Select Division in 2003.
That year, she and Einstein
also entered a few Novice Amateur classes where they earned
9.5 Novice points. She said, “But I soon learned that showing in
both divisions was just too much for me, and for Einstein,
so we concentrated on the Select classes. So, if you ever see me in an
AQHA Open class, I’m probably in there by mistake – having a
‘senior’s moment’”, she said. (Although they have earned 1
point in Open Halter and one-half a point each in Open Trail and Open
Hunter Under Saddle.)
This
dynamic duo’s obvious forte is the Select Classes where they have
earned 10 All-Around AQHA Select Amateur Champion trophy buckles in
three short show seasons. Elliott and Einstein
compete in Amateur Halter and the Select Amateur classes of
Showmanship, Western Pleasure, Western Horsemanship, Hunter Under
Saddle, Hunt Seat Equitation and Trail.
During their quest for the AQHA Amateur Championship, Elliott and Einstein racked up 5 Grand
and 7 Reserve Championships in Amateur Halter for 17 points, 4 AQHA
All-Around and 8 Reserve All-Around Amateur titles, and 55 Amateur
Performance points, as of the MQHA Thanksgiving Classic Quarter Horse
Shows in October, 2005. Hat’s off to Marie Elliott and Just
Call Im Famous, Manitoba’s
newest AQHA Amateur Champions.
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