Tom Powers

The Tom Powers Triple Challenge took place June 27-29 in Berrien Springs, Mich., where exhibitors met for three days of competition worth $173,231.

Kristin Klimmek's Mr After Shock dominated the 2-year-old classes, with Keith Whistle riding the horse to finish first in the Open and Kristin Klimmek taking home first in the Limited Open, Intermediate Non-Pro and Limited Non-Pro, and second place in the Non-Pro.

The Zippos After Shock gelding, out of Pros Royal Velvet by The Promoter, was bred by the MSU Merillat Equine Center, Adrian, Mich. Klimmek bought the horse from Ken Tugwell, an associate of Keith Whistle and Shirley Roth.

"I trust Shirley and Keith to find me a good 2-year-old," explained Klimmek, "so they usually find me one every year."

Klimmek, 21, a soon-to-be-senior at Saint Mary's University in her home state of Minnesota, spends summers training with Roth in Florida in between studying physics engineering. She has been working with Roth and Whistle since 1998, when Whistle was showing her mare, On An Impulse.

As far as physics engineering goes, Klimmek commented, "I really have no idea yet. Engineering is a good basis for a lot of things."

Mr After Shock made a pretty impressive run at Tom Powers, claiming a total of $8,719 in winnings, without being a trust purse qualifier.

"I was very happy with him," explained Klimmek. "It was a lot of tough competition. You never know what you're going to have that first time out with the 2-year-olds, and there were a lot of nice 2-year-olds. His advantage was that he's just so broke. He can go around and look the same all of the time."

Klimmek recently sold the gelding to Stanley and Susan Scott. She then purchased another 2-year-old from Shirley Roth named Image Of Spring.

"He was real sweet," recalled Klimmek about Mr After Shock. "He had a pretty good personality, mellow, laid back. He's always the best kind to show because he's one where you ride him for 15 minutes in the morning and then let him rest the rest of the day until just before the class."

Klimmek and Image Of Spring, a 2-year-old sorrel daughter of Image Of Kid out of Robin Be Cool by Ima Cool Skip, will be traveling to the Reichert Pleasure Celebration and then on to Congress.

Jay Starnes and Blondes Are Hot proved to be tough competition for Mr After Shock. Starnes and his mount placed second in the Open and Limited Open, and won the Intermediate Open and Non-Pro.

The 2-year-old Blazing Hot daughter, out of Promise Me Memories by Zippo Pine Bar, is registered sorrel but could almost pass for a palomino.

Or as the Summerton, S.C., native put it, "She tried to be."

Starnes' parents, Jackie and Cathy, purchased the mare from Joan Schroeder at the AQHA World Show as a yearling. Jay Starnes has been training the mare, getting her ready to take back to the World Show to compete.

"She's got a good personality," Starnes commented. "She's easy to train, calm, she's a nice mare to be around."

Starnes also made an appearance in the 3-Year-Old Non-Pro, where he finished first with another Blazing Hot horse, RL Just One Blaze. The 3-year-old chestnut gelding is out of Just One Zip by Zippo Pine Bar. In 2001, Starnes took home a first from the Congress, and Joan Schroeder placed third at the World with the gelding.

RL Just One Blaze was bred by Mary Roberts, Reddick, Fla., and is owned by Cathy and Jackie Starnes. The Starnes family purchased the horse from Roberts his yearling year. Starnes then started his training.

"He's a good show horse," Starnes stated. "He knows his job and he does it."

Jay Starnes showed the gelding at a few early shows in amateur classes to have him qualified for the World Show.

In the 2-Year-Old Color Breed Western Pleasure, Slightly Fancy carried Matt Baker to a first-place finish. The chestnut overo Slightly Zipped gelding is owned by Whispering Oak Farms. Matt Baker is currently working with the Oakley family in Pinnacle, N.C. Trainer Troy Oakley showed Slightly Zipped to numerous championships, and now the Oakley team has a chance to prove the young gelding.

3-year-old frenzy

Unlike the 2-year-old classes, the 3-year-olds had a wide variety of names appear in the winner's circle.

In the 3-Year-Old Open, Rusty Green rode Schroeder and Thompson's Cant Fire Me to capture one of the team's two first-place finishes. Cant Fire Me is a full sister to Jay Starnes' mount, Blondes Are Hot. The Blazing Hot stallion was bred by Robbie and Joan Schroeder, Gainsville, Texas. The team's second win came in the 3-Year-Old $1,000 Novice Horse. Green and Cant Fire Me beat out 29 other entries for their $2,036 check.

Following Green in the Open, Dustin Davis rode Linda Neisler's Im Blazing Hot to finish second. The team also captured first in the Intermediate Open. Im Blazing Hot is a Blazing Hot daughter out of Chocolate Dreams by Zips Chocolate Chip. The mare was bred and raised by Neisler of Jackson, Tenn.

Matt Baker's second appearance came in the 3-Year-Old Limited Open, where he rode Shannon Burnette's Pleasure Promise to a first-place finish. Pleasure Promise, a bay gelding by TNT Fluid Fred out of Pleasure Persuasion by Zippo Pine Bar, was bred by Chris and Holly LaLonde, Canal Winchester, Ohio.

Mature Faith

Baker made one last appearance to win the Maturity Limited Rider with Tate Oakley's Vested Faith, a 4-year-old sorrel Vested Pine daughter out of Cinnamon Seeker by Dandy Seeker.

Vested Faith, which was bred by Bill and Tina Kaven of Gordonville, Texas, has earnings in excess of $23,000, according to Equi-Stat, the statistical division of Cowboy Publishing Group. "She's a great horse," praised Baker. "She's a great mover, great minded. Very seldom, I think, you find a horse that is great minded and can move as good as she does."

In the Maturity Open, Cami Meleca's 2001 NSBA Horse of the Year, Radical Rumers, was ridden by Ty Hornick to finish first. The 5-year-old bay Radical Rodder daughter, out of Platinum Flash by Flashy Zipper, was also ridden by Meleca in the Maturity Non-Pro for another win.

Tate Oakley's Vested Faith added another first-place finish to her list of accomplishments, carrying her owner to win the Youth Western Pleasure. Oakley will attempt to continue the mare's success as he and trainer Matt Baker head to Youth World. Following Oakley in the Youth, Jodi Hatchett rode MNZ Capital Flare to finish second. The 3-year-old bay stallion is owned by Hatchett, who also finished first in the 3-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro with the horse.

MNZ Capital Flare, by Mr Notibly Zippo out of Capital Miss Zippo by Investment Capital, was bred by Richard and Connie Estling of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Hunter Under Saddle

Trisha Yamber made her presence known in the Hunter Under Saddle classes, walking away with two firsts and a second. In the 2-Year-Old Open, Yamber rode Joe and Dee Ognibene's Hes A Natural Kat. Bred by Lori Collier of Loxahatchee, Fla., the bay Natural Iron stallion, out of The Kat Woman by Kat Man Zip, finished behind Renee Myers and Heza Red Hot Version. Heza Red Hot Version is a bay Good Version gelding out of Dox Sweet Investment by Investment Asset, bred and owned by Dolores and Merrill Spahn, Strasburg, Penn.

Hey Blue Eyes, a gray mare by Skys Blue Boy out of Three Blessings by Ripple Mark, carried Yamber to first in the 3-Year-Old Open. Yamber has been working with the mare since January. Before that she was shown by Susan Steele. The team topped 11 entries to take home the win for owner Teri Craig Shapiro.

June Warren and Ima Detail followed Hey Blue Eyes in the 3-Year-Old Open. The horse is owned by Carol Fuller, who also finished second on the bay Last Detail daughter out of Spooky Jackie by BV Jack. The mare was bred by Larry and Linda Whitaker, Springdale, Ariz.

Yamber's final mount, Pretencious Leaguer, finished first in the Maturity Hunter Under Saddle. Pretencious Leaguer is a 1997 bay gelding son of Big League Pleasure out of Pretentious Girl by Pretense, bred and owned by Kendel Ann Huffman, Orange, Calif.

"That was the first time I've shown him," Yamber said. "I've had him since the first of May to get him ready for the Youth World. He's very obedient.

"I didn't know what to expect when I went in there, and he was very good. Sometimes with older horses, you don't know how much cheat they have in them, but he listened to everything I asked him to do."

Pretencious Leaguer will be shown at the AQHA Youth World by Huffman in the 14-18 year old classes.

Continuing tradition

In 2001, Tom Powers introduced the Novice Novice class at his Futurity, a class for novice riders riding novice horses. Power's new class continued this year, although the number of entries fell from 36 to 16 in the Western Pleasure and 18 to 10 in the Novice Novice Hunter Under Saddle. This year however, a 3-Year-Old Novice Novice class was added, posting 25 entries.

Tammy Rath rode Bill Cornell's Zips Delightful Chip to win the class. The Zips Chocolate Chip bay stallion, out of Delightfully Modern by Mias Supreme Wind, was bred by and is owned by Bill Cornwell of Galloway, Ohio. The team received a first-place check of $640.

SS Credit Machine, a sorrel A Good Machine gelding out of Investors Maiden by The Big Investment, finished second with Josh Brown. The horse is owned by Gilroy and Patty Brown and was bred by Ronald and Mary Niklaus of Enola, Penn.