Manitoba Pennwoods Draft Horse Futurity
August 21 & 22, 2004
Virden, Manitoba
Virden, Manitoba was the place to be the weekend of August 20 - 22, 2004 when the Manitoba Pennwoods Draft Horse Futurity was held in conjunction with the Virden Indoor Rodeo and Wild West Daze. Saturday, August 21 saw the draft horse exhibitors arrive and settle in, then hitch and take to the arena at approximately 3:30 pm following the High School Rodeo. Mr. Nick Denbrok of Esterhazy, SK was the judge for the weekend, with Darryl Horn acting as our ringman. Dr. Everett More very capably announced the classes, and Brenda Hunter was the statistician. The Manitoba Percheron Belgian Queen, Julie Lane, helped make the presentations to the winners.
In order to become eligible for the futurity, any Manitoba producer can nominate weanlings into the futurity before the end of their birth year (Dec 31st), for a $50 nomination fee per animal. If the animal is sold, the nomination into the futurity goes with them, and they may still be entered by the new owner. Entries and fees of $50 for the yearling class must be made by May 15th of the following year. Two year old entries close May 15th of their two year old year, at a cost of $50 per animal as well. As long as the nomination is made, owners may choose to miss the yearling year and enter the two year old year, or vice versa, without any penalty. As long as the entries are made in the year for which they choose to show, they are eligible to compete for the total purse.
The first event on the agenda for the futurity exhibitors was the obstacle or pattern class. In this class, exhibitors are judged on an individual pattern designed to show how well broke the horse is. There are six components to the complete pattern. Each maneuver is judged and scored out of 100 points, with the total being out of 600 points. The pattern was as follows:
1.Enter the ring at a walk, begin a trot and cut a figure 8
2.Stop in the middle of the ring and back up at least 5 steps
3.Walk forward at least 5 steps. Stop and pause.
4.Fan Left 90 degrees, pause, return to centre.
5.Fan right 90 degrees, pause, return to centre (you may either fan right or left first, whatever your preference)
6.Enter and exit a designed key hole - penalty for stepping over the line.
Once all exhibitors had completed the pattern individually, they were brought back into the arena and the placings were made. Lyle Brown and Ju-Ly Congressman, a 2 year old Percheron gelding bred and owned by Ju-Ly Percherons of Lenore emerged the winner, followed by Tom Lane driving Gardiner's Sir Patrick, a Belgian stallion bred by Rob & Karen Gardiner of Virden, now owned by Creek Side Belgians of Birtle. Third place went to David Collier driving Lone Oak Taryn, an entry of Lone Oak Percherons of Birtle. Fourth place was Lone Oak Becky Lou, owned by Darcy Strain & Rod Delaquis and driven by Rob Gardiner. Fifth went to Lone Oak Kerby II, another entry of Lone Oak Percherons, sixth place was awarded to Bar RB Tasha, a mare bred, owned and driven by Bar RB Belgians, Robert & Gerrie Berry of Birtle. Seventh place was Roselea Beckie, bred by Roselea Belgians, Grant & Kim Gee of Virden, owned by Wayne Morsky of Morsky Construction, Regina, SK. Eighth place went to Creek Side Nina, a mare bred by Tom Lane and family of Birtle, owned and driven by Mel Hunter of Harding. Ninth place in the pattern class went to Bridgeman's Royal Benson, an entry of Kevin Bridgeman of Binscarth, driven by Lyle Farquhar.
Sunday morning began with the 2 year old halter class taking to the arena, followed by the yearling halter class. Results are as follows:
2 year old class:
1. Roselea Beckie - Morsky Construction, Wayne Morsky
2. Lone Oak Taryn - Lone Oak Percherons, Jim & Darlene Lane & family
3. Lone Oak Becky Lou - Darcy Strain & Rod Delaquis
4. Gardiner's Sir Patrick - Creek Side Belgians, Tom & Darlene Lane & family
5. Lone Oak Kerby II - Lone Oak Percherons, Jim & Darlene Lane & family
6. Bar RB Tasha - Bar RB Belgians, Robert & Gerrie Berry & family
7. Ju-Ly Congressman - Ju-Ly Percherons, Lyle Brown & Kathy Wesley & family
8. Creek Side Nina - Sha-Dy H Farms, Mel & Brenda Hunter & family
9. Bridgeman's Royal Benson - Kevin & Julie Bridgeman & family
Yearling Halter:
1. Gardiner's Stylin Stella - Gardiner's Belgians, Rob, Karen & Cassidy Gardiner
2. Mount Joy Spooks Lady - Mount Joy Percherons, Lyle & Kelly Farquhar & family
3. Elkview Brandon - Elkview Percherons, the Joseph family
4. Lone Oak Evelyn - Lone Oak Percherons, Jim & Darlene Lane & family
5. Ju-Ly Dominator - Ju-Ly Percherons, Lyle Brown & Kathy Wesley & family
6. Brownville Phantom - Brownville Percherons, Orv & Kim Brown & family
7. Bar RB Anika - Bar RB Belgians, Robert & Gerrie Berry & family
8. T8 Eddie Louis - David Howard & family
9. De-J King's Dex - De-J Percherons, Jim & Debby Odlum & family
10. Creek Side Otto - Creek Side Belgians, Tom & Darlene Lane & family
The final portion of the 2004 Manitoba Pennwoods Draft Horse Futurity was the 2 year old rail class which was held during the intermission of the Sunday afternoon rodeo performance. Gardiner's Sir Patrick took top honors in this event, followed by Lone Oak Taryn, which put these two entries into a tie for the overall winner. Third place in the rail class went to Lone Oak Becky Lou, fourth to Ju-Ly Congressman, fifth to Bar RB Tasha, sixth to Roselea Beckie, seventh to Creek Side Nina, eighth to Lone Oak Kerby II, and ninth place to Bridgeman's Royal Benson. In the event of a tie in the total amount of points at the conclusion of the three divisions, the horse placing the highest in the halter division is awarded the higher placing. Therefore, Lone Oak Taryn emerged the overall winner in the 2 year old division, just ahead of Gardiner's Sir Patrick. Third place with just a 3 point margin was Lone Oak Becky Lou, and trailing by only two points was Ju-Ly Congressman. Roselea Beckie placed fifth overall, and sixth place went to Bar RB Tasha. Seventh, eighth and ninth place were awarded to Lone Oak Kerby II, Creek Side Nina, and Bridgeman's Royal Benson consecutively.
The winners in each division took home a plaque sponsored by the Virden Wild West Daze Committee. Gardiner's Stylin Stella, winner of the yearling class, and Lone Oak Taryn, top point earner in the 2 year old class, each won a blanket sponsored by The Mutt Hutt and Peacefull Valley Crematorium (Rob & Karen Gardiner), and Neepawa Canvasworks (Ken Dalgleish), as well as a cheque in the amount of $1000. The total purse in this year's yearling class was $3575 with placings one through tenth receiving a payout. The total purse in the two year old division was $3475 with all 9 horses exhibited, earning a cheque. Through the Naeric Incentive Program, owners of Naeric ranch-bred horses benefit from increased purse earning potential. Horses registered with Naeric are awarded matching dollars, up to $1 million, when they are successful in approved events such as the Draft Horse Futurity.
Overall this year, the futurity was considered a success, thanks in large part to the sponsors of this event, those being, Pennwoods Equine Products, Virden Indoor Rodeo & Wild West Daze, the Manitoba Percheron Belgian Club, the Manitoba Horse Breeders Association, the Mutt Hutt and Peacefull Valley Crematorium, and Neepawa Canvas. Out of 55 nominations to the yearling class, 19 horses were entered for competition, with 11 actually being shown. In the 2 year old class, there were 60 nominations, 15 entries received at entry deadline, and 9 horses taking to the rail over the weekend. Despite the turbulence over the past year in the horse industry, the Manitoba draft horse breeders proved once again that they can rise to the challenge in producing and promoting some of the finest draft horses in North America.
