BY CHRISTINE HAMILTON, FIELD EDITOR
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| Lynn Long and her 13-year-old mare Sonnys San Jo won the 2007 Select world championship in cutting. |
Lynn Long of Decatur, Texas, won her first AQHA world championship in Select cutting September 2, riding a homebred mare her family calls “Pee Wee.”
“She was the size of a Doberman Pinscher when she was born,” Lynn said of Sonnys San Jo. “And her tongue was hanging out of her mouth. I got out there, and my daughter-in-law put a sweatshirt on her and ran her legs through it. It was so cute.”
And now, 13 years later, the mare is a world champion at the 2007 Bayer Select World Championship Show.
Ninth in the go, Lynn and Pee Wee scored a 219 for the win.
“My first cow, I felt really good about her; she was on,” Lynn said. “And my second cow was OK. My third cow, I turned around and I saw I had 19 seconds left. I had to get that third cow cut, and I got it cut clean. That’s where you can get in trouble, when you go to cutting in a hurry that last cut.
“She did everything I asked her; she was right on, and I cut smart.”
Pee Wee is by San Jo Lena and out of Sons Pitchfork by Son O Sugar. Sons Pitchfork was the 1989 National Cutting Horse Association non-pro world champion with Lynn’s son, Wayland. The older mare has $232,088 in NCHA earnings; she’s out to pasture at age 28.
Pee Wee herself has NCHA earnings of $102,255.
“Winston Hansma trained her,” Lynn said. “She’s little; she’s unique because she’s tiny, and she’s got a heart as big as a washtub.”
Cutting is a family affair for Lynn and her husband, Wayne, and their children.
“I have two granddaughters in the top-10 NCHA, third-generation cutters, Libby Long and Abby Long,” Lynn said. “We all cut, and we’ve got three more to go. It’s hard to keep good horses under those kids. We have a good time; it’s always been family.”
Lynn called her daughter, Lisa Long Luttrull, right after the win. The two own a women's clothing shop in Decatur, Texas, called The Magic Pony; they’ve had a booth at the AQHA World Championship Show for years. Lynn is also the president-elect of the Pioneer District of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, a volunteer organization with 1,700 members.
She also keeps an NCHA show schedule and has a 3-year-old she’s taking to the Futurity this year. The whole family often shares horses.
“But my favorite horse is my old horse (Pee Wee),” she said. “You’ve got to let those babies learn, but those babies just can’t take care of you like she can.”
Horse name: Sonnys San Jo
Pedigree: 1994 sorrel mare by San Jo Lena x Sons Pitchfork by Son O Sugar
Exhibitor: Lynn Long, Decatur, Texas
Owner: Wayne Long
Total class entries: 29
Purse: $5,800
World Champion Prizes: Custom-designed gold-tone trophy, Montana Silversmiths buckle with 14K gold overlay, Tex Tan product, Cripple Creek Outerwear logoed jacket, neck wreath. |
