ALL-AROUND AMATEUR

JEAN SWISS AND AFTER EIGHT WIN THE TRAILER!

BY CHRISTINE HAMILTON, FIELD EDITOR

Jean Swiss and After Eight won the Sooner Trailer Bayer Select All-Around Amateur award for 2006.

“It’s a huge honor,” Jean said after being presented with the new Sooner custom three-horse trailer that came with the award. “I came here hoping to make the finals in one event, and I’m kind of overwhelmed. In four of my five events, I was in the top 10.

“My husband (Gerry) came for the whole week, but unfortunately, a half hour ago, I had to take him to the airport,” she added. “But he knows; my phone has been ringing.”

The Sooner Trailer Bayer Select All-Around Amateur award goes to the horse and rider team earning the most points in three or more events in two different categories during the Bayer Select World.

A run for all-around amateur can make for hard work and long riding hours. Jean and After Eight placed third in showmanship and trail, eighth in horsemanship and ninth in hunt seat equitation. They did not make the finals in western riding.

Since the first Bayer Select World in 2003, Teresa Fletcher and Zips Hidden Resource have won the award.

“I was talking to Teresa Fletcher the other day, and I asked her, ‘How do you do this?’” Jean said with a laugh. “And she said ‘You just keep going.’”

Jean Swiss and After Eight of Los Altos, California, win the Sooner Trailer Bayer Select All-Around Amateur award for 2006.

After Eight, aka “Belle,” is a 1997 bay mare by Invitation Only and out of Rancholm MK Tewa by Jiggibar Jet. Jean bought her as a 5-year-old in 2002.

“She did well in the pleasure world as a junior horse,” Jean said. “We did trail on her the first year. These last three years, I’ve been adding events in the all-around. Right about that time I turned 50, and I started showing her in (Select).

“She’s a real princess,” Jean continued. “The sweetest, kindest mare. She loves to be groomed and loves treats. She loves all her jobs.”

Jean said her success has had a lot to do with her trainers, AQHA Professional Horseman Kelley Roberts and also Gary Roberts of Murietta, California.

“(They) are just the best,” Jean said. “I’m just very proud of what they’ve done with her to finish her.”

Jean and Gerry live in Los Altos, California.

“I worked for years in banking and my daughter, Katie, showed until last year, and she’s in college at Notre Dame,” Jean said. “I was a soccer mom, tennis mom and horse show mom. This past year, I just started doing more showing, and it’s been a lot of fun.”

Jean rode in open shows when she was younger and stopped riding when she went to college and got a job. When Katie was about 5, she started showing Quarter Horses and hasn’t stopped.

“It’s great fun,” Jean said. “The Select World is kind of like a reunion. I go out of state a couple times a year to show. I see people then come here and see them again, see old friends and meet new people. There’s a real camaraderie in Select riders.

“I’ve been to all the World Shows,” she added. “This one is a wonderful experience.”