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AMATEUR HUNTER UNDER SADDLE IT'S SWEETER WHEN YOU'VE RAISED THEM. BY CHRISTINE HAMILTON, JOURNAL EDITOR You hear it over and again – a win with a horse is somehow sweeter when you’ve raised that horse, and Sharnai Thompson of Cornelius, North Carolina, will attest to that. On November 8, she rode her talented 3-year-old bay stallion Hot Ones Only, aka “Bruno,” to the 2009 amateur hunter under saddle world championship, unanimous under all five judges. “I was so nervous I couldn’t button my shirt!” she said in the arena, laughing after her victory lap, throwing the world champion’s T-shirts to the crowd. “I am so proud to say that I have raised a world champion,” she added. “That means a lot to me. I’m so proud of him.” The Journal caught up with her again outside the arena. Q. What makes this win on this horse special? SHARNAI: I raised him. I pulled him out. Beth (Case) has done all the riding on him and that’s what makes it all more special. Q. Tell me about your program, you and your family’s program. SHARNAI: We have a place in Texas; we raise Quarter Horses and Paints. We have some reiners, some hunt seat horses, some of everything. We have a donkey. I try to bring them all along the whole way. They go to Charlie (Cole) and Jason’s (Martin) down the street, and Beth and Charlie and Jason help me along the way. It has really worked out well. We’ve raised some good ones, which is pretty tough to do. Q. What are your plans with him? SHARNAI: Beth is showing him next week in the junior hunt seat, and then we’ll see if he jumps. He’s going to be 4 next year and he might come back next year and be an all-around contender. He’s already doing the driving; I have the finals for the driving tomorrow. And we just hope that he gets better and better. Q. Anyone else you want to thank? SHARNAI: Beth has helped me so much, she’s really great. And Charlie and Jason are always there for me. But first and foremost, my mom. I always feel like she lives vicariously through me. But we really do this together and this is fun for both of us. Q. If you could think of three quick tips on what it takes to be a world champion, what would they be? SHARNAI: First and foremost is practice. I’m a firm believer that whatever you put into it is what you get out of it. If you have to get up in the middle of the night (to ride), it’s probably worth it. It may not come back at that horse show, but it will eventually. Secondly, make friends with your assistant horse trainer. It’s always good to have them on your side. They are always there behind the scenes and you’re going to need them at some point. Third, be ready. Be on time. Have your stuff ready. Go through and even do a run-through the day before to make sure all your equipment’s ready, everything has been used before and then there won’t be any stress at show time. Fun Fact: Hot Ones Only keeps getting better – in 2008 he won the All American Quarter Horse Congress Masters 2-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle and the Congress championships in the junior and amateur hunter under saddle. His 2009 Congress titles included wins in the junior and amateur pleasure driving and in the amateur hunter under saddle. WINNER STATS Horse name: Hot Ones Only Total class entries: 30
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