3-YEAR-OLD GELDINGS

ESHARP’S TWO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS STRIKE A SWEET NOTE.

BY HOLLY CLANAHAN, AMERICA’S HORSE

World-class pleasure horses. Wild and wooly rodeo bucking bulls. And statuesque halter horses.

Does the third entry in that list sound any less electrifying than the first two? Not for Charles and Jeannie Pircher of Rio Medina, Texas, who own animals in all three categories.

“There’s just a lot more to (halter) than most people think,” Charles said. “It’s just fun to try to keep the horse in control and shown properly.”

And it’s certainly fun when your halter horse brings home his second world championship. Esharp, led by AQHA Professional Horseman Luke Castle, won the 3-year-old geldings class at the World Show November 19. The son of Mr Elusive won the same class at the Bayer Select World Championship Show, with Charles at the lead shank.

Luke Castle leads Esharp away a world champion.

“We’re real excited about that,” Charles said of the back-to-back wins. “Luke and Abbi (Castle) have done a great job with him. … He’s just a lot of horse. He’s put together right.”

And he’s only getting better. As he ages, he seems to be calming down some, Charles said. And he’s maturing physically, too.

“He’ll make a real nice aged gelding,” Charles said.

Last year, Esharp earned top-10 finishes at the Youth World and in the open and amateur 2-year-old geldings classes at the World Show.

Charles plans to continue showing Esharp and make a return appearance at the 2006 Bayer Select World, which is for exhibitors age 50 and over.

“That’s a fun horse show,” he said.

The 2005 World Show has been enjoyable for the couple, too.  

Their 2-year-old gelding, Tribute To Pizzazz, won his halter class November 17. And two of their western pleasure horses, On Holiday and Surely Im Good, earned top-10 finishes in the junior and 2-year-old classes, respectively.

Jeannie wanted to be sure she thanked all of their trainers, on both the halter and performance sides. Rusty and Tanya Green ride the Pirchers’ pleasure horses.

“We’re so proud of all of them,” she said. “They’re such a good team and work so well together. It’s awesome to have a good team.”

The Pirchers, who co-own champion pleasure horse Huntin For Chocolate, are hoping to have some home-bred world champions before long. And they also have a few halter-bred broodmares that they hope are incubating winners of the future.

“That’s what we want to do,” Charles said of raising a world champion.