AMATEUR WEANLING GELDINGS & MARES

CROWNS IN BOTH CLASSES

BY KIMBERLY FRENCH, JOURNAL INTERN 

E Would Be Me and Darlene Turner winning the amateur weanling gelding world championship.

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All Darlene Turner, of , Aubrey Texas, wanted was to be in one piece after back- to-back amateur weanling classes. Visions of world championships were far from her thoughts.

“I was just trying to make it out of the arena without any bumps and bruises on myself,” Darlene said. “Showing babies is not real easy and not real enjoyable.”

Darlene’s labor bore fruit. She won the amateur world championship in weanling geldings with E Would Be Me and the amateur world championship in weanling fillies with Brightlights N Lace. Both horses were experiencing the arena lights for the first time.

“The two that I showed today have never been anywhere,” Darlene said. “So this is basically their first horse show.”

However, the freshly crowned world champion weanlings almost never walked through the Gateway of Champions today.

“Woody” had strangles the first of September, and he was still turned out,” Darlene said. “So he’s a little behind. The filly hasn’t been there long. We didn’t get her until right before the time to be entered. We had a baby filly by our horse, ‘Mr E,’ but she died. (Brightlights N Lace) was at Chip Knost’s, Terry Bradshaw owned her. Chip had her in good shape.”

Brightlights N Lace and Darlene Turner receiving the ribbon for their championship in amateur weanling mares.

“Woody” is rambunctious, but Brightlights N Lace minds her manners.

“The first thing we had to do when he got off the trailer was stitch his head up because he had done something in the trailer,” Darlene said. “He has about 10 stitches in his head. That’s typical of him, though. The filly is much quieter. She is very well-behaved.”

When asked about what the future holds for the weanlings, Darlene was unsure.

“No, not really at this point,” Darlene said. “The gelding is by Mr Elusive that we own part of, and he’ll probably stay in the barn somehow. If we don’t keep him personally, one of the customers will end up keeping him.”