“Thank you, sir, it’s been a whale of a week!” said AQHA Pro Horseman Jeffrey Pait to AQHA President Frank Merrill, while accepting the gold trophy in 3-year-old geldings.
The bay gelding he was leading, RPL My Te Cheerful, owned by the Cofrancesco family of Sparta, New Jersey, was a unanimous first choice on all five of the judges’ cards.
It’s the fifth gold trophy for the farm, between Bank of America Amateur Week and Fed Ex Open Week competition. Their other world championships were in performance halter stallions with Fabio Zini and performance halter mares with Seven S Pretty Lady, both led by Jeffrey; and in amateur 3-year-old geldings with RPL My Te Cheerful and amateur aged stallions with A Radiant Image, both led by Peter J. Cofrancesco III.
Cofrancesco family matriarch, Peggy, came down into the arena for the awards presentation and the Journal Spotlight interview. What did she think was the real secret behind the family farm’s success?
“That’s very simple,” she responded with a smile. “The wonderful people who work for us – Jeffrey Pait and Chris Thompson. Jeffrey has been with us for 22 years and Chris for about 18, and they are really my family. There is no one who has the work ethic of Jeffrey and Chris.
“I really, really appreciate them.”
And with that she gave Jeffrey a big hug while he was still holding the horse, and the crowd gave them both a round of applause.
The big gelding is called “Monte” at home, after halter trainer Monte Horn through whom the Cofrancescos purchased the horse.
“He’s pretty easy; everything fits on him pretty good,” Jeffrey said. “He’s a little on the lazy side; you’ve got to kind of make him work. He’s just a pretty nice made horse; all we do is enhance him a little bit. We don’t have to do much to him at all.”
The Cofrancescos purchased the horse in January of this year. The gelding had had a top-10 finish in amateur 2-year-old geldings at last year’s World Show. Prior to coming to Oklahoma City this year, Peter led the horse to the amateur win in 3-year-old geldings at the 2007 All American Quarter Horse Congress.
What stood out about the horse, and made them buy him?
“I just liked his overall balance,” Jeffrey said. “He’s a very, very clean-necked horse, has a tremendous shoulder on him and is strong over his top.
“He just looked like a prospect that would continue to do what he’s done for us,” he continued. “He had a lot of future in him; he had that frame and that look like this is a horse that is going to continue to mature and get better.”
And now Monte is headed for a well-earned vacation.
“We’re going to take him home and give him the winter off, turn him out and let him be a horse for a while,” Jeffrey said. “And we’ll get him ready and see about bringing him back next year.”
