This Horse Show Gig Of Mine the rest of the show just riding him and letting him get accustomed to all the sights and sounds of a big show. He handled it all so well that we started thinking that maybe, just maybe, he could be prepared and ready to show at U.S. Nationals. We took him to a couple of small local shows and handily got the points he needed to qualify. Off we went with no expectations. The 1998 U.S. Nationals were held at Louisville in the famous Freedom Hall, which could be pretty frightening for any young performance horse, particularly one who had been shown so little. In our first cut we just cruised around the arena with the flow of traffic, since my goal was to make this all a very positive experience for him. As it turned out, just cruising around put him somewhere right in the middle of the pack. We actually had a shot at a top ten! It was exciting for all of us, especially his new owner, Margaret Spensley. Those two had a great relationship, and it never got old watching Jerry and Margaret together, a 16.3-hand gelding gently dropping his head to say hello to his diminutive friend. When we started down that big ramp into the show arena for the finals, Jerry, for the first time in his young career, started to build and get bigger. We went into the class and had a blast, and came out with our first top ten! We entered 1999 feeling we were major contenders in the English pleasure junior horse division. Our first stop was Perry, Ga., for the Region 12 Show, which is known for its tough English division. We were elated when Jerry was named unanimous champion; it confirmed our belief in him as one of the great ones. He repeated that win at Region 9 and picked up a reserve championship at Region 14. We were proving ourselves as top contenders, and felt ready for Albuquerque. I don’t remember exactly where we sat on the cards after the first cut, but I remember feeling a little disappointed knowing that we were probably out of contention for one of the top prizes. I decided that I was going to ask him for everything he had, hoping he would give it to me. And he did! He entered the ring that day a middle-of-the-road top ten winner, but came out a U.S. National Reserve Champion—one of the most exciting and proud moments of my life. Blazin Fire, the champion that year, became a part of our lives soon thereafter. In 2000, The Brass Ring once again became home to me, and Jerry, of course, made the move too. He was stalled next to Blazin Fire; they became buddies, and
oftentimes were stalled next to each other at horse shows as well. A lot of that show season is a blur to me because of the accelerated pace of The Brass Ring. We brought a lot of horses to a lot of shows all around the country, but I showed Jerry only three times before our national competitions. He was Champion English Pleasure at the Oklahoma Centennial, Ohio Buckeye Reserve Champion, and once again, unanimous Region 9 Champion. At the Canadian Nationals, we ended up third in a hugely competitive class with Blazin Fire being named champion. At U.S. Nationals Gordon and I were both in the same boat, competing (and winning top tens) in the western class that was right before the Half-Arabian English class. We needed people to warm up Blaze and Jerry. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided to ask Vickey Bowman to warm up Jerry for me. I trusted her totally and knew she would warm him up in the quiet manner which he had grown accustomed to. Vickey did a wonderful job, and when I climbed up into that saddle I could feel he was more than ready to go. The electricity in the air was palpable, and Jerry was getting a little too excited as we turned the corner to head down the scary ramp into that formidable Freedom Hall arena. I instinctively reverted to the words he had grown to trust: “You’re fine, it’s all right, good boy.” I felt him immediately relax, and he entered the ring like a confident champion. Both Jerry and Blaze had won their respective sections, so the audience picked their individual favorite and both horses had tons of vocal support. It was apparent right away that the crowd really appreciated the show. Pass after pass, Jerry rose to the occasion and got bigger and bigger. So did Blaze. At the end of the class, Blazin Fire was named champion, and Jerry was named reserve champion, repeating their wins from the previous year in the junior horse division. I believed at that moment that Jerry and I would come back the following year as the ones to beat, but tragically, that opportunity never came to pass. We traveled to the 2001 Scottsdale Show, where we won the English pleasure gelding class unanimously and ended up reserve in the championship. Next up was the 2001 Ohio Buckeye Sweepstakes, where Jerry arrived with what appeared to be a mild case of shipping fever. We treated him and he quickly responded, and seemed to be back to his normal self in no time at all. It was in the
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