Page 45 - January 2016 Speedhorse

2015 A YeAr In revIew
October 4
October 9
Located in Bonsall, California, Vessels Stallion Farm was sold to Ocean Breeze LLC and was renamed Ocean Breeze Farm. Kevin Dickson, who managed the farm for the Vessels family, stayed with the property. The remaining Vessels Quarter Horses were sold at the Heritage Place Fall Mixed Sale.
October 24
Three new, lighted soccer fields at Rillito Park in Tucson, Arizona, were dedicated as part of a $5 million upgrade to the facility, which includes historic Rillito Park Racetrack. For years, the debate has been whether the facility should be a racing complex or a soccer complex, and now it appears it will be both.
October 26
The American Quarter Horse cloning lawsuit reached the end of the legal process and AQHA
has prevailed. The United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit entered an order denying the plaintiffs’ petition for rehearing of the opinion that rendered judgment for AQHA in the cloning lawsuit. Specifically, that opinion held that the plaintiffs’ evidence did not prove a conspiracy to restrain trade and that “AQHA is not a competitor in the allegedly relevant market for elite Quarter Horses.”
October 29
Eric Najduch, an outrider at Los Alamitos Race Course, was presented with the annual White Horse Award at the Race Track Chaplaincy of America’s 13th annual White Horse luncheon. On Nov. 2, 2014, two-year-old Quarter Horse Walk The Dog broke through the gate and bolted into the infield lake. Najduch jumped in after
the gelding, who was exhausted and in danger
of drowning, and led him to safety. The award recognizes heroism, service and sacrifice on behalf of individuals and horses in the racing world.
Breeder/trainer Bill Ray Weger, 77, passed away in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Weger was the breeder of 43 starters with earnings of nearly $500,000, and the trainer of 887 winners with earnings of more than $2.7 million, including Texas Classic Derby-G1 winner Jakes Jockmo.
October 8
Sherman Hadley, a prominent horseman in the Intermountain region, died at
the age of 53 in Utah. Hadley had been confined to wheelchair with limited communicative skills after 3 large bales
of hay fell on him in his barn in 2008. Among his many successful horses was graded stakes winner Legendary Dreamer. Hadley is survived by wife Susan; sons, Jordan Joe and Garrett James, who plan to continue their father’s legacy at the racetrack.
October
October 11
Shawn Hurwitz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sam Houston Race Park, was killed after a boat he was in collided with a barge in Lake Austin. Hurwitz was also President and CEO of Maxxam, a real estate investment company, a principal financial backer for KIPP charter schools, and the son of Houston billionaire Charles Hurwitz.
October 23
Major Rime si 104 (Rime-Mary Major, Easy Toro) died at the age of 23. Bred by Robert Driggers, the 1992 sorrel stallion won 7 stakes events and retired with $278,986 banked. Major Rime, who was owned by Mike Abraham, sired 323 starters that earned more than $6.4 million, including his top earner Rime Has A Chick ($271,222).
October 30
Nolan Pevehouse, with his belt buckles in front of his new 4-Star 3-horse Gooseneck Trailer, became the first winner of the Speedhorse Paint & Appaloosa Triple Crown. Pevehouse’s horse Painted Turnpike won all three legs in the $213,500 Speedhorse Graham Paint & Appaloosa Futurity-G1 at Remington Park on May 30, the richest Paint & Appaloosa race in the world; the $86,890 Speedhorse Paint & Appaloosa Futurity-G1 at Tulsa Fair Meadows on July 25; and the $89,780 Speedhorse Lone Star Paint & Appaloosa Futurity-G1 at Lone Star Park on Oct. 30. Painted Turnpike, who was trained by Matt Whitekiller and ridden in all three races by Cody Smith, was also named the Speedhorse Paint & Appaloosa Triple Crown High Point Champion and earned a $5,000 cash bonus and additional awards.
October 16
Kansas horseman and past president of the
Kansas Quarter Horse Racing Association Albert Hogoboom (left) passed away at the age of 81. Hogoboom, who founded Albert Hogoboom Oil Field Trucking, was a 20-year breeder of Quarter Horses. He and his wife Shirley, bred the earners of nearly $900,000, including multiple stakes winners.
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