Smith Lilly and his gifted mount, He’s The Man (CH Man On The Town X Perfect), were the judges’ unanimous winners of the Five-Gaited World’s Grand Championship in Louisville’s Freedom Hall on Saturday evening, August 26. Having won the Five-Gaited Gelding Stake earlier in the week, the pair wowed the audience from the moment they came into the arena, with the trademark Louisville roar growing with every pass down a straightaway.
In his comments to the show ring announcer, Smith was appreciative of his entire family and his owners, and in a graceful tribute to the fact he’s only had the horse since April, he thanked previous trainer George Knight for making He’s The Man, who is stamped by his sire to be one unmistakable copy of former World’s Grand Champion CH Man On The Town. Reserve was last year’s defending World’s Grand Champion Five O’Clock (Select Stock X Long Island Iced Tea) and Todd Miles, and the crowd was equally supportive of their flawless performance.
If there was a bigger star on Saturday night, it just may have been the incomparable CH Callaway’s Copyright (Supreme Heir X Callaway’s Claudette), who won the World’s Grand Championship in Fine Harness for an unprecedented sixth consecutive time with the unanimous vote of the judges. He left the arena to a standing ovation, with an elated John T. Jones on the lines, having bested George Knight with his charismatic black mare Along Came A Spider (Sultan’s Great Day X Espere), who ended up in the reserve spot. For the breeding program of Callaway Hills Stable, it was like an exclamation point on an entire show demonstrating an influence on producing the high-performance American Saddlebred that may well be unprecedented itself.
Manila Thrilla’s win in the Three-Gaited World’s Grand Championship was Todd Miles’ top achievement of the evening. Manila Thrilla (Sultan’s Royalty X Sable Rose) is a product of the extraordinarily successful Supreme Sultan/Ruxer Farms breeding program. The pair defended their title of last year to once again beat out CH Yes It’s True (CF First Night Out X Callaway’s Coronet) and Sam Stafford.
Show Manager Scarlett Mattson felt this year’s World’s Championship Horse Show was a success. “We had a lot of really nice classes, and the quality of horses, especially young horses, was excellent,” Matson said. “Thanks to my professional staff, both in the horse show office and in center ring, the show went very smoothly.”
Visit www.saddlebred.com/WCHS-Results to view complete results from the World’s Championship Horse Show.
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