At the 2013 Breeders Halter Futurity in Des Moines, Iowa, 2-year-old red roan overo stallion Intent rose to the top of the inaugural Amateur 2-Year-Old Champion of Champions competition. Owner Melinda Minnis of Diamond 2M Show Horses in Sanger, Texas, showed the stallion to the premier title.
“It’s unbelievable,” Melinda said, almost speechless after clinching the big win.
The Breeders Halter Futurity provides a competition venue for Paint, Quarter Horse and Appaloosa halter horses sired by a select group of nominated stallions. Now in its third year, the 2013 futurity paid out $1.4 million to participants, including a pair of $100,000 purses in the Open and Amateur 2-Year-Old Champion of Champions events. In these classes, the first-place 2-year-old stallion, mare and gelding from their respective classes returned to compete for the overall championship and prizes.
First named the champion Amateur 2-Year-Old Stallion in a five-horse class comprised of two Paints and three Quarter Horses, Intent and Melinda earned $5,000 plus an additional $2,800 in Horizon Award bonus money. The pair returned a few classes later—along with the judges’ top choices from the mare and gelding classes—to receive the nod as the show’s best Amateur 2-Year-Old. For that, they took home a $100,000 check, a Champion of Champions belt buckle and trophy.
Purchased from breeders Jim and Georgia Snow of Quinlan, Texas, as a weanling, Intent has certainly lived up to the expectations of both Melinda and trainer Kelley Stone. Already a two-time APHA world champion, a two-time APHA Amateur reserve world champion and an APHA Slot Champion, Intention also took home the 2013 Amateur 2-Year-Old National Halter Championship title with Melinda just a few days before his big Breeders Halter Futurity win.
“We never expected this in our wildest dreams,” Kelley said. “Melinda’s vision with our program is really a big part of this win, along with Mike King who works tirelessly behind Melinda and I to prepare these horse. I give all the glory to God.”
A number of other Paint halter horses also excelled at the 2013 Breeders Halter Futurity and National Halter Championship—the December 2013 Paint Horse Journal will have complete coverage and exclusive interviews from the event. To renew or subscribe, visit phj.apha.com/subscription.
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About the American Paint Horse Association
The American Paint Horse Association (APHA) is the world’s second-largest equine breed association. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012. In fulfillment of its global mission to collect, record and preserve pedigrees of the breed, APHA recognizes and supports 111 regional and international clubs, produces championship shows, sponsors trail rides and creates and maintains programs that increase the value of American Paint Horses and enriches members’ experiences with their horses. APHA has registered more than a million horses in 59 nations and territories since it was founded, and now serves more than 55,000 active youth and adult members around the world. For more information about the American Paint Horse Association, visit apha.com or connect with Paint Horse fans globally at facebook.com/americanpainthorse or on Twitter @APHANews and @WorldShow.