Better Man’s polished run in the 2-Year-Old In-Hand Trail at the 2022 APHA World Championship Show might lead you to believe that he’s a seasoned show horse with miles under his hooves, but that’s not quite the case. The sorrel overo gelding was born in September 2020—an unplanned pregnancy that was the result of a pasture rendezvous between his sire and dam. Though his late arrival put “Milton” behind most of his equine peers, it didn’t dampen owner Laura Poignant’s hopes to see the gelding compete in the show pen.
“When Laura called me early last year, he was only a few months old. She said, ‘I really want to show this one,’ ” trainer Anthony Leier said. “She brought him back to me in January this year. He’s a good-minded horse, but he’s lazy; here in about the last month, we started clicking. We call him our underdog.”
At the World Show, Anthony navigated Milton through the 2-Year-Old In-Hand Trail course, culminating with a world championship title for the late-blooming gelding.
“This was a great opportunity to get him out there and do something with him,” Anthony said. “I think it’s pretty cool that he came around and now he’s a world champion.”
Owned by Laura Poignant of Pilot Point, Texas, and bred by her son LeRoy of Dallas, Milton is by Make Me Shine and out of Flash N Lace.
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About APHA
The American Paint Horse Association is the world’s second-largest international equine breed association, registering more than a million horses in 59 nations and territories since it was founded in 1962. APHA promotes, preserves and provides meaningful experiences with Paint Horses.