HL That's Gold and Hollie Shiels - Triumphant at Q11

When 26 year old Hollie Shiels of Tamborine, Queensland, purchased HL That's Gold (Jack), as an unbroken youngster she never dreamed the pair would win a coveted Q11 buckle at their very first Nationals!

The four year old gelding is by Quarter Horse I'm Just a Beaver and out of a Thoroughbred mare who has produced several successful performance horses.  Jack has an older full brother and sister out there competing and he's following in their footsteps.  Hollie had previously ridden Thoroughbreds, however, she was interested in the young Jack when she noticed he seemed to possess the best of both breeds - the elegance and forward movement of a Thoroughbred coupled with the good bone and unflappable temperament of a Quarter Horse.

Hollie says, "Jack is so quiet for a young horse, you can do anything with him!  I've done almost all of his training myself and have mainly only taken him out to local hack days before we came to Q11, it was so exciting to win here! We placed fourth out of 14 in the 15 - 16hh Hack class, which I was really pleased with and when we went in for Amateur Hack were second in the line up, but then the judge asked us to go around again and she swapped us so Jack and I were first!  There were 16 nice horses in that class and I was thrilled to win!"

Horsezone were the sponsors of the Amateur Hack class and we're pleased to see the buckle going to a first time winner!

"The only reason we came to Q11 was because Jack's breeder, Mel Waller, suggested I take him in the hack classes and then he could be included in the Progeny class.  I'm so glad I came.  Everyone has been so friendly and genuine. I left my chaps near the warm up arena one day and thought I would never see them again, but no, some trustworthy person had handed them in."

Hollie has had no experience with Western horses prior to Q11, but was complimentary when asked her opinion of this different discipline, saying, "it was really interesting seeing the western horses.  They obviously go differently to the horses I'm used to, but I can see there is a lot of training put into them.  They are very educated and obedient, calmly handling everything they are asked to do."

We don't expect to see Hollie in a western saddle any time soon though, she's planning to continue showing Jack on the Queensland Circuit and as he matures, is very keen to compete in Show Hunter classes.

After such a successful Nationals, Hollie is also considering going to the Qld State Quarter Horse Championships and competing in the English classes.

Congratulations to Hollie and Jack on their win at Q11 and we look forward to hearing how they get on at the State Show and future competitions.