Madalyn Colgrove & Hes A HeapinspoonfulMadalyn Colgrove is just 14 years old, but she bested nearly all of her amateur competitors at the Cotton Stakes, held Sept. 7-14 in West Monroe, La. In three out of four finals, she emerged victorious.
The day started a little slow, when Colgrove piloted Sweet Lil Sue (High Brow CD x Peptos Stylish Sue x Peptos Stylish Oak) to a 211 in the Derby Unlimited Amateur finals. That put the duo fifth for a $1,400 paycheck, but the Boligee, Ala., rider knew there was more to come. She made the finals in every Amateur and Unlimited Amateur class at the show.
Next up was the Classic Unlimited Amateur, where Colgrove rode two horses in the 20-horse finals. She drew second on her best horse, Hes A Heapinspoonful (Hes A Peptospoonful x Miss Hickory Hill x Doc’s Hickory) , and together they pulled out their best moves to mark their personal best – a 225. That held for the championship, and Colgrove managed to put down a 219.5 run on Wood She Be Neat for the Reserve title. In the Classic Unlimited Amateur, Colgrove picked up checks worth $7,700 – $4,000 for the win and $3,700 for second.
The third finals of the day, the Derby Amateur, gave Sweet Lil Sue the chance to redeem herself. She did just that when she and Colgrove marked a 221.5 from the final draw in the 10-horse class. That title earned the young cutter another $2,000.
In the last class of the day, Colgrove just wanted to have fun. She’d proven her horses had what it took to win, and she couldn’t have planned for the day to be any better. But she was due for another title. From the sixth draw in a one-set finals with 15 horses, Colgrove and Hes A Heapinspoonful did it again! They marked their second 225 of the day to win the class and garner another $2,000. Altogether, Colgrove pocketed $13,350 in one day of showing.
Derby Unlimited Amateur
Robert Fullwood & LHT Bella RoseFor Robert Fullwood, topping the Derby Unlimited Amateur was an important and sentimental feat. He purchased his mare, LHT Bella Rose, from his late friend’s widow, and the horse had been off since the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity due to an injury.
Fullwood kept his focus and, from the 10th draw in the 15-horse finals, he and “Bella” marked a 218 to take the lead by a single point. It was enough to hold for the title, as well as a check for $3,800. Fullwood thanked James Payne, who originally trained the horse, and Austin Shepard, who had been working with the mare for a short time prior to the Cotton Stakes.
Reserve Champions Woodys Honey Wagon and Kathy Morrison marked a 217 from the first draw to earn $3,400 for their performance.
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