IntheKnow 041916-133658

In the Know: Fate Stepped In

IntheKnow 041916-133658

The team of Ashley Weaver, of Morgan, Utah, and Starlight Per Se, aka “Peanuts,” has been a successful one, with the duo recently winning the $2,000-added Maturity Level 4 Non-Pro at the Best Little Derby in the West in Nampa, Idaho. It’s a partnership that can only be chalked up to fate, as Weaver sold the mare the first time she owned her.

Weaver bought Peanuts (Starlights Starbrite x Miss Perfect Peppy x Doc Per) in 2010 as a long yearling. Her husband, trainer Mack Weaver, showed the mare in 2012 as a 3-year-old. They earned $1,930 that year while winning some smaller futurities. The Weavers sold Starlights Per Se in 2013 to a client who showed her in the non-pro while Mack continued showing in the Open. Then fate stepped in.

“Her owner got hurt and couldn’t show her, so I got to show her from her 5-year-old year on,” said Weaver, who bought Peanuts back in early 2014. Splitting rides that year, Weaver and her husband added $9,117 to the mare’s Equi-Stat record with a string of first and second-place finishes throughout the year. In 2015, Mack bowed out and Weaver and Peanuts had a fabulous year, recording a year-end total of $23,444. The Best Little Derby in the West was the mare’s first show of 2016.

“We pulled a Shiners Voodoo Dr embryo from her and we’re also trying for a Whizkey N Diamonds foal,” Weaver said. “We pulled embryos out of her this year and had just picked her up from the vet before we came to Nampa. I had to show her the very first day and I was worried. I scored a 73 in the Non-Pro on Tuesday and on Wednesday and she came back even stronger for the Maturity.”

Weaver and Peanuts scored a 147.5 to win the Maturity Level 4 Non-Pro, earning $1,112 for their efforts. Weaver said circles are probably Peanuts’ strongest maneuver.

“You just point her and she runs hard,” she said. “She gives me wings and we just haul butt on the circles. Then when you want to slow down, she’s ready to do that, too. And she’s a strong stopper.”

Weaver now has career earnings of more than $46,000 since posting her first paycheck to Equi-Stat in 2005. Her grandfather, who raised Arabian halter horses, bought her a pony when she was 5 and then a Quarter Horse when she outgrew that. Although she’d played at reining at some open shows, her interest in the event sparked when she met Mack at age 19. They married in 2003 and now have a 9-year-old son, Cole Weaver.

“My goals for 2016 were to win $40,000 — which we checked off at the Nampa show — and to win a maturity, so I achieved that, too!” she added.

Weaver planned to give Peanuts a few weeks off, then take her to the Luc McGregor Memorial Classic in Nampa July 6-10 for the maturity. Then she’ll try to get qualified for the North American Affiliate Championships in Oklahoma City.

“As long as she’s feeling good, we’ll up and go, and when we’re done, she’ll be a broodmare,” Weaver said.

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