Photo by Captivation Photography

Preliminary competition in all ten offered disciplines at the 2024 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, is now complete, giving us the discipline and special award winners who will be recognized at tomorrow evening’s Awards Party. The five top placed horses in each discipline will also return for Saturday’s Finale Championships in the TCA Covered Arena, and the overall winner selected by a panel of judges will be named the Thoroughbred Makeover Champion, sponsored by Churchill Downs, Inc. Horses will compete in the Finale on a clean slate score to determine final placings.

The Awards Party, sponsored by University of Louisville and Wasabi Aftercare Fund, takes place on Friday evening in Kentucky Horse Park’s Big Barn, and will honor discipline round winners as well as first place amateurs, juniors and teams. Special awards, sponsored by state associations, organizations and individuals, will also be recognized.

Today’s activities also included Barrels and Brews, sponsored by 1/ST, which let competitors and spectators kick back with a beer from local West Sixth Brewery and watch the final round of Barrel Racing. Earlier in the afternoon, the second seminar took place, sponsored by Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and featuring Dr. Kate Christie demonstrating body condition scoring with horses generously provided by Secretariat Center.

Find full results here. Let’s get to know our preliminary round winners!

Barrel Racing: Not Phar Now, trained by Jessica Frederick (Professional)
American Pharoah – Kibosh, by Discreet Cat
2017 bay gelding bred in New York by Chester Broman & Mary R. Broman
24-6-3-4, $271,790 in earnings

Erin Gilmore Photography

Sourced from ReRun, Inc. by owner Nicole McNees, Not Phar Now was trained for the Thoroughbred Makeover by professional Jessica Frederick, who is no stranger to the winner’s circle in barrel racing at this event. Two years ago, she was the reserve champion with Ten Plagues, also sired by American Pharoah.

“I love [horses by American Pharoah]!” Frederick said. “I absolutely love them. They’re easygoing and easy to work with; they pick stuff up so quickly. Not Phar Now is so laid back, so calm and collected – he’s just a great guy. After this show, starting next week his eleven-year-old youth rider is going to take over the reins.”

Competitive Trail: Play Action Pass, trained by Toni Harmon (Amateur)
Cairo Prince – Light Of A Star, by Muqtarib
2019 gray/roan gelding bred in Kentucky by Newtownanner Stud Farm
19-4-0-3, $496,071 in earnings
Stakes winner

Erin Gilmore Photography

Toni Harmon has had many years of past success in the Competitive Trail discipline at the Makeover, and credits her ground-based approach for her consistent success, introducing all kinds of obstacles while hand walking before attempting them mounted. The second 2024 discipline winner sourced from ReRun, stakes winner Play Action Pass demonstrated how well Harmon’s approach works, even though it wasn’t a perfect trip.

“My horse did not like the cross country field at all – he didn’t like the open spaces,” Harmon said. “We went on hand walks up there, even when the mock hunt was going on this morning so that he got to see the hounds. Usually, he does really well once he sees everything in hand, but today he just pulled it out of hat. He was just really great, and an amazing little horse. The course was so creative and thoughtful – it flowed well.”

Dressage: Flight To Paradise, trained by Kelly Ransom (Professional)
Temple City – Bird of Paradise, by Summer Bird
2018 bay gelding bred in Florida by Live Oak Stud
32-4-4-5, $97,701 in earnings

Erin Gilmore Photography

Flight To Paradise is still owned by his racing owner/trainer Cassandra Judd, and he’s piloted at the Makeover by first-time trainer Kelly Ransom, who in addition to competing through the upper levels of eventing, also has an exercise riding license. Ransom and Flight To Paradise competed in Dressage on Wednesday, and so had the agonizing prospect of sitting and watching scores all day on Thursday to see if they’d be bested.

“He was so spot on,” Ransom described. “He was a little nervous being able to look down and see everything from the arena, but he kept himself together and tried so hard to stay with me. He’s a horse that loves to work – he is pretty naturally balanced, which definitely helps. When he gets nervous, he still really tries and wants to be good. And on the ground, he definitely has a personality!”

Eventing: Mulling, trained by Sydney Solomon (Professional)
Overanalyze – Bombay Bridgett, by Go For Gin
2019 dark bay/brown mare bred in Kentucky by PTK, LLC
6-2-0-1, $21,035 in earnings

Erin Gilmore Photography

An eventer to the 4* level, professional Sydney Solomon took on her first Thoroughbred Makeover with two entries, climbing to the top of the leaderboard with Mulling. The mare is owned by aftercare organization Pastured Place.

“She was a little spunky when I first got on, but she settled in nicely,” said Solomon. “She was very professional in the ring. She’s a big dark brown and is very attractive, so I can see why the judge liked her. In show jumping, she makes a really nice shape over the fences, and on cross country, she wants to go quite quickly – today I just let her take it away, and that worked out well!”

Field Hunter: Bold Quest, trained by Grady McGalliard, catch ridden by Ryleigh Schofield (Junior)
Super Saver – Emmy Darling, by Graeme Hall
2017 chestnut gelding bred in Kentucky by Jack Swain III
22-4-1-2, $73,672 in earnings

Erin Gilmore Photography

Junior Grady McGalliard worked hard to prepare Bold Quest, owned by past Field Hunter champion trainer Cameron Sadler, for the Thoroughbred Makeover, but an ill-timed rider injury forced her to the sidelines. Fellow junior rider Ryleigh Schofield was qualified to ride in the Field Hunter discipline, and filled in last-minute as a catch rider, piloting Bold Quest, whom Sadler sourced directly from his connections, expertly through three phases of competition including the exciting but tricky mock hunt phase.

“I was scared at first because I didn’t know if it was going to go well or not,” Schofield said. “After our first ride, I realized it was going to be very good – he is really awesome. He’s an ex-steeplechaser and has a big stride. He jumps everything!”

Freestyle: Too Much Crown, trained by Julie Anna Prusak (Amateur)
Etbauer – Homebuilderbobanna, by Homebuilder
2019 chestnut gelding bred in Louisiana by Margie K. Averett
14-3-1-1, $48,255 in earnings

Erin Gilmore Photography

Too Much Crown and Julie Anna Prusak didn’t have the smoothest road to the Thoroughbred Makeover: the gelding needed kissing spine surgery with rehabilitation, then injured his stifle. Prusak considered it a win simply to make it to Kentucky. The gelding had been given the nickname Nemo from his reseller Kristina Hobbs, which inspired Prusak’s choice of a Finding Nemo theme for their freestyle performance and choice of props.

“I was just planning on having fun,” Prusak said. “I was just happy to be here because it wasn’t expected – this is icing on the cake. I’m looking forward to showing everybody that kissing spine doesn’t ruin everything. He’ll try hard with anything and keep going forward, no matter what.”

Polo: Baytown Ringer, trained by Meghan Shader (Professional)
Dialed In – Purely Lucky, by Lookin At Lucky
2021 bay mare bred in Kentucky by River Oak Farm
2-0-0-0, $300 in earnings

Erin Gilmore Photography

A past judge of the Polo discipline at the Thoroughbred Makeover with ample experience in multiple disciplines, this is Meghan Shader’s first year competing – and she made quite the statement on the Secretariat Polo Field this afternoon with Baytown Ringer, sourced directly from racing connections.

“My mare was really good,” Shader detailed. “We have a few things to improve upon before the Finale; we need to tighten some things up. But she’s a really good three-year-old. I’m honestly just most excited about having this horse: she played polo here in Kentucky all summer and took to it very well. She really just loves it, and I’m so happy with her.”

Ranch Work: Eagle Feather, trained by Colton Thacker (Amateur)
Honor Code – Striking Style, by Smart Strike
2019 dark bay/brown gelding bred in Kentucky by Bill Harrigan, Mike Pietrangelo & Caldara Farm, Inc.
3-0-0-0, $2,155 in earnings

Erin Gilmore Photography

Colton Thacker’s relationship with Eagle Feather might be more intimate than most: as a vet with Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, he first met Eagle Feather when the horse was a patient, rehabbing from a slab fracture in the knee. Thacker mentioned to the connections at Calumet Farm that he was interested in taking the horse home when he was done racing, and after a couple more races, two more injuries and a long rehabilitation, the pair began their journey towards a career beyond racing.

“He’s just been super easy and good to work with,” details Thacker. “I had a lot of help from John and Kathy Baar to help me get him started; they helped me learn to let him move at his pace and go forward. A lot of other people helped me with the cattle, like Doug Cape. He’s my heart horse – I’ve never been like that, but this guy, he has my heart. He’s for sale, but I think I can talk my wife into keeping him.”

Show Hunter: He Did It, trained by Anissa Butler (Amateur)
Blame – Lovely Stay, by Flower Alley
2020 bay gelding bred in Pennsylvania by Jonathan Sheppard
2-0-0-0, $1,170 in earnings

Erin Gilmore Photography

While a Makeover first-timer, Anissa Butler is no stranger to starting horses off the track, and her approach through lots of initial relaxation work clearly served her well in developing He Did It. Her plan now is simply to keep him happy and ready to take on the Finale.

“I was really proud of my horse and myself today,” Butler said. “For him to be only four years old, and this being only his fourth horse show, I could not have asked for anything more. Mossimo is really just the kindest horse – he really has great instincts, so I can trust him.”

Show Jumper: Comin’ Back, trained by Madison Barnett (Professional)
Competitive Edge – Maydell, by Sky Classic
2018 bay gelding bred in Kentucky by PTK, LLC
6-1-0-0, $16,849 in earnings

Erin Gilmore Photography

The second discipline winner bred by PTK, LLC, Comin’ Back is owned by Mary Crawford, who acquired the horse via Pastured Place. Madison Barnett has the ride, and entered both Show Jumper and Show Hunter, in which they finished fourth in preliminary rounds.

“I feel like he came out today and was just super ready to go,” described Barnett. “Yesterday, he was still a little looky, a little excited – today, he knew he had a job. I jumped the standards of the bounce, and I knew I was in for a good rest of the ride! Tomorrow, we’ll go for a good flat ride, and hope for the best on Saturday. He is a barn favorite – he’s a little bit too curious for his own good, but overall, he’s a very good boy.”