3 minute read
Summer 2023
At the age of 13, Logan Ryan Starnes already has plenty of experience with winning. As the son of the Quarter Horse breeders and trainers Jay and Kristy Starnes of Manning, South Carolina, the young cowboy may have come by riding inevitably, but his mother says he didn’t exactly take to it at first. Apparently, his first pony, Bullwinkle, was a strong-willed type, and it wasn’t until Logan graduated to full-sized horses that he started to enjoy riding.
Logan began his show career in the Leadline division at American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and National Snaffle Bit Association (NSBA) shows when he was only 4 years old. He rode a mare named Certainly a Classic, also known as Cici. At 6, he moved up to Walk-Trot, finishing third at the prestigious All American Quarter Horse Congress in Ohio.
“His legs did not come past the saddle pad,” says his mother, Kristy. “One of the judges said afterwards that you could always hear where Logan was because there was a wave of clucking following him around the arena.”
The following year, Logan started riding Certainly Flatlined, a gelding bred and trained by the Starnes family, whose barn name, Peter, often became “Perfect Peter.” On Peter, Logan won the Walk-Trot division at the Congress in 2017, and the pair have been showing and winning ever since.
“He is a special horse; he is definitely a unicorn,” says Kristy, and Logan concurs, affirming that Peter is his favorite. He has won the 11-and-under Western Pleasure with him three times; he’s won the 18-and-under Team Tournament Western Pleasure, and has placed in Open futurity classes with him against adults. Logan will be showing Peter this year at the Youth World Show, coming up soon in Oklahoma City, where he has twice been Reserve Champion in the 13-and-under division.
This year Logan is also riding and showing a 3-year old named Strike 3, barn name Simon, in the Western Pleasure Futurity classes. His winnings so far have placed him among the top 35 Open Non Pro riders in the country. Strike 3 was also bred and raised by the Starnes family, and is out of the same mare, A Certain Illusion, who is a sister of the Walk-Trot horse that Logan began showing with.
Jay and Kristy Starnes ride and train about 16 horses and breed about six to ten foals a year. Logan helps work with the babies, and does all of his own training with his parents on the ground to coach him. He also plays lacrosse at his school, Laurence Manning Academy, and has earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do as the youngest ever in his program. So many accomplishments and barely into his teens: The future certainly does look bright for Logan Starnes.
