NUMBER ONE PUREBRED WESTERN PLEASURE HORSE 2008-2012
Aa n t h e m v (*Jullyen El Jamaal x Alyce Bey V by Huckleberry Bey)
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2008 Canadian National Champion Western Pleasure Junior Horse 2008 U.S. National Top Ten Western Pleasure Maturity AAOTR 2009 Canadian National Top Ten Western Pleasure AAOTR 18-39 2009 Canadian National Champion Western Pleasure AATR 18-39 2009 U.S. National Top Ten Western Pleasure AAOTR 18-35 2010 Canadian National Top Ten Western Pleasure AAOTR 18-39 2010 Canadian National Champion Western Pleasure AATR 18-39 2010 U.S. National Champion Western Pleasure AAOTR 55 & Over 2011 Canadian National Champion Western Pleasure AAOTR 40 & Over 2011 Canadian National Champion Western Pleasure AATR 40 & Over 2011 U.S. National Reserve Champion Western Pleasure AAOTR 55 & Over
Anthem for the first time. We clicked. I loved him before but I fell doubly in love with him after riding him.” So you won a U.S. National Championship on Anthem after owning him for just two weeks? “Yes, can you believe it? That first day I rode him, Rick said, ‘You know, he’s qualified for Nationals.’ I told him I hadn’t ridden a horse in two years and I didn’t want to take this great horse into the ring at Nationals and make him look bad. Rick said, ‘He’ll take care of you. Just go in there with no expectations, no pressure.’ I said, ‘OK, lemme dig up some show clothes and I’ll show him.’” “I know, that’s crazy, right?” adds Rick. “But Janice is a very classy lady. She sits up very pretty, and she’s quiet. She doesn’t overdo things, she doesn’t panic, she’s very relaxed. She’s one with the horse. I thought the combination of the two would be wonderful because he’s a classy horse.” Janice continues, “At Nationals, I had two lessons on Anthem, and we came out of our first cut with a first, first and second on the cards. I will never forget the moment they called our number for 2010 U.S. National Champion Western Pleasure AOTR 55 and Over. It took months for it to sink in that we had really won. “The next year, I was thinking, ‘Well, there’s nothing to this National Championship thing!’ So I went to Canada and we won two championships; both the Western Pleasure AATR and AOTR. And then we went back to U.S. and won the Reserve Championship in the 55 and over. This horse was unbelievable.”
2012 Canadian National Reserve Champion Western Pleasure AAOTR 40 & Over 2012 Canadian National Top Ten Western Pleasure AATR 40 & Over 2012 U.S. National Top Ten Western Pleasure AAOTR 55 & Over Owners: Janice and Neville Lorick, Hendersonville, North Carolina
Trainer: Rick Gault
It’s not every day a superstar becomes available. Tell us how Anthem came into your lives. “I saw Anthem V when he was a four-year-old in 2007 at Rick and Laura Gault’s place, and I fell in love with him,” says Janice Lorick. “My husband Neville and I told them that if Anthem was ever for sale, to call us first. “Three years later, Laura called to let us know that Anthem was for sale. We were getting ready to drive from our summer place in Ennis, Montana, back to North Carolina, and we
decided to think about it on the way home. As we were crossing South Dakota my husband said, ‘It’s October 11, is there something about today that I’m supposed to remember?’ And I said, ‘Well dear, today’s our anniversary.’ He said, ‘Oh I knew there was something I was supposed to do today!’ “When we got to our motel room that night, he called Rick and asked if it was too late to get in the game for Anthem. Rick said, ‘I had a feeling you’d be having a discussion tonight.’ “We stopped at Rick’s on the way home, and I rode
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What do the judges see in Anthem? “I think it’s his charisma. When he comes in the ring he’s just all boy. He jogs in like, ‘Here I am’” says Janice. “I can put him between horses, I can put him anywhere I want and he’s always honest. Every once in a while he gets a little lazy, but what man doesn’t? You’ve just got to keep their attention! “All the buttons that Rick puts on his horses are always right there. Whether you cluck or kiss or move your seat, he responds. That’s just a great-minded horse.” Adds Rick, “He frames up really pretty, he’s got so much quality, his neck hooks up in the bridle and his manners are impeccable. He’s eye-catching overall.” Tell us what you love most about Anthem. “His disposition is unbelievable. A three-year-old child could go in the stall with him,” says Janice. “He’s almost like
a gelding. We have to remind ourselves that he’s a stud because he’s so quiet. “When I walk in the barn, all I have to do is say, ‘Aaaandy’ and he puts his eye to the bars of the stall door and nickers to me. He loves women. When you go in his stall he wraps his neck around you. He never puts his mouth on you. He’s just perfect!” “He is very intelligent. He learns things quickly and he’s a very gentle, kind, and sweet horse,” adds Rick. We hear Anthem has some lovely foals on the ground. Do you have any of your own coming? “Believe it or not, Anthem is our only Arabian,” says Janice. “We’ve thought about getting a mare, but in the meantime some wonderful people have bred mares to him and there are some beautiful foals on the ground. Multi-National winner Mi Maria (Kharben x Mi-Tiffany) just had an Anthem filly. You should see her! She is absolutely exquisite. And National halter and performance winner Faith EF (Sundance Kid V x Bali Hai V) is bred to Anthem for next year, as is multi-National Champion Western Pleasure mare Melody V (Sundance Kid V x Magdalena V). We’re just going to enjoy watching them and hope to see them in the ring soon. What’s next for Anthem? “The last time I showed him was in 2008 when he won Scottsdale and Canadian National Champion Western Pleasure Junior Horse,” says Rick. “So now I’m going to start showing him in open. He’s been doing the amateur thing since he was five. “He’s really learning to focus and pay attention. He’s got a tremendous true hand gallop, and he really covers ground without flying around like a racehorse. That’s probably his best gait because he’s having fun with it.” Your thoughts on owning a great one? “My friends in Montana ask why I don’t bring my horse out to Montana for the summer.” I say, “You don’t understand … my horse wears slinky pajamas, has a heat lamp, rides in an air ride trailer, and he doesn’t get dirty!” laughs Janice. “Anthem is the horse of a lifetime. I told my husband, if I never win another ribbon with this horse, I’ve already achieved everything I ever dreamed of with him. In my first class A show, I just wanted to place. And now I’ve got a horse that won not one, but three National Championships! “I still don’t quite believe it.”
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