Sarah Dawson and Juliette Jonez earn World Champion Open Hackamore Title
Sarah Dawson and the young mare Juliette Jonez both crossed great milestones during the Open Hackamore finals at the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Kalpowar Quarter Horses Celebration of Champions on February 22. Dawson was extremely excited for the mare to end her derby career with a bang, and family ties to the horse’s bloodlines made the win even sweeter.
Juliette Jonez“She’s been super strong all of her Derby years and she’s always been beautiful in the Hackamore, I actually showed her in all of the derbies in the Hackamore just because she always carried it so well. So it’s exciting for her to for her to go out with a win,” Dawson said.
This was Juliette Jonez’s last show in hackamore or any derby events. She has aged out of those and will have to continue showing in the two-rein or bridle.
Juliette Jonez is bred and owned by Linda Mars who is also a part owner of the mare’s sire, Travelin Jonez. Dawson’s husband Chris rode Travelin Jonez to the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Intermediate Open Championship in 2011 as well as the NRCHA Derby Open Championship and the NRCHA Stallion Stakes Open Championship in 2013.
It’s not just Chris with ties to the mare’s bloodlines. Sarah rode the mare’s dam, Shine Smarter (by WR This Cats Smart) to a championship at the inaugural The American Performance Horseman in 2023.
“It’s actually pretty special to have another one of her babies in the winner’s circle,” Dawson said.
Dawson rode Selvarey (by Dual Rey) to the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Championship in 2020 and has watched Chris ride Me and Mrs Jonez (by Travelin Jonez) to many top finishes. Both mares are out of Shine Smarter.
This win worth $10,840, also unofficially pushed Dawson over the $2 million dollar mark as a rider in the NRCHA.
Hackamore World ChampionJuliette Jonez comes from royal reined cow horse bloodlines, and with a top trainer like Dawson in her corner, she was sure to be a champion someday.
Sarah Dawson on Juliette Jonez * Photo by Amy Olson
“So the rein work she was solid. I’m not gonna say it’s the best run she’s ever put together,” Dawson stated. “But she was nice and solid.”
The cow work was a different story in the John Justin Arena for the Open Hackamore World Finals.
“She had a stellar cow work and these cows have been tricky to work especially to go get them circled, so we had a huge first turn and then kind of a funky little deal in our second turn and then we were forced into circling right there. And she she went and circled a ton of cow and never really lost any degree of difficulty there. So she put an impressive run together,” Dawson said, giving her horse all of the credit.
The pair marked a 217.5 in the rein work and a 225 in the cow work for a composite of 442.5, leading the rest of the pack by a point and a half.
“I honestly think all horses probably enjoy the cow work a little bit more because it gives them a purpose. But fortunately she’s beautiful in the rein work and very smart about a cow, so she’s great in both events,” Dawson said.
Reserve ChampionComing in a close second was EquiStat Elite $2 Million Rider Zane Davis on Speakeasy Cat. The 2019 stallion is by EquiStat Elite $5 Million Sire Smooth Talkin Style and out of Catty Moves (by High Brow Cat).
They marked a 221.5 in the rein work and a 219.5 in the cow work for a composite of 441. The pair raked in $8,8672 for owner Lightning 7 Cattle Co. LLC.