2023 Totally Tops Leading Riders & Handlers

Date

As featured in the Winter 2024 issue of Arabian Horse World.

 

 Now in its 28th year, Totally Tops honors outstanding professional trainers and amateurs from the U.S., Sport Horse, and Mid-Summer Nationals.

The tallies are based on the number of wins each trainer or amateur has accumulated as specified below. Congratulations to those who have made the list — numbers don’t lie, you really are Totally Tops in the Arabian breed. Congratulations from all of us at Arabian Horse World.

Join us as we salute our Totally Tops 2023 winners. We thank them for their fine examples of horsemanship and for taking the Arabian to even higher levels of performance.

Totally Tops Disciplines – How we tallied the Tops for 2023

Things you should know about how we compiled the rankings:

 

 

All disciplines include purebred and Half-Arabian wins.

Points are awarded as follows: Championship: 10 points; Reserve Champion: 7 points; Top Ten: 4 points.

A rider/handler must have at least two Top Ten wins or one Reserve Championship to be listed.
Totally Tops charts count only the horses actually shown by these individuals; every effort is made to confirm each rider/handler’s point tally.

Amateur classes are tallied separately from all other disciplines.

Classes not included:

Sidesaddle, equitation, or exhibition classes; carriage pleasure driving classes; supreme classes; JTR and JOTR classes; U.S. National AWPA, AHPA and AEPA futurity and maturity classes.

 

Classes included in each discipline:

All amateur and junior classes are excluded from the following disciplines.

Halter — purebred and Half-Arabian halter, futurities.

English – Park, English pleasure, country English pleasure, driving, informal combination.

Hunter Pleasure – All hunter pleasure classes.
Show Hack – All show hack classes.

Trail – Trail, trail junior horse, trail futurity, English trail.

Western Pleasure – All western pleasure classes.

Working Western – Reining, cutting, working cow, reined cow, ranch horse riding, and herd work.

Native Costume – All native costume classes.

Sport Horse Halter — Sport Horse In-hand, Hunter type and Dressage Type.

Sport Horse Performance – Working hunter, sport horse under saddle, hunter hack, jumper, and hunter/jumper.

Dressage – All dressage classes.

Multi-discipline Pros – All trainers with points in two or more disciplines.

The following disciplines are limited to classes designated by ATH, AATH, AAOTH, ATR, AATR, AAOTR, AOTH, AOTR, ATD, AOTD or AAOTD:

Amateur Overall – All classes designated amateur from the halter, English, hunter pleasure, show hack, trail, western pleasure, working western or native costume disciplines.

Sport Horse Amateur — All classes designated amateur that would otherwise fall into the sport horse halter or sport horse performance categories.

Multi-Discipline Pros

CHAMPIONJim Hitt
RESERVE Colby Powell
TOP TENRonald Bartholomew
 Jonathan Ramsay
 Jessiva Bein
 Noelle Roberts
 Gordon Potts
 Hannah Finch
 Kaitlyn Quillin
 Brooke Fuchs
Jim Hitt

Halter

CHAMPION Ted Carson
RESERVE Andrew Sellman
TOP TEN Grant Krohn
Joseph Alberti
Jeff Schall
Sandro Pinha
Claudinei Machado
Rodolfo Guzzo
David Boggs
Keith Krichke
Ted Carson

English

CHAMPIONJonathan Ramsay
RESERVE Joel Kiesner
TOP TENMatthew Siemon
 Jessica Clinton
 Joel Gangi
 Nestor Gonzalez
 Dalton Budd
 Leah Beth Golladay
 Shawn Rooker
 Rene Ramirez
 James Stachowski
Jonathan Ramsay

Hunter

CHAMPION Wendy Potts
RESERVE Jonathan Ramsay
TOP TEN Cassandra Gillespie
Nestor Gonzales
Elizabeth Bentley
Justin Cowden
Megan Jenkins
Stephanie Sage Walker
Joshua Shino
Kirsten Mckillop
Taryn Lundquist
Wendy Potts

SHOW HACK

CHAMPIONJonathan Ramsay
RESERVE Cynthia Burkman
TOP TENKristi Stewart
 Kathleen Hart
 James Lowe
 John Rannenberg
Jonathan Ramsay

NATIVE COSTUME

CHAMPION Brooke Fuchs
Caralyn Schroter
Lian Oteiza
Stephanie Reitter
RESERVE Rose Huckfeldt
TOP TEN Joshua Shino
Leslie Palmer Garvis
Michael Perry
Nestor Gonzalez
Brooke Fuchs

TRAIL

CHAMPION Jim Hitt
RESERVE Jessica Bein
TOP TEN Jill Mitchell
Lou Roper
Sterling Bradley
Scott Scheyli
Dale Sullens
Particia Gerdes
Michael Damianos
Lisa Halpain
Jim Hitt

DRESSAGE

CHAMPION Brooke Fuchs
RESERVE Mikayla Clement
Mimi Stanley
  Robert Bartholomew
TOP TEN Kaitlyn Quillin
  Chrystal Coffelt-Wood
  Jeann Upchurch
  Hannah Finch
  James Fehr
  Joann Williams
  Andrea Pappano
  Amy Miller
  Lisa Kiser
  Roberta Eisenberg
  Marilyn Weber
  Taylor Allen
Brooke Fuchs

WESTERN PLEASURE

CHAMPION Joe Reser
RESERVE Brett Becker
TOP TEN Colby Powell
Zane Bucher
Greg Harris
Dale Brown
Gordon Potts
Steven Scoggins
Jody Strand
Rick Gault
Cody Gillespie
Elizabeth Bentley
Josh Quintus
Abram Cotton
Joe Reser

Working Western

CHAMPION Colby Powell
RESERVE Jim Hitt
TOP TEN Jesse Chase
Gordon Potts
Doug Stewart
Crystal McNutt
Jessica Bein
Skylar Powell
Nathan Kent
Gary Ferguson
Tye McDaniel
Colby Powell

Amateur

CHAMPION Tracy Dowson
RESERVE Delaney Haight
TOP TEN Diane Franklin
Mack Elwood
Michelle Pease-Paulsen
Katie Russell
Gabrielle Sitomer
Chelsea Cantero
Brooke Bellville
Lyra Waggoner
Susan Read
Katie Harvey
Tracy Dowson

Sport Horse Halter

CHAMPIONDavid Conner
RESERVE Ronald Bartholomew
TOP TENKaitlyn Quillin
 Shannon McCormick
 Aaron Hardy
 Annie Wiggins
 Mikayla Clement
 Jennette Aubert
 Brooke Fuchs
 Mary Loden
 Lawrence Jones

 

David Conner

Sport Horse Performance

CHAMPION Noelle Roberts
RESERVE Ronald Bartholomew
TOP TEN Alexis Forster
Hannah Finch
Anleigh Ahlert
Cavan Smith
Paris Mahoney
Raven Groupp
Estrella Smith
Kristin Hardin
Noelle Roberts

Sport Horse Amateur

CHAMPION Molly Schwister
RESERVE Alexis Forster
TOP TEN Kimberly Graves
Hannah Darby
Taylor Craft
Alexis Starer Doughty
Cara Barron-Shirley
Megan Frantz
Tracy Vann
Abby Tymchak
Alissa Donnell
Caitlin Heinz
Cavan Smith
Madeline Pielage
Molly Schwister

Words from our totally tops winners

“The 2023 show season was a great success for Fox Performance Horses. In Dressage, we had multiple horses showing from Training to Second Level this year. With multiple regional Champions and Reserve Champions we went into Sport Horse Nationals strong and ended with two Reserve Championships and multiple Top Tens.
EF Moonshine is the Mounted Native Costume horse who just kept getting better with each show this year. He gave me his very best at US Nationals, and was named National Champion.”
— Brooke Fuchs, Totally Tops Champion Dressage and Native Costume

“This year’s success can be attributed to great trainers. Jim Hitt has put off surgeries until after U S Nationals for a few years now. He has gone through more pain for roses than anyone else I know. Mitch Sperte brought a very special (and difficult) horse along when everyone else had given up on him. I schooled dressage with Leslie Bean to keep my riding skills sharp when I was not able to ride with Jim or Mitch.”
— Tracy Dowson, Totally Tops Champion Amateur

“2023 was a great year in the working western pen for my team. We earned championships at Nationals in Reining, Ranch Riding, and Ranch Rail. Excited to be Totally Tops!”
— Colby Powell: Totally Tops Champion Working Western, Reserve Multi-Discipline Pro and Top Ten Western Pleasure

“It is such an honor to win the Totally Tops award. When I was a little girl, I used to dream of winning a national championship and being recognized in the year end awards like Totally Tops. This show season is one that will go down in the record books for me. I had the privilege to show not only my horse ,but also show my trainer’s horse and a few of my friends’ horses. In 2023, I was fortunate to travel from Scottsdale, AZ to Lexington, VA and a few places in between to compete. But the highlight show of the year for me was Sport Horse Nationals. My trainer and I worked diligently to make everything as perfect as it could be before the show. Which meant a lot of long days in and out of the saddle. It all came to fruition at Nationals when I had the show of a lifetime!.”
— Molly Schwister, Totally Tops Champion Sport Horse Amateur

 

“I am blessed to do what I do every day, for the the clients I have, and for the horses I get to show.” 
— Jim Hitt: Totally Tops Champion Multi-Discipline Pro and Champion Trail

“2023 was amazing year. I got the opportunity to put some amazing horses, and with some amazing people in the arena. most of all I would like to thank everyone at Stachowski West for everything you do.”
— Jonathan Ramsay: Totally Tops Champion English Pleasure and Show Hack

“It is such an honor to win Totally Tops in a division as it truly goes off your accolade’s for that particular year. I am grateful for the recognition!”
— Wendy Potts: Totally Tops Champion Hunter Pleasure

“I am humbled and grateful for all the success the 2023 show season brought me. Not only did I have an incredible group of horses to train and show, their owners were very supportive of the goals we set out to achieve. The Shamrock Farms Team of trainers, caretakers, veterinarians, farriers and alternative care practitioners are second to none and allow me to have happy, healthy horses to work with. I have so much appreciation of the Shamrock Farms owners, Carrie and Leslie, for giving me the opportunity to work for their business. And I owe a big thank you to my family for their love and understanding of the sacrifices we make to achieve my dreams. ”
— Joe Reser: Totally Tops Champion Western Pleasure

“2023 was a great year for my entire program and we enjoyed lots of wins at both MidSummer and Sport Horse Nationals, but HF Drama Queen’s Championships were a highlight. I’ve had her since she was 4 and always believed in her talent, so to see her be successful at the Open and and Junior rider level was incredibly rewarding.”
— Noelle Roberts, Totally Tops Champion Sport Horse Performance

“I am thrilled and honored to have won the Sport Horse In-hand category for Totally Tops! 2023 was another incredible and exciting year, highlighted by winning the 3 & Over Supreme National Championship with the amazing purebred stallion, Zee Kahili (pictured)! I am so thankful to all of my wonderful support system and clients that have made this feat possible.”
— David Connor, Totally Tops Champion Sport Horse Halter

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