DEL MAR — Sisters share a special bond, and when you add a horse — well, good things happen.

That’s the case with Ashley and Samantha Price and Dress Blues, a trio whose history together goes back several years and whose immediate past is terrific: a fresh pair of championships and a reserve at the 2016 Arabian Horse Association Championship Show, held May 18-22 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

The gelding was foaled on Memorial Day in the backyard of Molly Jenks, a family friend of the Price sisters and their trainer mom, Debbie Price of Priceless Arabians in ALta Loma. When Molly brought Dress Blues, named in part for her husband, a former U.S. Marine, to Priceless Arabians to present to potential buyers, Ashley was anything but in the market, as she has just lost her own horse after 13 years of riding together. However, “Trooper,” as he would soon be called, turned the ehads of a couple others — namely Debbie and Samantha.

“They rode him a few times and thought he was something, kind of special,” remembers Ashley. “I didn’t think I would be in the market for another horse, but the running joke in my family is that when someone brings a horse in to sell, they somehow end up becoming part of our own herd.”
That’s exactly what happened with Trooper.

“A few people came to try him, but ultimately they decided to pass because he wasn’t exactly what they were looking for,” says Ashley. “My mother convinced me to take a test drive on him, and it just felt right.”

Since acquiring Trooper a few years ago, Samantha has done all of his training, with Ashley getting lessons on the weekend. It has been a labor of love for Samantha because she once competed on the hrose’s dam, OSO Mad About You.

“I think Trooper holds a special place in her heart since she used to show Maddie,” Ashley said of the mare, still owned by Molly. “As a 13-and-under youth rider, Samantha earned a Scottsdale championship with Maddie in Half-Arabian hunter pleasure.

“Trooper has been challenging at times, but I think he is really starting to blossom,” she adds. “I am so excited for our future. I really would like to thank Molly for breeding, raising, and giving me the opportunity to own such a wonderfully special horse. And I’d like to thank my mother and sister for turning him into my dream guy!”

Debbie finds satisfaction in this picture, too.

“I am so proud of my girls,” she says. “As a trainer and their mom, I sometimes expect alot — maybe too much — and I forget that they have been doing this all their lives. I just need to step back sometimes and watch how much they have learned. He is the outcome of their hardwork.”

At Region 1, Ashley rode Trooper to the Half-Arabian Hunter Pleasure AAOTR and Half-Arabian AATR 18-39 Championships, while Samantha, competing in the open, was Reserve Champion in Hunter Pleasure. The winning performances enhanced a strong Region 1 showing for the barn that also included Margo Minissian’s Maxim LOA+/, who took Region 1 Hunter Pleasure Championships in both AATR and AAOTR 40-over as well as Champion Sidesaddle and Top Five in Showmanship AATH with Margo. Maxim LOA+/ also was Region 1 Champion in Showmanship 10-under with Natalia Minissian. EVG Jericho+ (Hunt Seat Equitation 14-18, Samantha Crosmer riding), TK Kool Mist++ (Sidesaddle, with Samantha Price) and National Treazure (Hunter Pleasure Select Rider ATR, with Madison Fenton) all won Region 1 Reserve Championships.

MORE ONLINE: Http://bit.ly/606B_region1