The 2025 Superior Sweepstakes—an event to remember!
VALLEY ACRES IRISH QUEEN (King-E Otto B x FAMS Irish Lady) tops a class of 70 outstanding weanlings!
The 2025 Superior Morgan Sweepstakes the week of November 17th was a much anticipated trip for our Sunrise Stables crew and clients, with foals entered from several well proven sires, as well as significant representation from two up and coming stallions. It was our honor to prepare and present an incredibly showy and correct filly from the Schrock brothers, sired by their premier stallion, KING-E OTTO B (Mizrahi x Valley Acres Scarlett), who just got showier as the class went on. Earning the 2025 Superior Morgan Sweepstakes Championship honors was VALLEY ACRES IRISH QUEEN, out of a CBMF Over The Moon daughter, who simply got better with each appearance. She lived up to her name with her presence and performance, and we could not be more honored to hand the check for over $80,000 to her breeder and owner, Daniel Schrock, who also owns the sire.
We brought six wonderful weanlings to Shipshewana, and four made the final Top 20 cut, which required our calling on friends and professional peers to assist with their presentation in the last round of judging on Wednesday night. Not only did our Sunrise staff go above and beyond prepping and presenting these weanlings, but our good friends at Rose Haven Farm, Julianna Rafferty and Austin Hazelwood, also provided valuable assistance throughout the event. And our special thanks to Dwayne Knowles and John Valardi from Broadmoor for helping us bring home the bling in the final round!
All six of our entries showed really well, and we’re so appreciative of their breeders and owners for giving us the opportunity to showcase their produce. Traveling with us to Indiana were—
- Charlton Exuberance (Extreme Sensation x Girlz Night Out), owned by Scott Charlton (263 score in preliminary round, finishing fifth for $14,556)
- Valley Acres Irish Queen (King-E Otto B x FAMS Irish Lady), bred & owned by Daniel Schrock (260 score in preliminary round, finishing as CHAMPION for $80,060)
- Sea Pirate (Dragonsmeade Sea Dragon CH x Stonecroft Trivia), owned by Marie Ciaffa (257 score in preliminary round, finishing ninth for $6,405)
- Fire Run Black Ice (Dragonsmeade Axios x FRF Bridalveil), bred & owned by Kurt & Teri Rumens, Fire Run Farm (256 score in preliminary round, finishing 14th for $3,850.37)
- SSLLC Picasso (SSLLC Extreme Waze CH x SN Unzipped), bred & owned by Schengrund Stables LLC (234 score in preliminary round)
- LLKL American Spirit (Saralin Seabourn x King’s Beauty), bred & owned by Lloyd Lapp (234 score in preliminary round)
As you can see from the preliminary scoring, even our two foals that didn’t make the top 20 finals represented well by being in the top 40 out of a class of 70, which is fabulous!
It wouldn’t be a proper recap without extending our gratitude to Jim Taylor, Shanna Gish, and Julie Christopher for their great job planning and running the Superior Morgan Sweepstakes, certainly the most high profile and successful Morgan breeder event in history. And of course, none of this would be possible without Dennis Bontrager and Al Lehman and their families, who continue to produce a fabulous Superior Morgan Horse Sale for all of us to enjoy.
This event is the finale of our year, and we enjoy going into the holidays with thanks for these accomplishments, and to launch us into even greater things in the new year. We are blessed with great horses, wonderful clients, and cherished friends, and we never forget their contributions to making Sunrise Stables LLC what it is today!
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