2011 NYPEA Hall of Fame

Tonight’s recipient of the NYPEA Hall Of Fame Award was bitten by the horse bug at an early age much like the rest of us were. This person started out as a farm kid, where kids are expected to do chores such as feeding calves. They learned what it meant to be a horseman from a pony. Also, like the rest of us.

They started their show career at the age of 12 with a pony and started their PHBA show career in 1982 with a weanling mare. Another life-changing event happened in Sept. of that year when they married their soul mate, of now 30 years this Sept. (The family wanted to trade John for the weanling but as usual, Betsy got her way and got both.)

For the past 40-plus years, the experiences she learned from her childhood adventures with her pony (Danka) taught her well, as she has done all the training on her horses herself. Her PHBA show career started with Salty Crystals, to Supreme Sundance, Crystals Jet Image, Ms. Solid Solution, Solid Personality, and Solid Gold Solution.

Her first palomino was Salty Crystal. Crystal was bought as a weanling in ’82. She showed her to an Open Championship, as a 5yo, in 1987, with points in 5 events, 4 ROM’s and 1 superior. Her Amateur Championship was achieved the next year in ’88 with points in 9 events and 6 ROMs. Also in ’88, (Crystal, as a 6 yo) they were 3rd in the nation in Amateur Road Hack, 6th in Amateur Hunter Hack, and 8th in Amateur Showmanship. Crystals show career accumulated a lifetime of 781 pts., in Open and Amateur divisions.

After Crystal, she went on to show Supreme Sundance, a 1988 gelding. Sundance was NYPEA High Point Yearling Gelding and Amateur Jr Gelding in 1989. She placed 4th in the nation in 1990 in Amateur Showmanship (Sundance was a 2 yo) and 4th in Amateur Halter Geldings as a 2 and 3 yo, ’90 and ’91. Sundance was a 4 yo, in ’92, when she was 9th in Amateur Hunter Under Saddle and achieved their Amateur Championship with 5 ROMs and 2 superiors.

While showing Crystal and then Sundance, she served as NYPEA secretary in 1987 for President Norm Putnam and in ’88 and ’89 for then President Mark Keith.

Then came along Crystals Jet Image, a 1990 palomino foal out of her mare Salty Crystals and sired by Jets Played First. (I think I’ve heard of that stud before. 🙂 ) Bud won the NYPEA Weanling Futurity in 1990. She was 2nd in the nation with him in Amateur Halter Geldings as a 2 yo in 1992. When Bud was 3, in ’93, she was 4th in the nation in Amateur Halter Geldings, 7th in Jr. Hunter Under Saddle, and 8th in Amateur Hunter Under Saddle. Bud continued his winning ways in ’94. She and Bud were 1st in the nation in Jr. Road Hack. She achieved Bud’s Open Championship in 1995 with 4 ROMs and 1 superior, at the young age of 5. Her Amateur Championship came the following year in 1996, with 6 ROMs, and 1 superior.

Salty Crystal had another palomino foal in 1996 by the name of Ms Solid Solution, by Chocolate Convoy.

Ms Solid Solution won the NYPEA Weanling Futurity that year out of 9, and was the NYPEA Year End High Point Weanling Mare and Amateur Jr Mare for the next 3 years. ( as a weanling, yearling, and 2-year-old mare) Also in ’98, as a 2-year-old, Micki won the Alumni Futurity Halter Class, and was 3rd in the nation in Amateur Halter Mares, 4th in Open mares, and 9th in Amateur Showmanship. From 1997 to 2002 Micki placed in the top ten in several classes with a lifetime accumulation of 1,499 points, with 9 ROMs and 5 superiors, in the Open and Amateur divisions. She achieved her Amateur Championship in 2000, as a 4 yo, and her Amateur Supreme Championship the next year, in 2001.

Ms Solid Solution’s ability continued on as a broodmare. She was bred twice to Poised N Personality, an AQHA Superior Halter stallion, and produced 2 palomino fillies.

The first of the 2 fillies was Solid Personality in 2003. As a weanling, Soffie was 2nd in the NYPEA Weanling Futurity and the High Point Weanling Mare for NYPEA. Soffie received her Amateur Halter superior as a yearling, in 2004, and was NYPEA High Point 2 yo and Amateur Jr Mare in ’05. She finished Soffie’s Open Halter superior as a 3-year-old, in ’06.

In ’05 Ms Solid Solution produced the other palomino filly, Solid Gold Solution.
Solid Gold Solution also won the NYPEA Weanling Futurity and was NYPEA High Point Weanling Mare and Reserve Amateur Jr Mare to her big sister Soffie. As a yearling, Baili was High Point Yearling and Amateur Jr mare in NYPEA, as well as being 4th in the nation in Open and Amateur mares. Baili continued, and improved on her winning ways as a 2 yo, in ’07, by placing 3rd in the nation in Open Mares and finishing her open halter superior. Here, our inductee started Baili’s riding career with ROMs in Open, Amateur, and Amateur Select. She was NYPEA’s 2010 Reserve Champion in Amateur Horsemanship.

She still has 3 horses at home, Crystals Jet Image, Ms Solid Solution, and Solid Gold Solution. They just put down Salty Crystal last year. She claims to be done with showing horses. More power to her.

It is my honor to introduce to you, the 2011 recipient of the NYPEA Hall of Fame, my friend, Betsy Walson.