REINING STALLION, SMILEY STARLIGHT, RECEIVES AQHA AWARDS,
MOVES TO OKLAHOMA

WATONGA, OK, FEBRUARY 4, 2008: Reining stallion, Smiley Starlight, recently received the AQHA Reserve Championship Award as High-Point Senior Reining Horse for 2007. Smiley also received the 2007 AQHA Top-Ten Horse in Open Reining, 3rd place. Smiley Starlight has now earned a total of 81 points and won over $5,700 in prize money in reining competition. Smiley qualified for the AQHA World Show in both 2006 and 2007 but unfortunately did not make the trip to Oklahoma for the show.

Smiley Starlight has moved to Oklahoma is now standing at stud in Blanchard at Crawford Performance Horses. Todd Crawford trains horses and riders for Reining and Working Cow Horse events and has won numerous World Championships. Todd is planning to show Smiley in the near future as the stallion is already well on his way to qualifying for the 2008 World Show. Pam Crawford manages and runs Crawford Stallion Services, standing many top Performance Stallions and breeding over 400 mares each year. See www.crawfordstallionservices.com for details.

According to Lance Shockley, Smiley’s previous trainer in Colorado, “Smiley is truly a great horse and has earned his ‘license to breed’!” Smiley Starlight is by the legendary performance sire, Grays Starlight, and out of a mare named Shortys Playgirl who herself won over $28,000 in cutting. She goes back to Shorty Lena, Doc O’Lena and Freckles Playboy. Smiley Starlight is also registered in the Foundation Quarter Horse Registry with a foundation bloodline percentage of 93.75%. These bloodlines are some of the top in the industry for reining, cutting, cow horse and any event where you need a strong and athletic horse with cow sense and trainability.

Smiley Starlight is owned by Bill and Janet Williamsen, owners of Williamsen’s Bitter Creek Ranch, a historic cattle ranch located near Watonga, Oklahoma. The Williamsen’s are very excited about Smiley’s upcoming 2008 foal crop and will add photos of the foals to their web site as soon as they are available. They also have video online showing Smiley’s winning run at the Open Derby in Colorado this summer at the Rocky Mountain Summer Slide. See www.bittercreekranch.com.

Reining is a western event designed to show the athletic ability of a ranch-type horse within the confines of a show arena. Each pattern includes small slow circles, large fast circles, flying lead changes, rollbacks over the hocks, 360-degree spins done in place and exciting sliding stops that are the hallmark of the reining horse. You can read more about reining at www.nrha.com.