Acorn Show Horses

07/27/2024

Quick trip to my home state for a clinic with my brother RE Sears.

07/21/2024

Found out tonight that Gus won the Golden Horse award at Palomino World!
What an accomplishment for our first time at this show. Thank you Buzz Cole for making this dream come true!!!

07/18/2024

The Palomino World Show is a wrap! Despite showing conformation at 9:30pm last night, Jean & Gus got fancy and pulled off a 3rd place finish in the Jr Hunter Hunter Saddle. The entire Acorn Show Horses team is incredibly proud of this duo! Look for Jean and “Sip N Only The Best” at Congress this fall..

⭐️ HUGE thanks to Marilyn Cole for all of her support this week! She definitely takes MVG (Most Valuable Groom!)

07/15/2024

Jean is putting an unforgettable stamp on the Palomino World Show, piloting Gus to another Reserve World Championship in the Open Rail and top honors with a World Championship in Open Working Ranch Horse!

07/14/2024

Starting off the Palomino Horse Breeders of America show with a bang: Reserve World Champions, Open Ranch Trail - Jean Haller & “Sip N Only The Best”. Good boy, Gus! 🏆

07/04/2024

Getting my Ranch Under saddle 🤪 horse prepared for Palomino World! We french braided his mane and tail to see how he would do with it, in prep for the HUS. Then I put him in his ranch gear and went out and rode.💛

06/09/2024

Headed home from the NCQHA Tarheel Classic with wins for everyone! Thank you to NCQHA for always putting on a fabulous show, we love coming here!

⭐️ Sippin Bacardi Gold & trainer Jean Haller
Multiple 1st places and top 5s in Working Western Rail, taking the circuit championship!

🤗 Cee Me Shining & Colleen Plaugher
2,4,4 in Level-1 Ranch Riding
1,2,4 in Select Am Ranch Riding
Top 10 placings under all judges in Am Ranch Trail

🦄 Shirley Shes Metalic & Ellen Miles
Ellen & EJ debuted in the show pen under saddle in a huge Open Working Western Rail class with a solid go! Really looking forward to developing this filly’s confidence over the show season.

06/04/2024

Gus's reaction to a bath and a cookie. Guess which is which.

04/30/2024

Back from the World Equestrian Center Wilmington Ohio L1 Championship show, and I couldn't be prouder of these ladies! Everyone brought home ribbons and had an amazing time.

04/24/2024

The Ranch division is a wrap for these ladies at their first showing in the AQHA Level-1 Championships, and I couldn’t be more proud!
🤠 Colleen Plaugher & Cee Me Shining
5th Level 1 Select Ranch Riding, 4th NSBA
9th Level 1 Ranch Trail
🦄 Ellen Miles & Jacks Royal Drive
7th Rookie Ranch Riding, 5th NSBA
6th Level 1 Ranch Riding, 5th NSBA
As with every horse show there were both highs and lows, but this team always looks for the positive, learns, grows, and has FUN! Now shifting gears to support Meghan in the Hunter Equitation and Horsemanship! 🌟

04/13/2024

Martinganza 2024
Most of my clients are DIY
Amateurs. They come to me for lessons and tune ups. I am totally okay with that. They probably ride their horses more than the people that have their horses in full-time training. They take care of their own horses, they know them, they love them. So for our group this was a great show. Good goes, lots of learning and some good prizes and ribbions. Also a huge THANK YOU to Marilyn (Buzz) Cole. She kept us going. She was that extra set of hands, eyes, arms and feet we all wish for. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
⭐️ Colleen and Fancy
L1 Amt Ranch trail 1,2,3,1,1,1 CIRCUIT CHAMPION
VRH Amt Ranch trail 2,3,3
Jean Open Ranch trail 3,3,2
Levl 1 Amt Ranch riding 3,5,5
⭐️ Meghan and Emma
1,1,1,1 APHA EQ and SMS (Circuit Champs); 1,1,1,2,2,2 LQ EQ (CC), 2,2,2,3,3,3 AM SMS; 3,3,4,5,5,6 in AM HMS.
⭐️ Sarah and Dygert
L1 Ranch riding 4,5,6
VRH AM Ranch Riding 6,8,9
L1 AM Ranch Trail 6,6,6
⭐️ Ellen and Yuma
NovAm Ranch Riding: top 5 under all judges
Open Green Ranch Riding: top 10 placings w/ Ellen NovAm Ranch Trail: top 5 placings w/ Ellen
Open Green Ranch Trail: top 10 placings w/ Jean

02/14/2024

It's farrier day at the barn. Check out "Maverick" standing like a big boy.

01/21/2024

Congratulations Meghan Palombo on your NCQHA year end awards. Despite a wardrobe malfunction (or maybe because of it) we had a good time and some good laughs!
What a great first season of showing Natural Dream Lover (Emma) and showing with Acorn Show Horses.
Champion Am Showmanship
Champion Am Horsemanship
Champion Level 1 Horsemanship
Res Champiom AM and Level 1 Equitation.

11/05/2023

11/05/2023

The VQHA Jac-O-Lantern Classic show is a wrap! The team had some wonderful rides and really enjoyed spending the weekend with our friends Mary & K 🤠 Thanks to VAQHA and Mark Miller for a wonderful (but cold!!!) show!

Colleen Plaugher & Cee Me Shining
⭐️ Circuit Champ: Level 1 Amateur Ranch Riding
⭐️ Circuit Champ: Amateur Ranch Trail
⭐️ 2nd under both judges Amateur Ranch Riding
⭐️ 1st All Breed Ranch Riding
This new duo has had an exceptional year!

Ellen Miles & Shirley Shes Metalic
🦄 2nd in 3-yr Old Mares (Halter)
“EJ” continues to progress in her training and gain some mileage at these shows. We can’t wait to start showing her in the Ranch classes in 2024!

10/31/2023

Happy Halloween from Acorn Show Horses. We had a barn party. So much fun! Thank you Tawny and Andre for all the delicious food!

09/04/2023

Home from the Virginia Paint Horse Color Classic Futurity Show! Emma and Meghan had some stellar trips in their classes. Kelly (Meghans mom) came down from NY and showed in the all-breed with placings in very big classes! Gus and I had a good show as well.

Meghan Palombo and Natural Dream Lover
🥈Reserve AM High Point (earning their first belt buckle)
🥇Circuit Champions & Chrome Cash Champions in the AM EQ, HMS and SMS
🌟1,1,1,1 AM EQ
🌟1,1,2,2 AM HMS
🌟1,1,1,3 AM SMS
🌟3,5,7 in the AM Performance Mares
Congratulations to all! It was a fun show.

05/21/2023

The dust has settled (literally) on a very successful weekend at the Virginia National Stock Horse Show. Too many ribbons and achievements to list, but notable highlights include:

⭐️ DB Shady Lil Cat
1st VRH Ranch Trail
2nd VRH Ranch Reining
2/3 AQHA Senior Ranch Riding

🏆 Cee Me Shining & Colleen Plaugher
Circuit Champion All Breed Ranch Trail
Circuit Champion AQHA Amateur Ranch Trail
3rd Nov Amateur Ranch Riding
3rd Amateur Ranch Riding
3rd VRH Ranch Trail

💥 Smokin Mr Whiz It & Sarah Whipkey
This new team secured a Top 5 placing in a HUGE Amateur Working Western Rail class!

🥃 Sippin Bacardi Gold
“Gus” and Jean made their Hunter Under Saddle debut, with an unfortunate bobble keeping them out of the top placings. Gus looked fantastic, we look forward to his future as an All-Around horse!

🦄 “Emma Jean” continues to gain experience traveling to horse shows. She proves herself to be quite a steady filly, it won’t be long before she hits the show pen!

As always, THANK YOU to Marilyn Cole for keeping us all fed, groomed, and smiling this weekend!

04/28/2023

Today was a good day! My friend Marilyn did a little cantering on her horse Re*****on. This has been a goal for this pair. I just want to say how proud I am of them. It might not be a big deal for some people but Marilyn just turned 70 and didn't grow up doing the horse thing. So use this as inspiration if you're just starting something new! I also had a first with Marilyn today. Gus went on his first little trail ride.💛 Thank you Lord for the small things!

04/09/2023

Happy Easter all my Acorn friends!
Today is also Gus's birthday!

04/04/2023

What a fun weekend at Martinganza AQHA show and Futurity. Thank you for putting on a terrific show.
Congratulations
to Meghan Palombo and Natural Dream Lover on their Circuit Championships in the APHA Amateur Showmandhip and AQHA Horsemanship and AQHA L1 Horsemanship!

Sippin Bacardi Gold on his Circuit Championship tie in the SB Paint Ranch. Rail.

Emma Jean and Ellen Miles had a great show to do some learning and sight seeing. She is such a good young horse. She just came for the experience but acted like an old pro.
And most of all thank you to our wonderful friend Marilyn Cole! She came to help us out and had a big birthday also. She is a wonderful help not to mention a wonderful person 💛

02/27/2023

Big congratulations 🎉 to Sarah Whipkey on her year end winnings at TEC! She sadly lost her horse Cisco, at the end of last year. He taught her so much in just 1 year. She has a new horse this year and we are looking forward to a new adventure and learning.

02/05/2023

The Acorn crew had a wonderful time at the Virginia Quarter Horse Association banquet last night! A huge thank you to Loretta Tozer and her team for organizing the event, and congratulations to Colleen, Ellen, and Emily for all of their achievements in 2022! All of us will be introducing new horses to the show string in 2023… looking forward to another great year!

01/31/2023

Congratulations Sarah Whipkey on your purchase of Smoken Mr Whiz It! Look for this new team in the Ranch classes this year. You're going to have a blast showing him💛💛💛

11/26/2022

Its hard to believe our 2022 show season has come to an end. We are looking forward to next year and setting new goals. Here are a few pictures from this year 💛 Thank you all for the beautiful and hilarious memories.

11/23/2022

Happy Thanksgiving from myself and the boys.(Gus, Georgie and Dygert) Beautiful and goofy 🍁

11/07/2022

Congratulations to the team for another fun and successful show in the books at the VQHA Jack-O-Lantern Classic! Lots of ribbons coming home with the riders, highlighted by:

Jean Haller and “Gus”
🏆 Circuit Champion - AB Open Ranch Riding
(In his first horse show! 🤩)

Ellen Miles and “Yuma”
🏆 Circuit Reserve - AB Open Ranch Riding

🥈Medal Meghan Palombo and “Emma”
2nds under all judges in AM Hunter Equitation, Horsemanship, and Showmanship

🏆 Emily Strom and “Dygert”
High-point Youth Ranch Rider, sweeping the Youth Ranch Riding classes, first in Youth Horsemanship, and placing 3rd in the Open Ranch Derby

💕 Colleen Plaugher and “Eva”
This lovely (and very pregnant!) mare hung in there for a final horse show before taking time off to be a mama, giving her rider top 5 placings under both judges in a large AM Ranch Trail. We are excited to see what the future holds for Colleen and her leased show horse in 2023!

11/04/2022

Gus smelling...I mean eating the flowers

10/23/2022

Your trainer or coach too. They can't do it for you. How far do you want to go and what are you willing to put in. Its up to you.

10/02/2022

Having a blast with great horses and wonderful friends!