On Sunday (February 18), the SPHO-NJ celebrated its 2017 high point riders and Standardbreds with a ‘Red, White & Blue’ themed awards banquet.

The festivities were at the Holiday Inn’s Windsor Ballroom, in East Windsor, NJ.

Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of NJ has a mission to educate and make the general public aware of how versatile the Standardbred can be off the racetrack. All the donations help fund events, shows and other activities all geared towards showcasing Standardbreds.

The award winners and sponsors can be found at sphonj.org. The club offers high point year-end awards as well as special awards that are based on specific criteria.

The overall grand champion High Point Horse for the Mid-Atlantic Region was nine-year-old New Jersey-bred gelding HeavyMetalThunder (Real Artist – Five Star Comfort) along with Laura Harbour from Austin, TX. The pair competes at horse shows, and many other disciplines. Laura and her husband recently relocated from Stamping Ground, KY, along with HeavyMetalThunder.

The overall grand champion High Point Horse for New Jersey was New Jersey-bred gelding Styled N Misty (Albert Albert – Styled N Gray), a 21-year-old gelding owned by the Voight family and ridden by Nicole Bursac of N. Brunswick, N.J.. ‘Misty’ is far from slowing down while he and Bursac compete in horse shows and pleasure driving.

The Treacherous Cat Work Ethic Volunteer of the Year Award is awarded every year to a club volunteer that has gone beyond means to help out at functions and the horse shows. Treacherous Cat, or ‘TC’, is owned and handled by Kelly Marshall-Conn of Vermont. The award went to both Mike and Karen Fagliarone this year, who have always been there for anything the club needs at events.

The junior riders who received awards at the banquet were, Nicole Bursac, Joanna Ricci, Mark Rodriquez, Shyanne Sheard, Madison Lofgren, and Sawyer Baker.

Every year the SPHO-NJ holds a National Standardbred Horse Show. It is presented in the heart of New Jersey with purse money and a substantial amount of classes of all different disciplines. The 2018 show is scheduled for August 10-11-12 and it will be the 24th annual show. The horse show is held at the Horse Park of NJ.

(Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of New Jersey)