Shannon Quinlan Hill earned her second Congress win since having an appendectomy five days ago.

The Tough Keep Going Strong

When announcer Todd Schling called the champion of the Quarter Horse Congress Four and Five Year Old Open Ranch Riding Stakes, he introduced the rider as “tough as nails.” That phrase could not have been more true.

Shannon Quinlan Hill showed Everybodystalkinatme to win the class for owners Jannee and Dominic Pugliani, but the real victory was seeing Shannon in the saddle at all.

She credited her show partner, who is known as Bigshot, or Biggie, with the win.

“That was all Biggie,” she said. “Jennifer Burton had him perfectly prepared, and my husband, Brad, had schooled him last night. The two of them really made that possible along with Clayton Jerrell, our assistants and our clients have also been awesome. That horse made it really easy for me to do this with as little effort as possible.

“There were some places in the pattern that were tricky,” she noted. “The extended trot turn is really tough for some horses because they want to lope off and the tight turn to the walk is hard for a lot of horses. I thought he side-passed really well and he turned really well. I thought he was really responsive to my hand, which was really important because the rest of me was a little out of commission. He rated off my hand really well.”

The five year old stallion is by Wimpys Little Step out of a Smart Chic Olena mare. He was reserve champion in the same class last year, but a bridesmaid no more. “He was second here a couple of times last year, so I was really happy to see him win this,” Shannon explained.

There was one point in the pattern where she really began to feel the limits of her body. “When I started the extended trot, I hadn’t planned to post, but it was just an automatic reaction and I definitely felt that,” she said. “I was kind of holding my bottom stitch in place to get through the pattern.” Most of the Ranch horse community was familiar with her story and she was certainly the sentimental favorite as the cheers went up in the Coliseum following her pattern.

“I have great owners too,” Shannon said. “Jannee and Dominic have been great through this experience, and there was absolutely no pressure to show. I felt like Biggie deserved this chance and he was amazing. He stands at Dry River Ranch, and so we’ve coordinated between the breeding shed and coming back to me, but it’s really the dream team to work with.”

Since her first 2025 Congress championship, Shannon has shown ‘Bigshot’ to win the Open Ranch Riding Stakes and tied to win the Junior Ranch Riding, placing second after the tiebreaker to Jimmy Daurio and SS Pity Tha Fool. 

“I’m speechless at this point,” Shannon said after winning the Open Ranch Riding. “It’s literally a dream come true. He’s making up for all the times that he’s finished second here at the Congress. He’s one of the most special individuals I will ever be around in my career. I really wasn’t feeling well today and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to show.

Daytona Laps The Competition In Three Year Old Ranch Riding Futurity

Shannon returned to the arena to show Daytona Five Hundred to win the Three Year Old Ranch Riding Stakes for owner Debbie Kuffer.

“Daytona won the Virginia Maiden Ranch Riding, he also won the NSBA World Show Three Year Old, was reserve at the Championship Show and now won here,” Shannon said of the three year old stallion. “He is a fantastic mover, he’s great with his ears, he loves his job and he’s just really natural with his head and neck. He looks really engaged in what he is doing. It’s a really easy job for him, and he makes my job easy.”

The team bought Daytona at the NRHA Futurity from Dany Tremblay. He is by Shiners Voodoo Dr out of Okie Starbella. I’m not operating on all cylinders since I just had surgery, so this was a special win because it was a team effort between (my husband) Brad and I. Brad did all the work on him and Brad just pumped me on to go show him.”

When asked about the futurity pattern, Shannon shared: “I think there were a lot of shorter gaits to this pattern. You weren’t in one gait really long, and there were lots of transitions. The more transitions you have, the more opportunity there is for things to go wrong, and they’re only three years old. But he’s a good student. Brad was top five on him in the Level 1 Junior Ranch Riding with the same pattern.”

Choosing to show two stallions while not at 100 percent might be a risky proposition for many people, but it was the right one for Shannon. "There were only two horses that I would trust so completely and that's Biggie and Daytona," she said. "I know that they would be the steadiest trips I could make in the saddle and that they'd take care of me—and they did."

Shannon celebrating her win about Daytona Five Hundred in the Three Year Old Ranch Riding Stakes for owner Debbie Kuffer.

Nothing Novice About The Level 1 Senior Class 

Alpha Black and Bud Lyon were named champions in the Level 1 Senior Ranch Riding for Rancho Verde LLC. “He is eight years this year and I got him back in January,” Bud said of the stallion. “I’ve watched him for a long time and admired him from afar for a long time. He’s had a great career in NRHA and has won right at $100,000 in lifetime earnings.

"Mathieu Buton had him in training most recently, and called me to see if I would try him in Ranch events. He said that he loves to show and they wanted to try some other events in addition to Reining with him. We’ve really enjoyed having him in the barn. A lot of trainers did a lot of work on him before I got him, and that foundation has made my job so easy.”

Bud praised the horse and those who brought him along before he took the reins. “The most impressive thing about this horse is that he really does like to show,” Bud said. “He really is the same horse, or maybe even a little better, from the practice pen to the show arena. He doesn’t have any bad thoughts or anticipation or anxiety. It’s a blessing to have a horse you can just be confident in and have trust in, and enjoy your job as the showman.”

Bud also had praise for the competition. “There’s nothing easy about any of the Ranch patterns today, and the nuances of the event make it part art and part science,” he said. “This is in an incredibly tough Level 1 year, which is supposed to be our Novice horse division. There’s nothing Novice about a lot of those horses that were in our line-up this year – they are seasoned veterans, extremely gifted and are being trained and shown by talented individuals. I’m very proud of our horse for winning in such a deep field of competition.”

Bud also had the third place horse with Dont Give A Flinn.

Bud Lyon and Alpha Black at the All American Quarter Horse Congress.

It Was Wayne’s World In Level 1 Junior and Junior Ranch Riding

Jimmy Daurio and SS PIty Tha Fool celebrating their win in the Level 1 Junior Ranch Riding at the All American Quarter Horse Congress.

Jimmy Daurio piloted SS Pity Tha Fool to the top of the placings in both NSBA and AQHA divisions in Level 1 Junior Ranch Riding for owner Clara Tracy in a class that drew 99 entries. The duo also won the NSBA and AQHA Junior Ranch Riding.

“We call him Wayne in the barn and he’s five years old,” Jimmy explained. “We got him at the end of May. He’s by Shiners Voodoo Doctor.

“You can kind of push the limits with him and he’ll do whatever you ask him to do. In the class, I was able to push him a little bit at the extended trot. He’s really good at changing leads, and when we got to the center, he nailed the lead change and it was spot-on.”

“It was such a fun class to watch with all the great horses,” Clara said of the class. “It was really exciting to watch them show, and then to win it.” Clara is relatively new to Ranch competition. “I’ve been showing in Ranch for about three years,” she said. “I was doing Hunter Jumpers with Warmbloods before, and I wanted to get back into the Quarter Horse world. Honestly the people in the community were so lovely and so supportive, and that made it easy to join in.”

Jimmy and Wayne added to their winning streak by being named Congress champions in NSBA and AQHA Junior Working Western Rail.

The 2025 All American Quarter Horse Congress continues through Sunday, October 26. To view complete show results, the live video feed in various arenas or the upcoming schedule, please visit quarterhorsecongress.com or the Horse Show Tracker app.

About NSBA

Established in 1983, National Snaffle Bit Association has expanded from its roots in the Western Pleasure discipline to recognize various disciplines and eight breed associations in competition. NSBA’s mission is to grow the show horse community through various equine programs and events where every activity benefits horses, breeders, owners and exhibitors alike.

National Snaffle Bit Association has more than 20,000 active members and more than 44,000 registered horses across its eight alliance breed organizations. NSBA members earn more than $13.5 million in monetary awards at NSBA-sanctioned horse shows annually, and the association sanctions nearly 600 horse show events and close to 200,000 horse show entries each year.

To learn more about NSBA, please visit nsba.com.