05/24/2026
Featuring your No. 1 Open Horse Year-End Champion, ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐
๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐
While many see a decorated show horse, owner and breeder Susan Juroe sees a 15-year journey built on patience, trust and thoughtful decisions. โGigi,โ a 2016 bay overo mare by VS Flatline (QH) and out of Too Sleepy For Candy, carries a story that started long before her own show career began.
After the unexpected loss of her dam in 2014, Susan worked with equine breeding specialists at Texas A&M University to preserve Too Sleepy For Candyโs legacy. Gigi became the final foal from the mare, and from the beginning, Susan and trainer Shannon Watters made it a priority to let her develop slowly and carefully.
Rather than pushing the mare early, Gigi spent her younger years growing up outside of Longmont, Colorado, before beginning her show career. Since then, the mare has earned more than 1,300 points across six events and built a reputation for consistency inside the pen.
โSheโs extremely sound and healthy. I want to think that is a result of holding her back and not pounding her through her 2- and 3-year-old pleasure years,โ Susan said. โ[Gigi] didnโt really go that route and was allowed to grow slowly and carefully.โ
That steady approach paid off in 2025, when Gigi claimed the World Show All-Around Open Horse title, an accolade she has now earned three of the last four years.
Rounding out the Top 20 Open Horse list:
2nd | ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ
3rd | ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ซ๐๐ฒ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ณ๐จ๐ซ
4th | ๐๐ซ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ณ๐
5th | ๐
๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง
6th | ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ค๐ฌ
7th | ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฒ
8th | ๐
๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ข๐ง
9th | ๐๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐
10th | ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ก
11th | ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ณ๐ฒ
12th | ๐๐ฆ ๐๐จ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐๐
13th | ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ฑ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ
14th | ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ ๐๐จ๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐จ๐ฒ
15th | ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง
16th | ๐๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐๐ค๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ
17th | ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐
18th | ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ญ
18th | ๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐๐ซ
20th | ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ค
View this yearโs winners in the latest digital-only edition of the Paint Horse Journal ๐ https://bit.ly/2026PHJYEDigitalIssue
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