2008 YRHA Green Rookie Buckle Winners
Author: Wendy Deans
Date published: Mar 31 2009
Elise Donohue graduated from the YRHA Green Rookie class in 2005, earning her 1st buckle ever on her stallion, Shiners Chex Olena. Since then she has enjoyed giving back to the class that helped open a door for her into the world of reining. Elise has been generously sponsoring the Green Rookie buckles ever since. This is in addition to being a YRHA Diamond level sponosor. Thank you, Elise, for caring so much about these riders and the YRHA!
Green Rookie graduates come in all sizes, ages and walks of life. This year was a perfect example of the wide range of riders that have used this class as a stepping stone into the reining show pen. The 2008 YRHA Green Rookie class graduates were Doug Robinson and Quinn Sutherland.
Doug hails from Annapolis, Maryland, and Hamilton, Montana. Although he was raised in Montana, he went out of state for college and law school, then practiced law in Washington D.C. for 40 years. In 2000 he built a home near Hamilton and has been splitting his time between the two places ever since.
Doug says he had never even heard of reining until 2005 when he and his wife, Julia Sullivan, went to a show in Kalispell. Amazed at the talent of the horses, he was encouraged that the riders came in all ages, shapes and sizes. He decided it was something that might be within his reach. After a year of trying to get by with horses that Doug says were better suited to pulling a plow, he bought Pesos Little Spark, a nimble little three year old, from Billy and Kelli Campbell.
Since then, Ryan and Jay Dee Anderson have taken on Doug as their project and Doug is having a ball.
In Doug’s opinion, the best thing about reining is the wonderful friends they have made. It’s opened a whole new world to him and Julia. His only regret is that he wasn’t able to get started in the sport at a young age like Quinn Sutherland. 
Quinn is around five decades younger than Doug. You have to watch out for her. She and her horse will woo the judges and kick your behind in a class. Quinn wasn’t home when I called to interview her. She emailed me and these are her words:
My name is Quinn Sutherland, I am 10 years old and in the 4th grade. I live in Eureka, Montana, with my parents Ed and Christy and my brother Barrett. My horse’s name is St. Patrick Rey (Paddy). He is 22 years old. I ride with JM Performance Horses, Meaghan Shea and Jarrod Grieve.
I’ve learned a lot about reining horses. I’ve learned how to do lead changes, lead departures, stop, rollback and spinning. My favorite thing to do is stopping and rolling back.
I’ve been showing for 4 years. I ride about 3-4 times a week and on the weekends. I got started reining when I went to a horse show with my Mom in 2005. I showed in the Peewee class on my Aunt Renee’s horse Lena.
The next year I showed my Mom’s horse Isla. In 2007 I started showing in Youth and Green Rookie on my Aunt Meaghan’s horse Holly. I started showing Paddy last year and will show him again this year.
I earned my Green Rookie buckle in the YRHA and the MRHA last year and plan to move on to the Rookie class. Justin Boot Co. just sent me a buckle for “AQHA Youth Rookie of the Year” for the 11 and under age group in
Reining.
Congratulations to Doug and Quinn on your accomplishments this year! They speak loud and clear that no matter what your age, reining is the perfect sport for anyone.