by Steve Wolf, for Harnesslink.com

Pompano Beach, FL — With more than 1,600 entries from harness racing fans around the world, Harnesslink’s $2,500 Name The Foal Contest came to a dramatic conclusion Friday afternoon (May 9) at Hanover Shoe Farms in Hanover, Pa.

Joanna Young, the owner of the world champion mare Put On A Show, drew the winning name from six final choices that Joanne and Richard Young selected for the filly who is sired by world champion racehorse and stallion Somebeachsomewhere. Both the mare and foal were in the background as Joanne pulled out the name, Beach Showoff.

Jenn Krentler photo

Joanne Young (holding the mare Put On A Show) and Chris Tully (holding Beach Showoff) after the drawing.

“Richard and I would like to thank everyone who submitted names,” Joanne Young said. “Beach Showoff is a great name. She was already showing off this morning, pacing a bit in the field. Now we have to wait and see and hope that she will grow up to be as good as her mother and father.”

The combined lifetime earnings of both Put On A Show and Somebeachsomewhere were nearly $6 million. The $2,500 prize money was sponsored by Richard and Joanne Young, the Somebeachsomewhere Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms.

Of the 1,600 names for the filly that were submitted in the month long competition, eight people had entered the name Beach Showoff and thus Joanne Young had to do another drawing. The first four names drawn would each win $250 and the fifth name drawn would win $1,500.

The drawings were conducted by Harnesslink’s Chris Tully. The first four names picked by Joanne Young, with each winning $250, were Melissa Keith from Halifax, Nova Scotia; Blanche Satterfield from Wyoming, Del; Wayne Stapley from Christchurch, New Zealand and Richard Lease Jr. from Glenvilla, Pa.

And the fifth name and grand prize winner drawn was Dave Cochrane, a retired seminar speaker from Mississauga, Ontario and he will get $1,500.

The six finalist names that were selected by the Youngs included Best In Show, Beach Showoff, Beach Showstopper, It’sShowTimeGirl, Peach Of The Beach and Show Stopper.

Picturesque Hanover Shoe Farms is located on 2,700 acres and is home to 418 mares in foal, 330 yearlings that are prepped for sales annually, 11 stallions and 106 retired mares. The farm has 75 employees.

“We need to do more “feel good” media events like this,” said Jim Simpson, president and CEO of Hanover Shoe Farms. “This contest was a great idea and it is something we should do more often in the future. I would like to see this become an annual event at Hanover Shoe Farms.”

“This was a great contest,” said John Curtin, founder and CEO of Harnesslink. “We averaged more than 12,000 impressions on Facebook each time we ran a story about the contest. Getting 1,600 entries was fabulous for our first venture. We are already planning on having more contests with bigger cash prizes in the months to come.”