Family Legacy Continues with Leading Owner Award
Cofrancesco Family Captures Third Consecutive Award

(Sparta, New Jersey) – A moment of silence represented a lifetime of dedication to the American Quarter Horse as the Peter J. Cofrancesco Jr. family of Sparta, New Jersey, stepped to center ring to accept the American Quarter Horse Association’s World Championship Show’s Leading Owner Award during closing ceremonies November 17 in Oklahoma City.

Represented by family matriarch Peggy Cofrancesco along with sons Peter J. Cofrancesco III and Jarrod Cofrancesco, the Peter J. Cofrancesco Jr. Estate ownership captured 63 points to take the award this year. Peter J. Cofrancesco III captured three World Championships and a fifth place during the show, winning Amateur Yearling Mares with Sheza Virtuous Lady by Statutory, Amateur Yearling Geldings with Dominating Mister by Dominate Clue and Amateur Two Year Old Geldings with Cool As They Come by Mr Conclusion. Trainer Jeffrey Pait also captured a Reserve World Championship showing Cool As They Come in Two Year Old Geldings. The family also owned horses exhibited in Junior Hunter Under Saddle by Chris Thomson and Junior Dally Team Roping Heading and Heeling by Bobby Lewis.

“This was a very special moment for my family since my father passed away in August,” said Peter J. Cofrancesco III, who also accepted the award on behalf of his brother Jason, sister Daria, wife Carmen and daughter Ireland Marie. “This industry meant so much to him and these people meant so much to him that to honor him in this way is almost more than we could have hoped for. My mother and the rest of our family are so grateful to the AQHA for their support during what has been a difficult time for our family. We are also very grateful to all of our friends in this industry who have become like extended members of our family. Their encouragement and support over the past few months has been tremendous.”

Cofrancesco, who was recently named an AQHA Director for New Jersey to fill the vacancy left by Peter J. Cofrancesco Jr., said the family, along with trainers Jeffrey Pait and Chris Thomson, plans to continue their involvement in the American Quarter Horse industry.

“Jeffrey, his wife Bronwyn and daughter Abigail, along with Chris Thomson, have been a mainstay of our farm for many years,” he said. “They’re commitment and dedication has been instrumental to the success of our program.”

“My father spent a lifetime building a legacy in this industry and we will continue building it,” he said. “My father truly loved this horse and the people who were a part of this industry. He definitely passed that love and dedication on to the rest of our family.”