Pasco, Wash.-There is definitely a challenge in starting each season fresh with a brand new mount . . . or mounts. For many futurity trainers across the country, that is just part of the job. A new season means a new set of horses to campaign while the previous year's crop goes on with other riders.

Hallie Melvin knows this cycle very well. The Hermosa, S.D., cowgirl has been highly successful as a futurity trainer in her career and trained a Reserve World Champion in the WPRA Futurity division back in 2006, a palomino daughter of Pro Elite Sire Incentive (PESI) sire Frenchmans Guy named Silky French Pie.

Melvin is back in the mix in 2012 with another Frenchmans Guy baby, a 5-year old gelding named French Gold Charger, aka Eddie. After a tremendous run at the Sand Cup Futurity in Pasco, Wash., on Easter weekend, the duo leads the WPRA Futurity standings by 37 points.

"She'll be happy," Melvin says of Eddie's owner, Minnesota barrel racer Ashley Gustafson. Gustafson sent the gelding to Melvin in July of 2011.

Melvin describes Eddie as "a natural" on the barrel pattern, even in the earliest days of training.

"He is kind of a worrier . . . at the first couple of futurities in Arizona, he was looking around a little bit," she says. "But he has a lot of ability that showed up right at first. I just had to show him the pattern."

In Pasco, Melvin took home $3,496 after runs of 17.553 and 17.233. She placed eighth in the opening round and second in the second round to finish third in the average. She earned 43 points toward the WPRA title.

"He's got tons of run," Melvin describes Eddie, noting that many of Frenchmans Guys' progeny are known more for their rate to the turns. "I campaigned a full sister to Eddie last year and she made really pretty runs and could clock but if you made one mistake, your time would be really affected.

"With Eddie, he is a free roller; he can make mistakes and still clock."

Eddie has earned $9,163 at WPRA sanctioned futurities in 2012.

Melvin has been training barrel horses since high school and grew up in a family that raised horses. She campaigns four to five futurity horses each season.

"They are so different and they are just colts. It is a bit challenging," she says of riding so many different horses at once. "The last couple of years, I have tried to have at least one of my own, too."

Eddie has already earned PESI bonus money at the PacWest Barrel Futurity in Buckeye, Ariz., and the Diamonds and Dirt Futurity in Bryan, Texas, and will no doubt add more to his bank following the event in Pasco. The Sand Cup had $2,000 PESI bonus money to the Futurity, $1,500 to the Derby and $500 a day to the Open 4D races. Results are still pending.

"I have a lot of owners who ask me about prospects and I tell them to buy horses eligible for the breeder's incentives. There's more money to win with no entry fees. It's definitely a bonus to have," Melvin says. As a stallion owner - she stands a son of PESI sire Dash Ta Fame called Famous Charmer - Melvin can certainly appreciate the added benefit to owners and breeders alike.

"We have Famous Charmer in the Future Fortunes and 5-State Breeders' Futurity. As more of his colts get out there, we will add others like the PESI."

As for Eddie, Melvin will continue his season this weekend at Walla Walla, the Barrel Daze Futurity, before hitting another WPRA co-sanctioned event, the Better Barrel Races (BBR) World Finals Futurity in Oklahoma City at the end of April.

"After that, we will probably just go to some jackpots and then hit the fall futurities. We will definitely go to Lincoln for the WPRA Finals."