Jeff Green named Trainer of the Year

Jeff Green celebrates with family and friends minutes after receiving the Trainer of the Year award at the Celebration Saturday night. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Order this photo]

Some things just run in families -- red hair, blue eyes, Trainer of the Year Awards ...

OK, maybe winning one of the industry's top honors isn't exactly genetic, but for the second year in a row, a Shelbyville Green has won. This year, it was Jeff Green, brother of the 2007 Trainer of the Year Charlie Green.

He said he and his brother can be a little competitive, but this was a surprise.

"I really didn't know about it," said Jeff as he left the ring with his plaque and gift box in his hand.

In announcing the winner, the Celebrations PR director Chip Walters said when Jeff and "his best friend, who happened to be his brother Charlie," were boys, they concentrated on training what they were sure was the most important horse in the world -- their pony. Both, he said, followed in the footsteps of their father Ron Green.

There were three terms, Walters said, that came to mind when you mentioned Jeff Green:

"Hard work, honesty and respectability -- by all who know him."

Some of the horses Jeff has ridden to ribbons this year are Straight Line, Showboat's Showgirl, and The Lieutenant Colonel.