Nearly 200 attend Quarter Horse Outfitters Spring Open House.

Nearly 200 visitors came by to check out the new spring line of clothing and home décor in the Quarter Horse Outfitters store

By Becky Newell for The American Quarter Horse Journal

Despite an early evening downpour, there was a great turnout for the Spring Open House on April 26 at Quarter Horse Outfitters in the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum.

Nearly 200 visitors came by to check out the new spring line of clothing and home décor in the Quarter Horse Outfitters store, as well as offerings from Small Town Gypsy, a local women’s clothing boutique that is also a trade show exhibitor at the Adequan Select World Championship Show.

Colorado State University’s Legends of Ranching Sale is on-the-job training.

The 2010 Colorado State University Legends of Ranching Performance Horse Sale featured ranching and performance American Quarter Horses. Watch the slide show below. (Journal photo)

The annual sale offers finished ranch and performance American Quarter Horses along with started 2- and 3-year-olds from respected ranches. At the same time, it’s a learning experience for students in CSU’s equine sciences program.

Students from classes in colt training and event and sales management are in charge of putting on the annual sale, from starting colts to planning the sale’s catered events and producing the sale catalog. That’s just the short list of what the students have to do throughout the fall and spring semesters.

The 2012 sale is April 28, and they’ve catalogued 65 horses from 22 consigners from across the country. AQHA will be on-site with a booth, and The American Quarter Horse Journal will cover the event.

Let’s step back to the 2010 sale (where 68 horses averaged $4,734, with the high seller bringing $20,000) and take a look into what life is like for the students’ working to put the sale on.

After the last few horses were going through the ring at the 2010 sale, back in the barns, all was quiet. Two students sat in the barn aisle, all smiles, but looking tired.

Courtney Grey hails from Littleton, Colorado, and Miranda Leffler from Topeka, Kansas. Both are equine sciences majors minoring in business, and both started horses for the sale.

Courtney’s parents finally gave her riding lessons when she was in the fifth grade – but it was a phase that she “never grew out of.” Miranda grew up in the country and had horses around; she just “couldn’t stop doing it.” Sound familiar?

The American Quarter Horse Journal stopped to ask them for a student’s-eye view of their sale experience.  (Scroll down for the sale slideshow.)

Journal – What has it been like this last school year, working with these colts and on the sale?

Miranda – It’s been amazing. I think it might be the best class at CSU. It’s a lot of time commitment, but it’s fun. It’s worth it.

J – Give me a week-by-week idea of what life has been like.

Courtney – We have class three days a week for about two hours. Then we are free to come out here on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the off days, and on the weekend. The two of us are barn rats, and we practically live here. We spend at least three hours a day here.

Miranda – And it’s been a lot more than that lately.

Courtney – In the last few weeks, it has been more like four or five hours.

J – What are you doing in that time?

Miranda – We bring (the sale colts) inside in January, and once they come inside, you have to be here seven days a week to clean their stalls and buckets and make sure they are eating and healthy. They are yours, basically, and you have to take care of them. Then you work them and ride them.

There is a lot of stuff to do on the ground. We had a student competition and the salesmanship part of it, which is all on the ground, is worth just as much as the riding part. We work with them on the ground and get them used to different things. We’re also trying to get them shed out to look nice.

Courtney – That’s a lot of work! We spend a lot of hours grooming, brushing and brushing.

J – What horse did you work with, Courtney?

Courtney – I was working with Four K 721, she’s a 3-year-old filly from the Haythorn Ranch. She brought $2,200.

J – Was it hard leading her through the auction ring?

Courtney – It was hard walking her out of the ring. In the ring, I was just focused on keeping her calm; she was getting a little bit frisky in there. Walking out of there, after they said, “Sold,” that was hard

J – What was your biggest challenge with her?

Courtney – Last semester, we had the hardest time getting her to move forward really well. She was kind of slow and didn’t really want to move out. This semester, you would never know it; we managed to get her really working well with that.

She is so sweet; she loves to be loved on. As far as riding, she’s really smart, and she’s really willing. She tries to figure out what you want and tries to please you, which is really nice to have in a horse.

J – Miranda, who did you work with?

Miranda – Ikes Double Six from the Four Sixes Ranch (Burnett Ranches Ltd). He is cool, fun to ride and big; I’ve had a lot of fun with him. He brought $2,200, as well.

J – Was it hard coming out of the ring?

Miranda – I felt all right about it. It was kind of sad watching him go. It was kind of sad watching all of them, actually. But it was exciting to see what we’ve been doing all year finally get to where we were going.

J – So, what do you want to do in the horse business?

Courtney – That’s the million-dollar question. Honestly, in the last four years I’ve been introduced to so many different things that I don’t know anymore. After taking this class, I’m really interested in the ranching stuff. I’d like to do some internships and work on some ranches and get a feel for that. I didn’t have any exposure to that before this class. One thing that I am interested in is physical therapy and rehabilitation for injured horses. I might go that way.

Miranda – I’m really into the sales stuff. After this class, it ’s just all I’ve been thinking about. I might try to get on somewhere with an internship and learn the ins and outs of sales and training. I’ve guided trail rides, and that’s fun; I might go back to that eventually, but I want to branch out and see what else is out there.

J – You said you thought it was the best class in your program; why?

Miranda – It’s just involved. In the other classes, they show you pictures and Powerpoint presentations, and in this one, it’s, “Here, go do this.”

Courtney – It’s so hands-on, and it’s all about the experience that you get. You learn so much more from experiencing it than from sitting in a classroom and listening to a lecture.

Watch the CSU Legends of Ranching Sale slide show (click on each photo to see the caption).

Christine Hamilton
Editor, American Quarter Horse Journal

The American Quarter Horse Journal is your one-stop source for everything about the Quarter Horse. Don’t miss a single issue.

Our first event was a success … you’ll want to find one near you!

By Kelly Bruce Beard

Stephanie Dow of Jensen Beach, Florida, rides JS Sweet Zipsation across a 22-foot-high bridge. Photo by Kelly Bruce Beard.

The AQHA Trail Challenge is a new competitive event that asks horses and riders to work as a team, navigating natural obstacles they might experience on the trail. The focus is on horsemanship, and the goal is to promote education, safety and fun. As a bonus, “trail challenge merits” will be recorded on horses’ permanent AQHA records.

The first event was held March 24 at Fox Trail Farm in Palm City, Florida, as a fundraiser for the Florida Quarter Horse Youth Association. There were trail horses there to compete, but also hunters, jumpers, cutters, reiners, pleasure and dressage horses, and just about every other make and model in between.

The riders, who were just as diverse as the horses – all ages, levels of experience and disciplines – united to make AQHA history, competing in an event that celebrates the challenges found on the trail.

Here’s what a few of them had to say about the historic event:

“Spend some time with your horse on the ground, safely getting him used to these types of obstacles, and then come out and play. Bring your horse and have some fun. We had a ball! We’ll be back for sure.”
– Jon Seefeld, trail rider, and Designated Bold, Fort Pierce, Florida

“Just give it a try. Most people are scared of the obstacles at first – they don’t think their horse is going to do it. When I first brought my hunter out here, it took us a while with the groundwork, but in the end, we were crossing the high bridge, climbing up rocks and doing all the obstacles together. There’s so much to do, and it’s stimulating for you and your horse’s mind. It’s a nice break from your normal training schedule, but it’s still really productive.”
– Lindsey Whitehead, AQHYA competitor, and XS Delux, Stuart, Florida

“Get out there and give it a try. It’s fun, a little challenging at times, but it’s worth it. We’ll definitely do more obstacles and Trail Challenges. There’s no doubt.”
– Bridget Hughen, trail rider, and GDA Roses Best, Malabar, Florida

“I’ve been riding since I was 4 or 5 years old, now I’m 63. Doing the same thing over and over gets boring. This event is more versatile and gives my horse something more to think about – and me, too. It bonds us even tighter, because he’s depending on me to be brave. My bravado takes him where he’s weak, and his bravado takes me where I’m weak. So it’s give and take. I hope AQHA has more Trail Challenges. I’ll travel for these events.”
– Suzzette Stroud, AQHA competitor, and Zippa Rona, Boynton Beach, Florida

Upcoming Trail Challenges

• May 6, Smith, Nevada
• May 13, Brunswick, Maine
• May 19, Palm City, Florida
• July 7, Topsham, Maine
• July 29, Lodi, New York
• August 18, East Sparta, Ohio
• September 15, Eugene, Oregon
• September 29, Conewango Valley, New York

Don’t miss the June issue of America’s Horse for more on Florida’s inaugural Trail Challenge. America’s Horse is just one of the great benefits of AQHA membership.

Catching up with old friends and giving colts a good start in life in the process.

By Holly Clanahan for America’s Horse

By Day 5, the colts were being ridden together in a large outdoor arena. Here, a group of riders tracks a couple of steers. Scroll to the slideshow below to see more photos. Journal photos.

It began as a problem: Cathie and Rowly Twisselman had a lot of horses to get started under saddle. Normally, they hire Martin Black to come in and start colts at their Madonna Inn Quarter Horses in California, but in 2011, events conspired against them so that that didn’t happen.  So, here it is 2012, and they had a crop of 2- and 3-year-olds to get started.

But there’s another way to look at problems: as opportunities. The Twisselmans, Martin and Chris Cox hatched the idea for the Horsemen’s Reunion. They asked 18 other respected colt-starters to come to Paso Robles, California, April 2-7, where they would have those six days to get two colts started apiece. The horsemen came at their own expense — some of them from Canada, Australia and even Switzerland — as a way to pay back to the horse world. The event also benefits Western Wishes, a cowboy-oriented group similar to Make-A-Wish.  As Cathie said, “It’s all about giving.”

Although the Horsemen’s Reunion is not a competition, there are lots of winners here: spectators, who had almost more learning than they could take in; the colts, who got great starts in life; and the horsemen themselves, who seemed to be having a genuinely good time. Many of them are longtime friends — in fact, Bryan Neubert remembered first meeting Joe Wolter in 1972 — and they enjoyed the chance to catch up with one another.

The event concludes today, with a grand finale and an auction of the colts.

The horsemen who were involved (besides Martin and Chris) include: Clayton Anderson, Wade Black, Craig Cameron, Antoine Cloux, Sid Cook, Rob Leach, Ken May, Bryan Neubert, Luke Neubert, Jim Neubert, Pat Parelli, Ed Robertson, Thomas B. Saunders V., Blake Schlosser, Mike Sears, Ty Van Norman, Ron Wall and Joe Wolter. Many of these horsemen have been featured previously in America’s Horse, and we look forward to doing stories with more of them in the future. To learn more about them, check out the bios at the Horsemen’s Reunion website.

Don’t miss our slideshow from the event (and remember to click on the photos below to read the descriptive captions). And look for a story coming soon in the print version of America’s Horse, which goes exclusively to AQHA members.  

Team Australia wins Road to the Horse 2012. You won’t want to miss the photos!

By Holly Clanahan

Road to the Horse 2012 winners Guy McLean and Dan James of Australia celebrate with event producer Tootie Bland. Scroll to the slideshow below for more great photos from the final day of this event. Journal photo.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie … oy, oy, oy!

That Outback spirit was alive and kicking in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, as Australians Guy McLean and Dan James won a hard-fought battle at Road to the Horse 2012, defeating teams from the United States and Canada.

After two days of round-pen sessions totaling four hours, the trainers were preparing for their final obstacle course on Sunday afternoon, when event producer Tootie Bland introduced yet another twist: 60 extra points for any team willing to switch horses with their partners. Team Australia was the only one to take her up on that offer.

So Guy, who said he’d always wanted to ride a Dan James-trained horse, took the ride on Remember Sunset, while Dan rode the horse that Guy had purchased from the Four Sixes Ranch, Valliant Paddy.

Guy joked with the audience throughout his obstacle course, at one point asking, “How do you steer this thing?” when the horse began going a little wobbly. He completed the entire course — which included among other things, upright poles to weave in and out of, a “wheel” of ground poles elevated in the center, some small jumps, a tarp on the ground, jump standards with foam noodles the horse had to push through, and a log drag. Bonus obstacles included a platform for the horse to step up onto so the rider could reach up to ring a large bell hanging from the rafters, and a water box. Guy finished these, then had time to read a poem he’d written as an ode to Australia, where he is known as a bush poet. He then returned to the round pen to unsaddle his horse and tell him, “thank you, my friend.”

Dan had a quieter ride than Guy, who’s a bit of a comedian, but his was skillful even without much commentary. He completed all obstacles except the water box, which trainers were not penalized for bypassing because it was a bonus. One shining point was the way Dan helped his horse through his gate/buddy-sour issues. This was the first time for each of the colts to be alone in the arena, and all of them, to varying degrees, wanted to stay by the arena gate, where they knew their buddies were just beyond.

Dan explained that he just “hassled” his horse by strongly encouraging him to go forward each time he returned to the gate. Then, as the colt left the gate, Dan became quiet with his cues. The horse — whom Guy has nicknamed “Aussie” — caught on pretty quick.

After the Aussie win was announced, emcee Rick Lamb asked Dan and Guy why they’d been brave enough to swap horses.

“We wouldn’t have been allowed to go back to Australia if we didn’t,” Guy said. Before the obstacle course (and counting their 60 extra “switcharoo” points), they trailed the United States by 16 points. “Even if we were ahead,” Guy said, “they’d say ’switch’ just to see if we could stay on.”

Dan, the youngest Road to the Horse competitor at age 29, said, “It has been a hell of a ride.”

Other highlights from Sunday:

If we got to vote on awards, the colt trained by Canadian Glenn Stewart would get “most improved.” The horse had been challenging from the start, bucking and grunting maniacally in each of the two round-pen sessions. But Glenn said he realized that it was the tightened cinch, the constriction around the belly that was bothering Sixes Peg. It wasn’t fear of the saddle or the rider.

“I’m going to see if I can help him get through that,” Glenn said as he spent a bit extra time in the round pen on Sunday, working  around the horse’s cinch area.

Sure enough, they completed the obstacle round swimmingly, navigating all obstacles, including the bonus ones. The round also required rail work, including walk, trot and canter both directions, and Sixes Peg looked good doing it.

American Pat Parelli turned in the high score Sunday on board Bucks Attraction, whom he nicknamed “Deja Vu.” Consider their draining day — because Pat’s first horse had some health issues, he had to make up one round-pen session with the replacement colt, Deja Vu. They did that at 5:30 a.m. Sunday, then returned for their obstacle course about 4 p.m. Their score for the obstacle round was 738, 22 points ahead of second place.

Canadian Jonathan Field had to skip the tarp obstacle, but turned in a smooth performance on Fletches Stoli, a high-energy horse (sired by a champion racehorse, with cutting blood on the bottom side) who had required a lot of patience and consistency in the round-pen sessions. The colt should be ready for the Four Sixes cowboys to take home and move forward with.

Craig Cameron — always the resident joker — addressed the “geezer” label given to him and Pat, the veteran competitors. “They call us the geezer team, but we were the ones here at 5 in the morning.” True, Craig. And that’s not even taking into consideration that this was the time-change weekend, so it was more like 4 a.m.

AQHA, which sponsored the obstacle course, also presented awards to the colts during the post-event ceremony. Traveler Award bronze statues were given to the trainer and owner of each winning horse. That meant Guy — who was both the new owner and trainer of Valliant Paddy – took home two trophies; Dan received one; and the Four Sixes, still the owner of Remember Sunset, also took a bronze home to Guthrie, Texas.

Next year’s Road to the Horse will be  held in Lexington, Kentucky, but no details have been revealed yet about the participants or format, so stay tuned!

Catch the America’s Horse Daily reports from Day 1 and Day 2 here.

Remember to click on photos in the slideshow below to read the descriptive captions.

Day 2 brings some wrinkles and changes of plans — but always plenty of good spectating. Check out our photo slideshow so you can follow along.

By Holly Clanahan

Pat Parelli introduces his new colt, Bucks Attraction, to the large ball. On his second round-pen session, Pat had the colt following the ball on his own accord, and he said that was the first step to getting him to follow a cow. Journal photo.

Saturday, the second day of Road to the Horse 2012, was an eventful one.

For starters, as the colts were brought into the round pens Saturday afternoon, the crowd began murmuring. There were supposed to have been two bays and a sorrel. Instead, we saw a bay, a sorrel … and a stocky, light-hued palomino. Emcee Rick Lamb quickly explained: Pat Parelli’s horse, Playboys Valliant — the missing bay — had had some gastrointestinal issues the night before. The veterinarian on site first thought it might have been something more serious, but fortunately, it turned out to be just a tummy ache. Nevertheless, it was enough to take the bay colt out of the competition.

“Road to the Horse has always put the horse first,” Rick said. Producer Tootie Bland said later that the horse was fine, but she likened the situation to keeping your kid home from school if he’d had a stomach ache.  

So, Pat was given the chance to select another colt, and he said the palomino — Bucks Attraction — had initially been his second choice. This colt is by the same sire as Pat’s first pick, Playboys Buck Fever, a son of Freckles Playboy. Bucks Attraction is out of Cowboy Attraction, a daughter of champion racehorse Mr Jess Perry.

Pat worked with the colt Saturday, in a roundpen next to Australian Guy McLean’s and Canadian Jonathan Field’s. But unlike his competitors, who had also worked with their colts on Friday, this was Pat’s first time to put a hand on his colt. He was given a catch-up training session at 5:30 today (Sunday), the only time it could be fit into the schedule. Now, going into the final round later Sunday, all trainers had been with their colts for four hours total.

The other wrinkle on Saturday came when Australian Dan James fell ill. He was supposed to have trained his horse first, before teammate Guy McLean, but Road to the Horse judges allowed them to swap places, giving Dan a little more recovery time. While Guy worked with his colt, Dan received IV fluids and red-light therapy, and there was some question as to whether he’d be able to perform at all on Saturday. But he rallied, turning in a full two-hour training session, and Tootie later joked that he should try to get sponsorships from Gatorade and Campbell’s chicken noodle soup.

Now, the stage is set for the final showdown — the colts and their trainers will soon be asked to negotiate a challenging obstacle course and then given the opportunity for a freestyle performance. Stay tuned; we’ll bring you results and more photos here on America’s Horse Daily!

Click here if you need to read our report from Day 1, with more background on this colt-starting championship. Interested in current scores? Road to the Horse is updating here.

The photo slideshow illustrates more about Day 2. Be sure to click on the photos to read the descriptive captions.

Are you finding this post after the event? See our final results story here!

Getting started at the world championship of colt-starting. 

Wally Finnbogason of Stonewall, Manitoba, shows his country's pride as he photographs his wife, Linda, with Canadian competitors Glenn Stewart and Jonathan Field during a meet-and-greet session. Journal photo.

By Holly Clanahan

Road to the Horse bills itself as the world championship of colt-starting, and let me tell ya, it’s a tough road. Trainers from the United States, Canada and Australia have just two hours (over two days) in the round pen with unstarted colts from the Four Sixes Ranch in Guthrie, Texas, before they’re asked on the third day to complete an obstacle course and freestyle performance.  

Friday marked the first day of competition, and to see how it went, check out the slideshow below and click on the photos to read the descriptive captions. But in summary, Team USA is in the lead with a total score of 650. Team Australia is in second with a score of 599, followed by Team Canada with a score of 569. Those scores are according to the Road to the Horse Facebook page.  

And here’s a roadmap to who’s who:  

Team USA  

Pat Parelli is an AQHA Professional Horseman who keeps an extensive clinic schedule. And we can’t help but mention that his son, Caton, was featured on the cover of the March-April America’s Horse. Caton is here at Road to the Horse, scheduled to perform a father-son reining demo with Pat on Saturday … and he’s also sitting for some autograph sessions at the AQHA booth!  

For his equine partner this weekend, Pat selected Playboys Valliant, a son of Playboys Buck Fever, who has earned more than $260,000 in the National Reined Cowhorse Association. Playboys Valliant, a bay, is out of a daughter of cowhorse sire Tanquery Gin.  

All of the horses are 3-year-old geldings from the Four Sixes. To look at all the remuda pedigrees, download this booklet courtesy of AQHA, which is the proud sponsor of the remuda.  

Craig Cameron won Road to the Horse in 2010, and at 62, he’s back to show the “young guns” what his years of experience can do. He chose the sorrel Picks Playgun, a son of Sixes Pick and out of a Playgun mare. Sixes Pick is the first AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse World Champion (bred, trained and shown by the Four Sixes), and Playgun is the sire of multiple world champions, as well as an AQHA Superhorse (the equivalent of the MVP award at the AQHA World Championship Show).  

Team Australia  

Guy McLean wowed the crowd with his demo before the competition began, riding bareback and bridleless and directing up to three horses at liberty. With another rider, he also tied a huge tarp to the horses’ tails and galloped around the arena, the tarp billowing behind like a parasail. In the competition, both he and teammate Dan James broke out Australian stock whips and rode in Aussie stock saddles.  

When Guy announced that he had selected the Paddys Irish Whiskey gelding Valliant Paddy, he also announced his intention to buy the bay. “I would love to take this beautiful young animal and take him with me. Thanks to the Four Sixes … I want to go purchase him as soon as we leave (the arena),” he said. Valliant Paddy is from the same mare line as Pat’s horse, and his sire is well known as a reining and cow horse sire.   

Bareback and bridleless … tough. Roman riding … tough. Doing both at the same time … 29-year-old Dan James. The youngest competitor at Road to the Horse also gave a dazzling demonstration before the competition kicked off.  

His Road to the Horse partner is Remember Sunset, a gray son of Seven From Heaven, an AQHA world champion cutting horse. The young gelding’s dam is a granddaughter of the great racehorse Dash For Cash.  

Team Canada  

 After all clinicians had selected their colts from the 15-horse remuda, event producer Tootie Bland offered a deal: Trade horses with your teammate, so that each trainer would train the colt selected by his countryman, rather than the one he selected himself. Canada was the only team to take her up on the offer of 20 free points for each competitor (which have not yet been added into Canada’s score).  

Both Jonathan Field and Glenn Stewart are proteges of Pat Parelli. Glenn often teaches wilderness horsemanship clinics in British Columbia, and he is the 2010 winner of the Extreme Cowboy Race at the 2010 Calgary Stampede.  

Glenn’s horse is Sixes Peg, who appeared friendly and inquisitive during the “running of the remuda,” when all horses were brought into the arena as a herd but later posed a challenge inside the round pen. Sixes Peg is by Sixes Pick, and his dam is a daughter of San Tip, a son of Peppy San who won more than $10,000 in the National Cutting Horse Association.  

Jonathan, also of British Columbia, got his start as an English rider, then transitioned to working on a cattle ranch in western Canada before starting his career as a clinician and trainer.    

Jonathan is starting Fletches Stoli under saddle, giving the audience a brilliant look at the diversity of the Four Sixes breeding program. The sorrel gelding’s sire is Stoli, a champion racehorse son of First Down Dash, and his dam is a daughter of Royal Fletch, winner of the NCHA Futurity and earner of more than $235,000.  

Enjoy the photos below. Remember to click on the photos to read the captions.

Are you finding this post after the event? Find our America’s Horse Daily coverage from Day 2 and the finale!

Ron Emmons claims World’s Greatest Horseman title on Olena Oak for owners Mel Smith and Nichole Scott.

By Larri Jo Starkey

Ron Emmons and Olena Oak make their first fence turn February 5 in the World's Greatest Horseman competition at the NRCHA Celebration of Champions. (Journal photo) To see more photos, scroll to the slide show below.

Ron Emmons was determined to leave everything Olena Oak had in the show pen.

Ron had coasted through the preliminaries, trying to be just clean enough to make the finals. But February 5, he was ready to ask for everything the 2002 sorrel stallion had.

“I told my wife Ladona before we started,’ I’m going to hang it out a little bit today,’” the Ione, California, trainer said. “And every time I asked him for anything, he gave it to me.”

The World’s Greatest Horseman competition makes for a long day at the National Reined Cow Horse Association Celebration of Champions in San Angelo, Texas.

The 10 finalists started with a dawn practice then jumped right into the herd work. The other three classes – reining, steer stopping and cow work – followed without much of a breather between them.

Ron and the 2002 stallion owned by Mel Smith and Nichole Scott were third in the herd work before a few bobbles left them midpack after the reining.

“We started out good in the herd,” Ron said. “The first rundown, he was really good, and the second rundown …  wasn’t as good as it could have been, and I was a little short in one turnaround. They could have got me half a point.”

“Then we went to the steer stopping, and I knew everything was going to be good there.”

Ron and “Ernie” smoked a 222 for the high score in steer stopping, putting him in the lead by two points.

“He was really good (in the steer stopping), just smooth and hit the ground hard,” Ron said. “(Then) I was first up in the cow work, and I was shooting for a 225.”

Ernie was quiet, calm and ready, but after the first big fence turn, the cow squirted off the wall hard. Ron made a split-second decision.

“I just figured, you know what? We’re going to get an open field turn and see what he can do. We’re going for it,” he said.

They made a hard field turn and moved immediately into the circles, finishing up with Ron slapping his cow’s back triumphantly.

“He just swallowed him up, came up and circled him, and everything was good,” Ron said. “Left it to the judges to see what they wanted to do.”

What they wanted to do was give him a 228, a score that wouldn’t be touched. The only team within striking distance was Shawn Hayes and Smart Chic Aloha – also sired by Smart Chic Olena. They would have needed to score a 230 to tie, but just came up short with a 220.

That was still good for the reserve championship and the $17,000 check that goes with it for Labourdette Ranch, which owns the 2001 bay mare.

Ernie’s owners will take home a check for $25,000. It’s not his first check. Ernie has more than $4,200 in National Reining Horse Association earnings, along with $129,138 in NRCHA earnings and $31,071 at the AQHA World Championship Show.

He was world champion junior working cow horse in 2007 and world champion senior working cow horse in 2008.

“(His heart is) bulging out all over him,” Ron said. “He’s got a lot of heart, and he’s got a great mind. You can tie him to a trailer at a branding and have a gelding next to him and he’ll just stand there. He’s a great-minded horse.”

For more Journal photos from the World’s Greatest Horseman competition, see the slide show below. Click on each photo to read about it.

Shiney Sushi and Jay McLaughlin have their last ride to a title.

By Larri Jo Starkey

Shiney Sushi and Jay McLaughlin circle their cow February 4 at the NRCHA Celebration of Champions. (Journal photo) To see more photos, scroll to the slide show below.

Shiney Sushi has retired.

The 2005 palomino mare collected the open bridle title February 5 for owner and breeder Carol Rose at the National Reined Cow Horse Association Celebration of Champions in San Angelo, Texas.

After a cow horse career that has seen her garner $26,349 in NRCHA earnings and $5,379 at the AQHA World Championship Show, the mare finally got the title Carol thought she deserved.

“She’s so talented,” rider Jay McLaughlin said. “She’s freaky talented. You say the word, and she drags it, and she turns fast and she can run and get on her tail and get around. She’s very easy that way. She just always draws bad. Hopefully, her babies won’t do that. We’re riding a 2-year-old CD Lights (filly) out of her right now that’s phenomenal, so we’re excited about it.”

Shiney Sushi is by Shining Spark and out of Docs Sulena by Doc O’Lena. It’s the same cross that has produced stallions A Shiner Named Sioux and Shiners Lena Doc for Carol.

At the NRCHA finals, her last ride with Jay, “Sushi” worked sixth in the draw of the open bridle, a marquee event of the week.

“She was really good in the reined work,” Jay said, “and the cow that came out was hard to read. Kinda bounced off gate to gate, and when we went down the fence, it kinda shut down on us, left us for a second, but she’s good enough she jumped back into it. She took hold of it again, and it was fast and furious, two times in the middle.”

They marked a 436, three points ahead of second-place finisher Heza Diamond Spark, a 2005 palomino stallion by Diamond J Star and out of Sheza Shinette by Shining Spark. Heza Diamond Spark is owned by Michael Garver of Great Falls, Montana, and was shown by Justin Warneke. The stallion was bred by Holy Cow Performance Horses of Santa Ynez, California.

Sushi will become a broodmare for Carol.

“We just decided it was time,” Carol said. “She has a 2-year-old filly and a yearling. She’s going to have two babies this year, and we’re going to retire her.”

Other February 4 Finals
Non-Pro Bridle – Murray Thompson of Atwater, California, and Smart Time Tuck
Non-Pro Hackamore – Karey Franz of Steelville, Missouri, and Nics Long Pants
Open Hackamore – Tuckers Smart Cat, owned by David and Barbara Archer, and ridden by Lyn Anderson of Madera, California

For more Journal photos from the Celebration of Champions, see the slide show below. Click on each photo to read about it.

Chantz Stewart and Shining Cielo follow their Built Ford Tough AQHYA World Championship Show title with an NRCHA title.

By Larri Jo Starkey

The last seven months have been good for Chantz Stewart.

Chantz Stewart and Shining Cielo circle their cow February 3 at the NRCHA Celebration of Champions. (Journal photo). Scroll to the slide show below for more photos from the event.

The 18-year-old from Cave Creek, Arizona, started off with a world championship in working cow horse in August at the 2011 Built Ford Tough AQHYA World Championship Show.

In December, she graduated from high school.

In January, she was high-point youth roper at the Arizona Sun Circuit.

And on February 3, she earned the championship in youth open bridle at the National Reined Cow Horse Association Celebration of Champions.

Chantz’s equine partner was Shining Cielo, a 2003 buckskin mare by Shining Spark and out of Miss Cielo by Gallo Del Cielo. She was bred by Carol Rose of Gainesville, Texas, who was in the crowd cheering as Chantz rode.

“Yesterday, (in the preliminaries), I didn’t run my horse very well in the reining, so my trainers told me to step it up a little bit,” Chantz said. “And so (in the finals), I asked for more than I ever had in the reining, and that paid off since my cow was not very cooperative.”

The cow boxed sluggishly, but then took off down the fence.

“I had a little trouble in my first turn, and after that, (my mare) was there the whole time,” Chantz said. “And circling was great.”

At the end of the run, Chantz couldn’t stop patting her mare.

Chantz also brought a gelding with her to San Angelo, Texas, for the Celebration of Champions, but she only managed to qualify “Cielo” for the finals.

“I think I needed that (disappointment) a little bit,” she said. “It gave me a little time to work with her. It’s the first time I haven’t made it back with him.”

The youth bridle finals was crowded with former champions and tough competitors, but Chantz’s score of 428 for the combined rein work and cow work just beat out Alexa Beaty of Aubrey, Texas, on Mad About Chics, who had a 427.

Chantz’s win at the Ford Youth World was her qualification to the NRCHA Celebration of Champions, through the NRCHA automatic invitation to top-10 finishers, but she also won the NRCHA Derby in October.

While in Texas, Chantz trains with Sam Rose of Pilot Point, Texas, and her trainer at home in Arizona is AQHA Professional Horseman Al Dunning.

“I want to thank my parents, Rod and Lissa Stewart,” she added.

More Finals

February 3 was a big day for finals at the NRCHA Celebration of Champions. Other winners were:

Intermediate Non-Pro – Suzon Schaal of Calgary, Alberta, on Genuine Brown Gal
Limited Open Hackamore – Smart Little Laredo, owned and ridden by Chase Trahern of Walsh, Colorado
Limited Open Bridle – Who Could Be Smarter, owned by Barbara Biddix of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and shown by Brandi Scheer
Novice Non-Pro Bridle – Lyle Proctor of Ravendale, Washington, and Millionheir Boon

For more Journal photos from the NRCHA Celebration of Champions, see the slide show below. Click on each photo to read about it.

First ranch horses and riders claim top spots in first AQHA Ranching Heritage Challenge.

By Larri Jo Starkey

Zinn Lindsey of Jayton, Texas, ropes on Judys Ten to win the non-pro division of the inaugural AQHA Ranching Heritage Challenge. Journal photo. To see more photos, scroll to the slide show below.

Tradition, heritage and innovation.

All had a part to play in the inaugural AQHA Ranching Heritage Challenge.

Twelve open riders and 19 non-pros entered eligible Ranching Heritage Breeder horses for their share of the $13,500-added purse at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.

“It was a wonderful show,” said Johnny Trotter, AQHA Executive Committee member and a rancher himself. “Nice horses.”

In the open competition, Robert Forst of Waurika, Oklahoma, rode Seven S Party Girl, bred by Terry Stuart Forst of Waurika, Robert’s mom.

Robert and his 4-year-old mare have had a rocky January, struggling with “Party Girl’s” ulcers, but they were on point in Fort Worth, winning the open and the limited open.

“She felt really good,” Robert said. “She’s been pretty strong with me, and then she relaxed. Her circles felt good. I’ve struggled with her left to right lead change, and I ended up messing up her right-left lead change. It all worked out pretty good.

“She got a little strong in her rundowns, but I trusted her and she stopped, so I was pretty happy with her. She can go down the fence, so I’m not worried about that. I just hold on and see what she does.”

Seven S Party Girl is by Matt Dillon Dun It and out of Seven S Fiesta by Playgun.

AQHA Ranching Council member Larry Bell and his wife, Ellen, of Midland, Texas, added $3,500 to the purse in the limited division.

“We are thrilled to be involved,” Larry said. “We thought it was a great show, and I thought the turnout for open and non-pro was excellent. The 19 exhibitors in the non-pro was more than I could have imagined, so I’m really excited.

“These are the horses we’re raising, and now they’re getting a chance to be shown,” he added. “It’s great for all of us.”

In the AQHA Ranching Heritage Challenge, horses and riders completed a short reining pattern before boxing a cow and working it both ways down the fence. Then they roped it. Non-pros and amateurs had the option of circling instead of roping the cow.

That’s the option amateur Baru Spiller of Wingate, Texas, took.

Baru bought Western Sequel, bred by Burnett Ranches of Fort Worth, when the 2005 buckskin mare was a foal.

“It was awesome,” she said after the competition ended. “I’ve been riding this mare since she was a baby. I got her from the (Four) Sixes and trained her myself.

“I was thrilled when (AQHA) came out with this program so I could compete in it and represent the Sixes on her and have another opportunity to show her. I’m proud to be here and I was thrilled to win the amateur.”

Western Sequel is by Ikes Double Drift and out of Western Lena by Mr Sun O Lena.

Besides placing first in the amateur division, Baru was third in the non-pro division, won by 18-year-old Zinn Lindsey of Jayton, Texas.

Zinn’s mount for the competition was Judys Ten, a 2006 buckskin gelding by Ten O Sea and out of Crows Judy by Black Chick Gold. The gelding was bred by Bill and Dana Smith of Spur, Texas, and Zinn knew all about that breeding program.

“I’ve got four (horses) with the same brand,” he said.

AQHA Ranching Council chairman Stan Weaver of Big Sandy, Montana, was on hand for the inaugural event.

“I was impressed with the conformation of the horses,” Stan said. “Good stout, ranch-bred horses, and that’s what we want.”

For more Journal photos from the inaugural AQHA Ranching Heritage Challenge, see the slide show below. Click on each photo to read about it.

There’s an app for that.

Excel Associates Event Management introduced a horse show management smartphone app at the 2012 AQHA Pre-Denver Circuit. Journal photo

Excel Associates Event Management debuted a mobile application for horse show updates during the 2012 Rocky Mountain Quarter Horse Association Pre-Denver Circuit (January 1-4) and the National Western AQHA Show (January 5-7) in Denver.

“We think it is the first in the nation for that,” says Rene Elkins, of Excel. “There will probably be more of those coming (from other management companies).”

The app was almost like having the show office in your back pocket. Renee’s son, Jason, wrote the application for use on Android smartphones or mobile websites; Excel plans to make it available to exhibitors at all its upcoming AQHA shows.

“We have an event status update on it,” Renee explains. “Since we had multiple arenas going, we could put something up to give people an idea of where we were with things. We put the event exercise schedule there and class entries. We put schedule changes in the status update.”

“It has an order-of-go checker, so for some of the bigger classes, such as reining and trail, people with smartphones can download who is in that class and keep track.

“People really liked that. When the show ran long, they could go home. We’d draw the green trail that night for the next morning, and they’d be able to look at the draw from the hotel and see where they were.”

The new app was just one of several new things noticed at the back-to-back shows.

“There was a real positive energy from the people (at the show),” says AQHA Professional Horseman Bill Bormes of Castle Rock, Colorado. “There were a lot of new faces, both exhibitor-wise and young trainers.

“It has been the best it has ever been, schedule-wise,” he says. “The schedule has been revamped to maximize the facility use and time available.”

For example, the Pre-Denver combined all showmanship and halter classes so that exhibitors showed once to all five of the circuit’s judges on one day.

Entries were up, according to Renee: the Pre-Denver had approximately 4,300 entries, and the National Western just topped 2,000 (both numbers unofficial with AQHA).

Bill and AQHA Professional Horsewoman Leslie Lange of Greeley, Colorado, are the co-chairmen for the 2013 Pre-Denver Circuit. They already are making plans for exhibitor parties and events.

“I am looking forward to next year!” Bill says.

Christine Hamilton
Editor, The American Quarter Horse Journal