The stars of the May America’s Horse go from the pages of the magazine to the small screen and back again.

As the May issue of America’s Horse hits mailboxes across the world, it’s fun to see some of our featured horse people show up on TV screens across the world, too.

One was a rather unexpected inclusion: Horseman Guy McLean – featured in America’s Horse for winning the Road to the Horse colt-starting championship in March – appeared on a recent episode of National Geographic’s “Brain Games” TV series. The show, which examines the mysteries of the human brain, had a crew at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, filming footage that would illustrate an episode on time.

“See how the brain can actually warp and shift time, giving a false impression of the order and the speed of events,” the show’s webpage says. A roughstock rider’s eight-second ride that seems to last for an eternity would be an example of that.

Guy’s wife, Emily, says that he was riding in a nearby arena – being on site to do exhibitions for one of his sponsors – when he caught the eye of a National Geographic cameraman. Before you knew it, the film crew was drawn to him and filmed some slow-motion footage of him cantering in place aboard his horse, Spinabbey. Guy said on his Facebook page that he was doing so – and even jumping in place – less than a foot in front of a $280,000 camera.

As a sidenote, Emily says that Streakin Cat – the 2013 Road to the Horse champion and Four Sixes Ranch-bred American Quarter Horse whom Guy has nicknamed “Mate” – is doing fabulously. Look for an update on their partnership in an upcoming issue of America’s Horse.

Another America’s-Horse-subject-turned-TV-star is country artist Templeton Thompson, who has an interview on GAC-TV’s “Daily Countdown” Tuesday, April 30. Check your local listings for show times.

Her video “When I Get That Pony Rode” has made the fan-voted “Daily Countdown” for seven weeks in a row. The behind-the-scenes making of that video was the subject of the America’s Horse story in May. (See, we knew it was going to be big!) We were drawn to it not only because of the horse-centric lyrics, but because Templeton’s two American Quarter Horses are stars of the video. Impressive Beau Star and Elle Bar Conclusion are her “beautiful babies,” and the video features gorgeous footage of Templeton riding them in harmony.

You’ll have to check out the magazine to see how Templeton and team got these well-behaved ponies to buck and rear to portray the difficult horse the song speaks of.

The video was directed by Cindy Meehl, who has been featured in America’s Horse as the director of the “Buck” documentary on Buck Brannaman.

“When I Get That Pony Rode” world premiered on CMT.com in February as part of CMT’s Independent’s Day online feature and has more than 17,000 streams. It placed No. 1 in streamed videos on the day of the premiere.

In addition to GAC and CMT.com, the video is airing on The Country Network and TNN.

And another of our America’s Horse subjects, Peggy Kessler, actually caught our attention when we saw her television commercial for Cancer Treatment Centers of America.

With the help of CTCA and inspiration from her American Quarter Horse, Miss Quixote Driftwood, Peggy conquered an inoperable form of cancer and now is featured as a success story. The commercial features her and “Cider” trail-riding in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota.

“Horses are a godsend,” Peggy says. “To be able to relax and be around them, kind of forget about things, to go out and just be with them – you’re in your own world at the time, and things are good.”

That’s great advice no matter what kind of battles you’re fighting.

Other stories you won’t want to miss from the May issue of America’s Horse:

• Photograph the West alongside the renowned David Stoecklein, who captured our breath-taking cover shot of a silhouetted herd.
• AQHA Trail Challenges are a great way to enjoy your horse and the great outdoors, and the May issue includes the second part of a training series on preparing your horse to compete in one.
• Does your horse gain weight on air? SmartPak veterinarian Dr. Lydia Gray helps America’s Horse readers understand why some horses are like that and how the condition can be managed.
• We all know horses are good for the mind. But one Arizona facility has capitalized on that knowledge, using equine therapy to help address mental health issues.
• Noah Vail (yes, that’s really his registered name) is an American Quarter Horse author, with the assistance of his owner, Mary Farr. She uses his sweet-but-complicated personality to give voice to some humorous stories and wise observations. The book is “Never Say Neigh: An adventure in fun, funny and the power of yes.”

Remember that America’s Horse magazine is just one of the great benefits of AQHA membership. Click here to join AQHA or learn more!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

Using patience and smarts to start colts at the 2013 Horsemen’s Reunion.

By Holly Clanahan

It was an almost constant occurrance to see the horsemen and women petting their colts to reassure them. Here, Wade Black, at left on his saddle horse, helps Buster McLaury show this colt that he has nothing to fear from them. Holly Clanahan photo.

Horseman Buster McLaury summed it up neatly: “It don’t take a good hand to get a horse in trouble; it’s easy to scare one. But it takes a little more understanding to help a horse stay out of trouble.”

And so it goes with colt-starting. When young horses — hard-wired with a healthy flight response for self-preservation — are faced with two-legged predators who want to put a dead cow on their backs, it’d be a very simple matter to put on a bucking-horse show. It’s another matter altogether to make it look smooth and simple. That, my friends, takes a good hand. And there were plenty of them on display at the Horsemen’s Reunion, which continues through Saturday in Paso Robles, California.

The event, produced by Martin Black, Chris Cox and Rowly and Cathie Twisselman, brings together 20 horsemen and women to start 40 colts over the course of six days. There’s no competition and no time limits, just colt-starting as the horsemen would do it at home. The only difference is that here, they are joined by skilled peers who are happy to pitch in and help if it means keeping a colt out of trouble.

Buster was on both the giving and receiving end of that help. During the morning session on Tuesday, the second day of the event, he and Wade Black helped Ty Van Norman with a reactive little sorrel mare from the Singleton Ranches. Handled with a rough or rushed hand, she easily could have been a major problem. But the three horsemen helped slow things down for her, so that she was able to think instead of just react, and Ty was able to get a good ride in on her. She threw a couple of small bucks in, but Ty was ready for those — it was what they’d been preparing for — and the men ended on a successful note. See the slideshow below for more details on SCR Cat Express, and remember to click on the photos to read the descriptive captions.

Tuesday afternoon, Buster began working with the uniquely colored bay roan SCR True Grit, also a Singleton horse. The gelding was sensitive and extremely reactive to the cinch and the rider’s legs, Buster said. So he worked the gelding on the ground and then enlisted Wade’s help to pony the horse. It got the gelding moving out, but Wade and his good saddle horse acted as a safety net and brake so that the horse didn’t develop a habit of bucking.

Read the rest of this entry »

This trainer’s belief in his colt pays big dividends, with a win at the Road to the Horse colt-starting championship.

By Holly Clanahan

Guy McLean says his newest world champion, Streakin Cat, deserves a permanent home with him. They’re also the recipients of AQHA’s Traveler Award. See the slideshow below for more! Journal photo.

Guy McLean was almost apologetic when he stepped into the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park for the final performance in the 2013 Road to the Horse colt-starting competition. His bay gelding, Streakin Cat, had been shutting down throughout the weekend, without much forward energy, and Guy was pretty sure he wouldn’t have enough horse to get through the required rail work and obstacle course. But, as he saddled his colt, he said both he and the gelding were giving it all they had, and he appreciated the horse’s honest efforts.

And then something happened: The little gelding nicknamed “Mate” stepped up and turned in a stellar performance, sailing through the rail work and all of the obstacles – including a bonus one – and then allowing Guy to ride him bridleless for a closing freestyle performance. Guy had said all along that he believed in this horse, and now it seemed, the horse was believing in him. They went into the final performance with a 63-point deficit, and they ended it 44 points ahead of their nearest competitor.

Guy won Road to the Horse last year as part of Team Australia with Dan James, and now he had won it outright, he and his mate.

“I loved him for what he was when he came in, and I love him for what he is now,” Guy says. “I believed in him the whole way through, but he even surprised me on this third day. He was a superstar.”

Guy announced immediately that he was purchasing the 3-year-old gelding, bred by the esteemed Four Sixes Ranch in Guthrie, Texas. And he looks forward to having him perform alongside Valliant Paddy, aka “Aussie,” the gelding he purchased after winning the 2012 Road to the Horse.

“When he works at liberty beside me, when you see him in a year, he’ll be running beside Aussie, two world champions together, Guy McLean and his world champions,” he says. And indeed, Aussie has turned into a remarkable performer in the last year (See the slideshow in Friday’s post for proof), and it’ll

be interesting to see this new team gel.

Many of Guy’s training methods are pretty unorthodox, as you’ll see illustrated in the slideshow photos below, but he says it’s important to put colts to the test, to give them a reason to believe in their trainer.

“The big thing for me is that people understand why I do what I do,” he says. “The first two days, people were saying, ‘Guy you’d better slow down, you’d better do this,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, but that’s not being true to who I am.’ If I went slow for two days, this colt would have come out today, and he would have said, ‘You didn’t teach me this, you didn’t prepare me.’ (Instead), my colt said,’ Is this all we have to do? We can do this every day.’ He believed in me because I prepared him. If I had to take someone to war, I can’t sit him down at a tea table and give him cups of tea. I’ve got to take him and say, ‘We’ve got to go to war, I need you to be ready.’ He was ready today. We went to war together and we won.”

See the slideshow for a more in-depth report on Sunday’s happenings at Road to the Horse, including photos of the other very talented competitors, Obbie Schlom, Sarah Winters and Dan James. Click on the photos to read the captions.

The lesson plans intensify at Road to the Horse. Pick up a few tips you might be able to use on your own horse.

By Holly Clanahan

On Saturday, Dan James got a saddle on Playboys Ginnin Buck for the first time and made great progress in and out of the round pen. See more photos in the slideshow below. Journal photo.

Using the

analogy of building blocks, our house is about half-built at Road to the Horse. On Saturday, competitors reviewed what they had taught their horses on Friday and then introduced a few new lesson plans. One particular surprise: because of a new Road to the Horse rule change, the competitors were allowed to take their colts outside the round pens for 10 minutes. All of them took advantage of that option, but it seemed especially important for Guy McLean, the 2012 co-champion whose 2013 colt, Streakin Cat, isn’t very “forward.” Instead of bolting or spooking when something overwhelms him, “Mate” has a tendency to get his feet stuck. But with the wider spaces of a half arena available to him, the 3-year-old gelding from the Four Sixes Ranch opened up and moved out much better.

Road to the Horse judges took notice of the changes the horse was making, and they awarded Guy with a score of 223, which tied for the lead in Round 2 with Sarah Winters. Obbie Schlom was right behind with a 222, and Dan James, whose sensitive horse, Playboys Ginnin Fever, is requiring him to move slower, earned a 217. Combining the scores from rounds 1 and 2, Obbie is in the lead with 465.5. Sarah holds second place with 463.5. Guy has a combined score of 419.5, and Dan, the other 2012 co-champion, has 419 points. It’s important to note, however, that enough points are available on Sunday to make-it-or-break-it for any competitor. There is another round-pen session Sunday morning, and then a finale obstacle course.

A few quick tips we picked up from the competitors:

Obbie used her lead rope to skim over Surprise Fever’s eyes and over his ears to simulate bridling. That’d be a handy exercise for any horse who pulls away or puts his head up as the headstall goes on. Across the way, in the neighboring round pen, Sarah used the tail of her lead rope to loop around Salt Creek Lad’s fetlocks and lift his feet. This is a safe way to get a horse used to having his feet picked up, without the handler having to bend over, potentially putting his or her body and head in the kick zone. See photos in the slideshow below for illustration, and remember to click on the photos to see the captions.

Also, don’t forget to follow along on AQHA’s Facebook  page and Twitter @americashorse as we bring you the winner of Road to the Horse on Sunday afternoon. The announcement is expected around 3 p.m. Eastern.

Two former champs, two young women and some really nice colts from the Four Sixes Ranch are the cast of characters for the 2013 Road to the Horse.

By Holly Clanahan

Newcomers Obbie Schlom and Sarah Winters did a great job on their first day in the round pen. Check out our slideshow below for more pics! Journal photo.

Around the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, there’s been a lot of talk about some Texas horses. This year, for its 10th anniversary, Road to the Horse, billed as the world championship of colt starting, has moved to Lexington from its longtime home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. And so the colts from the famed Four Sixes Ranch in Guthrie, Texas, are now in bluegrass country. The ranch sent a remuda of 12 3-year-old colts — sired by Playboys Buck Fever, Royal Fletch, Stoli, Sixes Pick, Waresthecat and Sixes Country — and AQHA again signed on to sponsor the remuda.

The competitors — Guy McLean, Dan James, Obbie Schlom and Sarah Winters — drew numbers to see who would pick first. With first dibs, Dan chose a buckskin named Playboys Ginnin Buck, sired by Playboys Buck Fever, who earned a National Reined Cow Horse Association Supreme award and

earned more than $62,000. His first 22 performers have earned nearly $300,000 in reining, reined cow horse, roping and barrel racing. Playboys Ginnin Buck is out of a Tanquery Gin mare, Ginnin Rose, who has AQHA points in working cow horse and has earned money in the Ranch Horse Association of America.

Next up was Guy, who wanted to check out a Waresthecat horse. He selected the solid bay Streakin Cat, whose dam is Natural Streaker, by the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame racehorse Streakin Six. Waresthecat is a young Four Sixes stallion sired by High Brow Cat, a leading sire of cutting horses.

Guy and Dan won last year’s competition, working together as Team Australia. This year, they’re competing as individuals against the first women since Stacy Westfall to grace the Road to the Horse arena.

Sarah selected Salt Creek Lad, also sired by Playboys Buck Fever and out of a Tanquery Gin mare. His dam, Ginnin Woman, once placed third in senior reining at the Palomino Horse Breeders of America World Show.

Obbie’s chosen horse is Surprise Fever — another Playboys Buck Fever colt. His dam is Naturally A Surprise, by AQHA and National Reining Horse Association world champion Surprise Enterprise.

The remining horses in the remuda were chosen by “wild card” contestants, who will take the colts home for a year before returning to compete with them at the 2014 Road to the Horse. The winner of that competition will then step forward as a competitor for the 2014 Road to the Horse.

So, with that cast of characters, how did the first day of competition go? Well, former champs Dan and Guy ended up with very different, but very challenging horses. Dan’s buckskin is very sensitive, which requires Dan to slow down a bit and get a good foundation laid. Guy’s horse, however, didn’t have much “forward” in him, and it’s important for these colts to get their feet moving. So Guy used tarps, stock whips (cracked only in the air, not on the horse) and other training aids to generate some energy. Both Obbie and Sarah worked slowly and methodically, using good fundamental training techiniques.

It was charming to hear 19-year-old Obbie give credit to her colt. “He’s a good kid,” she said midway through her session. “I like this pony.”

And the judges liked Obbie, giving her a score of 243.5 and putting her on top of the leader board going into Saturday. “That horse is making me look really good,” she said. Sarah was close behind with a score of 240.5, then Dan with a 202 and Guy with a 196.5. Of course, there are two more days of competition, and anything can happen. Stay tuned! We’ll have updates on America’s Horse Daily, on Facebook and on Twitter so you can follow along!

For more from Day 1, check out our slideshow below. Click on the photos to read the captions.

This month’s issue captures many sides of your favorite breed of horse.

If there’s one thing I love about the American Quarter Horse, it’s the versatility of the breed. That’s being showcased at the AQHA World Championship Show right now, as elegant, leggy jumpers are rubbing elbows with athletic, lowrider cutters. That’s not even taking into consideration the rugged ranch horses who work their hearts out, or the racehorses who set stopwatches on fire.

And so, fittingly, if there’s one thing I love about America’s Horse magazine, it’s the times when so many of those elements come together in one magazine, as they did in November.

Our November cover story is on Singleton Ranches, an outfit spread over more than a million acres in New Mexico and California. It’s the winner of this year’s AQHA-Pfizer Best Remuda award, which honors breeders of good ranch horses. You won’t want to miss this story and photography by Jim Jennings. He’s the retired AQHA executive director of publications and the author of “Best Remudas,” a coffee-table book that features his stories and photography from the first 15 winners of the award.

We’ve also got some stories that will appeal to just about any horse lover. In “Horses on the Highway,” there are trailering safety tips from AQHA Corporate Partner USRider. Much of it is common sense, but it never hurts to get a reminder. And there are also some unexpected pieces of advice. For example, do you have “ICE HORSE” programmed into your cell phone? If you’re incapacitated, emergency workers know to look in your cell phone for “in case of emergency” contacts. You should have one for yourself, of course, but you should also have a barn buddy or a veterinarian who could come take care of your horses.

And have you ever seen a horse whose color just didn’t quite fit the mold? In the November issue, equine color expert Lesli Kathman explains the rare silver gene, which can create a bay horse with a flaxen mane and tail and chocolate-black legs. On a black horse, the gene has an effect similar to a chocolate palomino. See the magazine for photos that are worth a thousand words!

We’re warming up for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo by featuring a family with three generations of professional steer wrestlers. The Duvall family of Checotah, Oklahoma, is creating a bulldogging dynasty. They’ve had an AQHA-Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association horse of the year, and they take great pride in bring along great horses.

Another very important part of the magazine is in AQHA Business, our regular feature that updates AQHA members on the inner workings of the Association, new programs that are coming out or other important business. In November, Editor-in-Chief Becky Newell takes a look at the new horse welfare rules and penalties that will help keep our show horses safe. The rules went into effect in November and are designed to be tough on improper training practices and equipment.

America’s Horse always loves to pay tribute to the everyday horses and horse owners – the ones who might not normally be in the spotlight, even though they deserve to be. Tucked inside the November issue, you’ll find a teenager hugging her horse after returning from basic training with the Army National Guard; the inspiring story of another teen, born without hands, who finds a way to do everything, including being competitive aboard her American Quarter Horse; and a touching tribute to school horses, written by an AQHA Professional Horsewoman.

All in all, these story tiles form a mosaic portrait of a great, versatile horse and a great community. It’s one we want you to be a part of, too! Join AQHA and – aside from the great discounts you get from our corporate partners – you’ll also get 10 issues a year of America’s Horse. You’ll be welcomed to submit your story or horse photos, and you’ll love reading about the famous – and not-so-famous – horses that make up the best breed in the world!

Happy riding — and reading!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

I found help for my own horse in the pages of the August America’s Horse.

One of the hardest things about my job? Learning to say “no.”

I’m not talking here about co-workers asking for favors. Rather, it’s the smorgasbord of equine activities that I get to sample in the course of doing stories for America’s Horse. I’ve been sorely tempted to take up trick riding (loved it!), Civil War cavalry re-enacting (way more fun than it must have been 150 years ago) and cutting (talk about addictive!).

But truthfully, I’m much too busy to take up a brand-new sport. The demands on the bank account and the limited number of hours in the day just don’t make it possible.

That’s why it’s so wonderfully rewarding when a story meshes with my current interests, bringing me a new level of understanding or offering up information that I can easily incorporate into my regular rides. (And I hope the same holds true for readers. … I figure if it helps me, it’ll probably help many of you!)

Dressage and western dressage are where my interests lie, and I also consider myself a student of natural horsemanship, which provides a solid foundation for both me and my ponies. I love trying to see things from my horse’s perspective and figuring out how to present my ideas so that they make sense to her.

The more I learn about both dressage and natural horsemanship, the more I see how compatible those two fields are. It’s true that good horsemanship is good horsemanship, no matter what type of saddle you ride. Read the rest of this entry »

The oldest member of the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame dies at 107.

Isora Young ropes a calf. Photo courtesy of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on America’s Horse Daily in the spring of 2011, as Isora DeRacy Young was about to celebrate her 106th birthday. Sadly, we’re updating and re-publishing the story after Isora died on May 30, 2012, at age 107. (See her obituary here.) She was the oldest member of the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and was thought to be the oldest woman in Texas.  

In the July 2011 issue of America’s Horse, three independent, spirited members of the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame defined what “cowgirl” means to them, talked about the biggest risks they’ve ever taken and more. 

The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame sent us another story, which is a look at another cowgirl hall of famer who has that same strength of character: 

When Isora DeRacy Young saw her first day of life in 1904, it was without the fanfare that she later experienced as an independent woman who developed a national reputation in the rodeo arena, as well as a rancher and business woman. Read the rest of this entry »

As the June issue hits mailboxes, we take a look back at some of the horsemen who have graced the magazine’s pages in the past.  

Blake Schlosser on a freshly started colt at the Horsemen's Reunion. Journal photo.

Last month, as I prepared to attend the Horsemen’s Reunion in Paso Robles, California, I was excited about the chance to watch so many good horsemen starting colts under saddle. There’s nothing better than watching those young minds soak up so much knowledge, presented in such a way they can understand.

As I went down the list of horsemen who would be there starting colts, the “reunion” theme rang even truer. Many of these horsemen were longtime friends, as you can read more about in the June issue of America’s Horse. And, over the years, many of them have introduced to AQHA members in the pages of the Association’s membership publication, America’s Horse. For me, it was going to be a fun chance to re-introduce myself to people that I first met and did stories with as many as 10 years ago.  

It’s a great chance for you to meet them, too. After all, for some of them, it’s been a while:

• Blake Schlosser and his Canadian ranching family were featured in the May 2003 America’s Horse in an article titled “Growing Up on the Rocking P.” The toddlers in that story are half grown now, but the family still centers its life around horses.
• Thomas Saunders’ family has been ranching in Texas since 1850, and their story appeared in the May 2006 America’s Horse.
• Aspermont, Texas, horseman Joe Wolter was featured in the magazine more recently, last December, when he offered advice on how to pick up the correct lead. When that story appeared on America’s Horse Daily, it was the most popular post of the month. Joe had previously written a training column for us. Read the rest of this entry »

It was a long battle against a nasty fungal infection, but “Sooner” was successful. Read her story in the May America’s Horse.

It was back in the summer of 2010 when I first blogged about discovering some knots on my mare’s chest. She was quickly diagnosed with sporotrichosis, a rare fungal infection of the lymph system, and we set about treating it with the able assistance of veterinarians at Oklahoma State University.

At the time, I promised that I’d follow her case with a story in the print version of America’s Horse magazine. After all, if I was gaining knowledge about a horse health condition, I’d might as well share it with our readers, in hopes that someone else might find it beneficial. But I didn’t want to write the story until my mare’s health had resolved – one way or the other. There were lots of possibilities, some of them grim. The infection was a serious one and was difficult to treat, and I was about half afraid I’d be writing a post-mortem case study.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thinking about horsemanship can teach us a lot of lessons, in the arena and out.

Holly Clanahan

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only horse person out there who relates normal-world stuff to the horse world and vice versa. An example: During a recent late-night plane trip, I ended up sitting in the first row of seats (there was no first-class section in this plane), so I had a front-row view of the flight attendant’s safety presentation.

As she stood in front of me, going over what passengers should do in the unlikely event of a water landing, her words spilled out in a rushed but exceedingly bored monotone, spoken so that even if someone were trying to pay attention – an equally unlikely event – it would have been difficult to glean much meaning. Her uninterested tone spoke volumes about so many things that had nothing to do with seat cushions.

Then, spiel over and microphone off, she muttered, “Nobody ever listens to me.”

I kept any smart remarks to myself.

But it made me think about advice I’ve heard from more than one horseman, about how we can give our horses so much white noise – random movements of the reins that we don’t intend to mean anything, for example – that they start to tune us out. I imagine them hearing that flight-attendant monotone and realizing that it doesn’t matter if they listen or not. If there is a water landing – or if their rider suddenly does want the reins to mean something – they’ll be given an unpleasant wakeup call, sometimes in the form of an unnecessarily harsh cue. Had there been good two-way communication going on, it might have instead taken the lightest of cues.

We, as riders, need to make sure that when we say something, with the lift of a rein, the press of a leg, that it means something. We shouldn’t be a Charlie Brown teacher. Read the rest of this entry »

When horses are part of the job description.

I think my mare, Stop Drop And Roll, would have a good time riding pens. My not-a-cowdog, however, should probably stay at home. Chad Hendrix photo.

My niece, who’s 8, and I spent the better part of Saturday at a cattle sale, and we’ve both decided that when we grow up, we want to ride pens at a sale barn.

We watched as men on foot tried to shoo an uncooperative bull down an alleyway, away from his buddies and toward a chute where a veterinarian waited to check him out. It didn’t work.

“I’ll go bring him,” said a woman on a stout gray gelding, trotting into the fray. They had the right combination of assertiveness and common sense (knowing when discretion was the better part of valor), and in just minutes, the bull was in the chute. Going to the next job, the rider took her right foot out of the stirrup and slid halfway down her horse’s left side, reaching for a gate latch that hadn’t been built with horsemen or -women in mind.

Later, we saw another couple of horse people, one sweeping out the back of her trailer while another was getting ready to mount up. We told him of our imagined future careers, and he chuckled. Some days, he says, are better than others. Saturday, an overcast but warm spring day, was a fun one, but wait until July, when it’s 110 degrees.

Tripp Townsend, a top competitor in the versatility ranch horse arena and one of the owner/operators of Sandhill Cattle Co. in Earth, Texas, knows something about that. He and I have talked about how a blizzard can have that same effect on job satisfaction. But snow or shine, the cattle have to be cared for. And, just like at the sale barn, it takes horses to do it.

I’m working on a story with Tripp, talking about how he trains his horses while riding pens at the feedlot. He takes advantage of every opportunity to get his horses more flexible and more responsive. Even those of us who don’t have that opportunity to work cattle in such a setting can still put some of his principles into play. You won’t want to miss his advice in a future issue of America’s Horse, which is an AQHA member benefit.

Read the rest of this entry »