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.
• Bryan Neubert of Alturas, California, has been featured in both America’s Horse and The American Quarter Horse Journal. Most recently, we featured Bryan and his wife, Patty’s, method of raising their children horseback in the story “Ranch Raised” that appeared in November.
• Ty Van Norman’s family has been featured in the magazine several times, including this story, written after the Van Normans of Tuscarora, Nevada, won the AQHA-Pfizer Best Remuda Award for breeding excellent ranch horses. Ty’s late father, Bill, also wrote a series of stories about the time-honored vaquero training techniques.
• AQHA Professional Horseman Pat Parelli is a two-time competitor at the Road to the Horse colt-starting competition, an event sponsored in part by AQHA that is covered extensively on America’s Horse Daily. In March, his son, Caton, galloped onto the cover of America’s Horse for a story that examined his progression from a very sick little boy who was predicted to never walk or talk to a young man who rides horses every day, shows extensively and loves to talk about his American Quarter Horses.
• Martin Black is another Horsemen’s Reunion participant (one of its producers, actually) who has written training columns for America’s Horse. In 2005, we compiled a biographical piece on Martin, showing that his cowboy roots run as far back as the late 1800s, when his great-grandfather ran thousands of horses.
• Chris Cox, also a producer of the Horsemen’s Reunion, is a three-time winner of Road to the Horse. Most recently, in the January issue of America’s Horse, we updated readers about the journey he’s continuing with his 2011 RTTH project, a gray gelding named Perfect Performance.

The America’s Horse staff takes pride in introducing readers to carefully selected real-deal horsemen, some of them famous, some of them not so much, but all a great hand with a horse. And although we present stories from our archives on America’s Horse Daily, you won’t want to miss what’s coming out in current issues of America’s Horse, which goes exclusively to AQHA members.

For instance, in the June issue of America’s Horse – besides the Horsemen’s Reunion story — you’ll find a really fun (if I do say so myself!) cover story on the first-ever AQHA Trail Challenge. It may just make you want to find a Trail Challenge near you! And here’s more:

• The U.S. Army’s storied 1st Cavalry Horse Detatchment at Fort Hood, Texas, is carrying tradition forward with American Quarter Horses, and the soldiers find it fulfilling beyond belief.
•  The Calgary Stampede is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and we take a look behind the scenes at one of its best traditions: the opening-day parade. Hollywood horse wrangler John Scott provides many of the horses for the parade, and he shares some of his secrets.
• Baru Spiller is a ranch-horse competitor who truly embodies the headline on her story: “The Renaissance Cowgirl.” She’s a rancher, military veteran, silversmith, foundation Quarter Horse breeder and much more.
• American Quarter Horses make another appearance on the Hallmark Channel when “Hannah’s Law” premieres June 9. You may not see them on any other cast list, but Leavin Alone and Badgers Mackelroy were two of the stars.

AQHA members also get other great benefits, including hundreds of dollars in savings from our corporate partners. Click here to find out the top five reasons to join the world’s largest equine organization! We want you to belong!

Happy riding,

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

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.

Thankfully, though, our story has a happy ending – at least tentatively. “Sooner” has recovered from her nasty infection, although there is always the possibility that there might be a stray cell lurking inside her lymph nodes that could one day rear its ugly head again. She’s on close watch.

Her story, with details on some innovative treatments the vets at OSU are using, appears in the May issue of America’s Horse.

In my first blog about Sooner (nicknamed after the University of Oklahoma Sooners), I noted that we endured some teasing upon entering the home turf of OSU, the arch in-state rival. That continued … as you’ll see in the story. Her vet borrowed an OSU-orange ball cap from a student, and we got to see what a good sport Sooner really is, as she posed for photos in rival colors. But you know what? We can definitely take a little good-natured ribbing since it meant Sooner regained her health.

Although the stories in America’s Horse usually aren’t this personal, we love featuring stories about the connections between people and their horses. Other gems you’ll find in the May issue include:

• Guy McLean and Dan James, the team from Australia who won the 2012 Road to the Horse colt-starting championship, now embark on a journey as the new owners of their colts. Valliant Paddy and Remember Sunset, who came off the famed Four Sixes Ranch, could possibly win spots in their new owners’ touring squads. (Both travel, doing clinics, expos and entertainment.)
• Enhance your relationship with your own horse with some round-pen training tips from AQHA Professional Horseman Patrick Hooks. He puts an interesting spin on it by pointing out how the same techniques work with horses, dogs … or whatever you’re training!
• Three girls from California talk about horse racing from a young owners’ perspective. From a very personal horse name to a relationship that started at birth, they’ve got some great stories.
• And, I’ve mentioned previously what a wonderfully polite young man Tyler Crow is. Now, with his Western art gracing the cover of the May issue and a layout highlighting many of his best pieces, you can see how talented he is, as well.

You won’t want to miss out on meeting these horse people … or the ones we’ve got in store for the June issue, either! America’s Horse goes to all AQHA members, as one of the great member benefits. It’s our goal to help you enjoy horse ownership to its fullest and feel proud to belong to the world’s largest equine organization!

Happy riding – and reading!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

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.

On a more positive note, here’s an insight that works the other way – something from horses that applies to life in general.

I had a great conversation with Bryan Neubert at the Horsemen’s Reunion (See the June issue of America’s Horse for more), in which he talked about how he and his three grown children learned to work so compatibly with each other.

“It seems odd to a lot of people, a family that works together (with horses, in sometimes-close quarters), and nobody gets run over, everybody’s considerate of one another, taking in the whole perspective instead of just having tunnel vision. But that’s the way they’ve been raised … you don’t turn a horse loose with the saddle for the first time when somebody else is just reaching for their cinch or something like that. That’d be pretty rude. Wait and see what everybody else has going on.

“Everybody just takes in the total perspective and tries not to get somebody hurt or run over. You try to be considerate of one another.”

Wouldn’t that be a nice way for us to be outside of the round corral? Take that metaphor and run with it.

Happy riding,

Holly Clanahan,
Editor, America’s Horse magazine
For members of the American Quarter Horse Association

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.

It’s really neat to see how Tripp and those sale-barn riders use horses as such an essential element of their daily lives. Weather aside, that’s got to ratchet up the workday satisfaction and enjoyment.

Truthfully, I won’t be trading in my writing pen for riding pens anytime soon (I love my job too much, as it puts me in regular contact with horses and horse people, too). But it’s fun to think of the variety of horse-centric careers that are out there. And for that little horse-crazy 8-year-old that was keeping a close eye on the sale-barn horses with me? Here’s hoping she’s able to find one of them.

Happy riding,

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

Who says cover models have attitudes? The current issue of America’s Horse and the one we’re working to put out now both feature some genuinely nice guys.

Caton Parelli and his dad, Pat, did a meet-and-greet at the AQHA booth during Road to the Horse. Journal photo.

There’s just one way to describe Caton Parelli: He’s a hoot.

At our request, he came by the AQHA booth at Road to the Horse a couple of times to sign autographs of the March-April issue of America’s Horse, which features him on the cover. I’d been teasingly referring to him as our cover boy, but he corrects me. “Cover man” would be better.

“You could do a follow-up story on me, you know?” he says. “You could call it ‘The Colorado Cowboy.’ ”

Alrighty, Caton … here it is. You deserve it.

One of his autograph appearances came shortly after he and his dad, Pat, had performed a father-son pas de deux. Each of them held the end of a string – and I suppose you could make all sorts of analogies about the connection that implies – as they loped around the arena in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and even did a conjoined sliding stop. At one point, Caton put his horse, Liberty Major (the cover horse!), into a reining spin, as Pat, still holding that string, loped a circle around him. Then they switched places, with Pat, an AQHA Professional Horseman, doing the spin on KR Scoot N Slide as Caton circled him.

Riding solo, Caton crossed his arms so he was riding without reins as he went into a smooth serpentine down the arena, doing flying changes of leads as he went. The Parellis uploaded a YouTube video:

Several people at the AQHA booth asked him about “Liberty,” and no one could believe that the stallion was 21 years old. He looks great.

Just a few days before, I’d met our next cover boy of sorts. Tyler Crow is an Oklahoma cowboy artist, and one of his pieces will grace the front of the May America’s Horse. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever met a sweeter, more polite young man than Tyler.

So many times during our interview, he’d say “thank you, ma’am, I appreciate it” or “I’m very blessed.” Good manners, a sense of thankfulness for all life has given him … and some amazing talent. You won’t want to miss this story.

And just for the record, I feel very blessed to be able to meet people like Caton and Tyler, and all the other incredible horse people who’ve crossed my path. It’s my honor to be able to introduce them to you in the pages of America’s Horse.

Happy reading,

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

The latest issue of America’s Horse has some people in it you’ll want to meet.

Here at AQHA, we’re gearing up for the Road to the Horse colt-starting championship, March 9-11. As sponsors of the remuda, we’ll have a booth there, and Quarter Horse Outfitters will be selling logoed merchandise to the throngs — and I do mean throngs — that will be crusing the concourse during breaks in the action. I’ll be there covering the event, so look for regular updates on Facebook and Twitter, as well as here on America’s Horse Daily and in the print magazine.

One of the things I’m most looking forward to is meeting our March-April cover boy, Caton Parelli, in person. He’ll be there with his dad, Pat, who’s a competitor on the U.S. team with Craig Cameron, vying against teams from Australia and Canada. As a demonstration, Caton and Pat will perform together in a father-and-son reining pattern.

In doing the America’s Horse story on Caton, I just spoke with him on the phone. He was actually working one of his horses when I called, and his dad simply handed the phone to him on horseback. When we got through talking, I understood completely why so many of  his fellow horse-show competitors have adopted him as family. He loves to talk about his Ford truck and his American Quarter Horses, not necessarily in that order, and he’s passionate about competing and breeding better horses. It’ll be fun to talk more in person.

Despite an early fight against hydrocephalus, or water on the brain, and other health issues, Caton, now 28, is horseback constantly and credits riding with helping him in so many areas of life. He shows successfully in reining, cutting, reined cow horse and ranch horse competitions.

More from the March-April issue:

• America’s Horse introduces readers to outgoing AQHA president Peter J. Cofrancesco III. Peter was born and raised for the first years of his life in the industrial city of Paterson, New Jersey, but he and his family made horses an integral part of their lives – proof that the strong gravitational pull of the horse world can be felt from just about anywhere. Peter became the first president of the American Junior Quarter Horse Association (now AQHYA) to become president of AQHA.
• Meet “Outlaw Annie” Bianco-Ellett, queen of the cowboy mounted shooting world. Her American Quarter Horse stallion, El Costa Prom, was a sensation in the sport, and now he’s the patriarch of a line of horses bred specifically to compete in mounted shooting.
• If you watched barrel racing at the 2011 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, you saw the speedy gray mare Mulberry Canyon Moon. But you might not have known about the lameness that threatened her career and the pigeon fever that threatened her life. Learn how she overcame both.
• And because we’re pedigree nuts at AQHA, read about the common ancestor of Mulberry Canyon Moon and NFR champion barrel horse Sugar Moon Express (also featured in the magazine). They trace to a granddaughter of the racehorse Top Moon who was bred by an AQHA past president.
• As always, this AQHA member publication is full of Association news and plenty of tips that will help you enjoy horse ownership to its fullest.

Join AQHA now so you won’t miss a single issue of this official publication. If you’re already a member, remember that you can view the digital version of America’s Horse magazine by logging in to the member services area of our website.

Happy riding — and reading!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

Honoring horsemen of the past and helping horses of the present and future.

Reata Brannaman reassures her colt during the Legacy of Legends clinic this past weekend in Las Vegas. Scroll to the slideshow below for lots more photos and descriptive captions. Journal photo.

Among the things Vegas is known for is the endless buffets, the all-you-can-eat offerings of just about any kind of food you can imagine.  But February 3-5, there was an even better smorgasbord … of knowledge. The Legacy of Legends clinic brought together students of Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt to share their teachings with the next generation.

The demonstrations, of course, focus on education — to give spectators some nuggets of wisdom they can take home and apply. The clinic also served as a fundraiser for scholarships given to young men and women who never got the chance to study with Tom or Ray before their passings. The scholarship recipients receive funding so that they can study with some Dorrance or Hunt proteges, sending the knowledge into the next generation.  

There was way too much information from the clinic for just one blog, and too many clinicians to do them all justice. So, for this first post, let’s take just a few pointers from the colt-starters: Buck Brannaman and his daughter, Reata; Peter Campbell and his niece Megan; and Martin Black and his son Wade. The younger generation did most of the hands-on work, with Buck, Peter and Martin helping as necessary and providing commentary.

Buck, on doing groundwork with a horsemanship flag and the difference between using the flag to get the horse used to the sensation and using it to ask him to move out:

“The deal is, if your leading hand is offering for him to go, well then, that’s when that flag ought to have that kind of meaning. If your leading hand is in neutral, then he ought to understand how to separate that out and realize that you’re just kind of waving that flag around.

“Try to be a little careless with it. Try to find some place to touch him with it that he doesn’t like it. Get that worked out. With the flag, you can be a lot handier, you can get to places that you might not be able to get to with your hand or with your saddle blanket. Really work that cinch area; get him where he can stand that. Now ask him to move his feet. You’ve got to keep going back to the cinch area when he’s moving his feet.

“The way you move that flag toward him, it ought to be easy for him to separate between you just waving it around and you needing him to go. It ought to look different to him.”

Peter on bending and the relief a colt finds in getting straight:

“When you bend this colt’s head, it puts his body in a bind. When I tip his nose, his hindquarters need to step over. And then he gets relief by getting straight. So when you’re saddling those colts, if he goes to move, Megan will draw on his head to get his hindquarters to move, but then when he gets straight, there’s a split second in there where she’s giving him relief, and there’s an opportunity to stop.

“When you’re working a young horse, there’s a moment in there where he gets straight. You better give him just a split second, and if you’re careful, if your feel is right on, he’ll stand. But if you’re not, he’ll start moving again.”

Martin on getting a colt to move out under saddle:

“Kicking, in itself, is a pretty backwards cue if you stop and think about it. If somebody comes up and pokes you in the ribs, you don’t throw your arms up and stretch out, you’re going to tighten your ribs and shorten up. If you can make some noise like Wade’s doing, or I see these girls slapping their rope (against the saddle and their chinks) … get the horse ready, then bring your legs in. You can spank one on the butt (with the end of the mecate’s lead rope) or you can get some life with some noise. And once the horse understands his job (which is to go forward), then start doing more with your legs. It’s handy for us to use our legs, but it’s kind of backwards for the horse.”

And it’s true that a picture is worth a thousand words. So learn more with the slideshow below, and click on the photos to read the captions. Also, make sure that your AQHA membership is current so you won’t miss the full story in a future issue of America’s Horse magazine, which is an exclusive member benefit.

Happy riding!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

Who would you rather meet: a famous name or an incredible horseman?

Here, Bill Van Norman takes his horse down a hill, something he said helped a horse learn to naturally get his hindquarters up underneath himself. Journal photo.

I’ve been asked a few times: Who’s the coolest person you’ve ever interviewed?

And I’m sure the people expected me to rattle off some celebrity’s name, because I’ve interviewed a few famous names (all very gracious people).

But reflecting on it, the person I usually name is Bill Van Norman. He wasn’t a household name but probably should have been. He came from a long line of horsemen, and he married into another one, becoming Ray Hunt’s son-in-law. I only got to visit with him a couple of times, but what impressed me most was the way his horses acted around him. As he trained them in the vaquero tradition, they relaxed in his hands and seemed to draw confidence from him, as if they knew they were in the presence of someone who spoke their language. (That, my friends, is way, way more impressive than someone who can memorize lines for a camera!)

I wish I’d gotten to know him better, but he died much too young in 2006. It saddens me to see the list of esteemed horsemen shrinking. Ray died in 2009, and I had always meant to get to one of his clinics. I missed my chance.

But as with anything in life, you can’t go back and ask for a re-do; you only learn your lessons and keep moving forward. In this case, I’m trying not to miss any more chances. One such chance comes this weekend, with A Legacy of Legends clinic, which is a tribute to Ray and his mentor, Tom Dorrance. Ray’s wife, Carolyn, together with Buck Brannaman and Martin Black, wanted to honor the men and keep their training methods alive.

Both Buck and Martin will be doing presentations, as well as Peter Campbell, dressage rider Betty Staley, show jumper Melanie Smith-Taylor and the Hunts’ grandson Jaton Lord — all horsemen and women who studied with Ray and/or Tom and who continue the tradition of finding a better deal for the horse. Proceeds from the event go toward scholarships for serious students to spend time with some of Ray and Tom’s proteges.

To me, people like these presenters — down to earth, real-deal horsemen and women — are better than rock stars. Hands down, I’ll take a seat at a Buck Brannaman clinic over any concert you could name!

Watch America’s Horse Daily for an online report from the clinic, and stay tuned to America’s Horse for stories with some of the clinicians. The chances — for all of us horse people — are limited, constrained by time, finances and the competing demands we all have to juggle. But I hope to share my opportunities with you, so that all of our horses can benefit. And I’d love it if you did the same. Use the comments below to let us know about the best clinic you’ve ever been to and how it helped you in your horsemanship journey.

Happy riding!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

Meet some members of our Quarter Horse community in the December America’s Horse.

Ralph Shebester at the head of Bugs Alive In 75. Journal photo.

I remember, as a kid, thumbing through The American Quarter Horse Journal and being awestruck by the trainers and horses I saw there. Shebester Stallion Station, with its beautiful interstate-frontage paddocks, was the stuff of more dreams for me  — it was, as the sign out front proclaimed, home to Bugs Alive In 75, winner of the 1975 All American Futurity.

One day, worn down by my begging, my parents stopped in at the Wynnewood, Oklahoma, farm and asked if we could meet the famous stallion. Someone — maybe the farm manager? — ushered us right in. Talk about a dream come true.

Now, lo many years later, it was my privilege to write a story about some barrel-horse breeders in Oklahoma who were using the “Bugs Alive” bloodline in their program. One of their foals, Yeah Hes Firen, was named the co-barrel horse of the year by AQHA and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Phyllis Wells and her husband, Tommy, had been in the business since the 1960s.

As we talked about their history, Tommy revealed that he had been manager of Shebester Stallion Station and was, most likely, the courteous gentleman who gave us the grand tour. Cue the music to “It’s a Small World After All …”

Read more about our encounter — and the Wellses’ breeding program — in the December issue of America’s Horse magazine, which goes exclusively to AQHA members.

Of course, we also profiled all of the AQHA-PRCA horses of the year. One of them — a luminary from both the rodeo and show arenas — graces the America’s Horse cover. Eighteen-year-old Eightys Sport, a two-time AQHA world champion and previous horse of the year, is this year’s tie-down roping honoree. The winners hail from Texas, Oklahoma, Washington, Colorado and Arizona. Get acquainted with them as a great lead-in to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, where many of them will compete beginning December 1.

Another great article in the December America’s Horse comes from horseman and clinician Joe Wolter, who has advice on how to catch the correct lead when the conventional wisdom fails. Joe sees students overthinking their cues, instead of thinking like a horse — which is really the key to success.

Also in the magazine:

• An invitation to the 2012 AQHA convention in March
• An introduction to two endurance-riding American Quarter Horses who are still going strong
• A behind-the-scenes look at the movie “Seven Days in Utopia,” which had Robert Duvall taking the reins on an American Quarter Horse stallion owned by L.A. Waters Quarter Horses
• And, as always, lots of great tips and AQHA news that will help you enjoy your American Quarter Horses even more.

Not a member? We can fix that for you. Join AQHA and start receiving America’s Horse as one of your member benefits. You’ll also enjoy great corporate partner discounts from companies like Ford, John Deere and more. And you’ll be joining forces with the world’s largest breed association, helping promote what we think is the world’s best breed!

Happy riding (and reading)!

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

Two horses, one 500-hour award in the Horseback Riding Program.

Marilyn Wegweiser and Blazin Bitzy. Photo by Holly Clanahan

It was 2005 when I first met Marilyn Wegweiser, and we hit it off immediately. Of course, riding through Yellowstone National Park and later the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming, there couldn’t have been a better, more relaxing setting for a bond to form over our common love of horses.

Marilyn navigated those trails on Blazin Bitzy, a beautiful chestnut cutting mare she had bought just the year before. “Bitzy” was 18 then and in fine form to help Marilyn as she hosted that AQHA trail ride in Yellowstone.

As Marilyn and I kept in touch after that ride, I loved living vicariously through her as she went on frequent wilderness rides through the mountains. The pictures she’d send showed vast panoramas that made me itch to go back to Wyoming. Of course, it was a natural for Marilyn to enroll in AQHA’s Horseback Riding Program, and she and Bitzy racked up hours and hours of saddle time.

If you’re not familiar with the Horseback Riding Program, it’s a pretty simple concept. Once you’re enrolled, you just log the hours spent riding, whether you’re trail riding, showing or training. If you prefer to drive your horse, those hours in a cart count, too. Awards start piling in at the 25-hour mark. AQHA also has an all-breeds Horseback Riding Program, and Marilyn has taken advantage of that, too.

To learn more about AQHA’s Horseback Riding Program and a special promotion geared to trail riders, visit www.aqha.com/trailriders.

In 2006, Bitzy traded her job as Marilyn’s go-anywhere, do-anything horse for a stint as a mother, giving birth to Bitzolena, whom Marilyn fondly calls “Lil Bitz.” The filly was a stunner – a chestnut with rabicano markings, short in height but long on personality.

Marilyn and I enjoyed trading filly stories, as I had one the same age who was also vertically challenged. Short horses were good, we decided.

But her emails and phone calls became colored with concern, and then sorrow, as Bitzy’s health increasingly began to fail. It’s so heart-wrenching to watch something like that unfold, knowing there’s nothing you can do to help. Not even Marilyn could help her beloved mare, and she had to say goodbye in January 2010.

As anyone with horses knows, there are both incredible highs and terrible lows. The bad times are tough to weather, but you have to know that better times are ahead. So it was with Lil Bitz.

Marilyn and Lil Bitz along Corral Creek near Crandall, Wyoming, in Shoshone National Forest. Photo by Linda Leon

When the time came, Marilyn sent her to a well-regarded reining trainer to be started under saddle. The mare had talent. When she came home from the trainer, Lil Bitz began new ventures, going on back-country rides with Marilyn – first being ponied from another, more experienced horse and then being ridden on her own.

Those hours, too, were logged in the Horseback Riding Program, and Marilyn recently reached the 500-hour level. What she had started on Blazin Bitzy, she was now continuing on her daughter.
That’s a pretty cool multi-generational milestone, and Marilyn agreed to talk about how much it meant to her:

“It means a lot. I’m getting older. I appreciate God’s gift of being able to ride. I wonder how so many people have reached 5,000 hours and think that I never will. Or maybe I’ll have the distinction of being the oldest living AQHA member to get there.

“I think about all the cool times I had riding Bitzy into places that scared me and how she always got us out in one piece. I think about how opinionated she was and how she always stopped at the top edge of a steep ‘down spot’ to indicate that maybe I should get off and lead her down. I did that enough that she would stop at all steep downs so I’d get off and lead. It was good for my waistline.

“Lil Bitz has her mother in her in all that matter-of-factness about the world. She is utterly fearless once introduced to something. She now crosses creeks, boggy spots, big rocks, dead trees, etc., without much more than a look to make sure it isn’t going to eat her. With time and miles, she’ll learn ‘hurry’ is not always the way to go up or down steep places! She has no idea she’s a small Quarter Horse (just the right size to get on easily) – because in her mind isn’t she as big as everyone else?

“I wish she’d be more curious about big game, as her mom didn’t miss a flutter of a camouflaged human at 1,000 yards and often showed me right where the people (or animals) were. We’ve seen some pretty amazing things, and two big mule deer bucks silhouetted in moonlight Friday night didn’t even faze Lil Bitz.

“Lil Bitz gets there fast, and I keep telling her we don’t have to hurry, but she sure walks on like no other horse I have ever had. I could get used to it, I guess. Maybe that will get us to the 1,000-hour mark sooner!”

Enjoy the journey, Marilyn … and congratulations.

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

How donating to the American Quarter Horse Foundation can heal yourself and others.

April 19, 1995, was a day that so many — myself included — remember as the day of the Murrah Building bombing in Oklahoma City. It was also the day Lark It Or Leave It, a little steel-gray colt, made his entrance into the world, born in Wichita Falls, Texas, with me and my husband at his side.

He became my best friend, the one whose shoulder I could always lean on, and who bookended my days — no matter how busy the day had been, morning and night feedings were always paused, just for a few minutes, while ”Junior” got some personal attention. He was a great ride: light, responsive and just opinionated enough to keep things interesting. And as flighty as he could be with me on occasion, when he filled his role as a little girl’s therapy horse, he became a solid rock, again offering a steady shoulder on which to lean and a magical back on which to fly.

You can imagine that we were all more than a little lost when he left us February 28, 2011, after a short fight against enteritis and colitis. Hopes and prayers and the best veterinary care we could find couldn’t kick-start a digestive system that simply quit working.

The little girl who had loved him so dearly now clung to a braided lock of his tail hair, and my husband built a rustic cross for his gravesite. We gathered photos and artwork that had been done of Junior, and we had many fond remembrances. But beyond that, when you lose someone dear to you — be it a family member or a beloved animal — what can you really do?

Unfortunately, losing family members is something that’s not unfamiliar to me; that’s why my volunteer work for the American Cancer Society means so much.

But it hadn’t really occurred to me that there was an equivalent in the horse world, not until I received checks from a dear friend and her parents. Use the money, they wrote, to pay vet bills … or perhaps to establish a memorial fund in Junior’s name.

I emailed Chris Sitz, who’s the director of the American Quarter  Horse Foundation, to see what would be involved in setting up such a fund. It’s simple, she told me — just send in the donation, along with a note indicating how the memorial should be named and where the money should be directed. But the simplicity belies the power. The donations help others, they heal others. The money can fund scholarships, therapeutic riding grants or equine research.

I chose the latter, although Chris told me there aren’t any current research projects investigating enteritis or colitis. As I learned the hard way, there are so many unknowns — and no sure cures — for those conditions, so I hope they will be topics for AQHA-funded research at some point in the future. But there is much important research going on in other areas. This year’s research projects include methods of fusing pastern joints, equine metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular function in horses with acute GI disease, equine herpesvirus-1, endotoxemia, equine piroplasmosis, strangles and the impact of selective breeding practices.

That list of projects appeared in the Foundation’s third-quarter newsletter, along with a list of donors. The Lark It Or Leave It Memorial was in there. So was a memorial to another horse from Indiana, who died just a week after Junior. The newsletter was filled with such tributes, to animals and people alike. Honorariums — for those still among us — were listed, too. And what a fun idea that is. One AQHA leader had received donations in his name in honor of his birthday.

The donations heal – the donors, as well as the recipients.

It was my honor to put together the September issue of America’s Horse magazine, with a focus on the American Quarter Horse Foundation. Jim Jennings, our former executive director of publications, went along on this year’s Legends of the American Quarter Horse Trail Ride, which raises money for the Foundation. It was a spectacular visit to Wagonhound Land and Livestock near Douglas, Wyoming, and Jim’s photos make this cover story come alive in the magazine.

Other Foundation-related stories in the September issue are:

• An introduction to a truly magical blind therapy horse in Florida. Children with disabilities relate to him and take heart in the fact that even with his disability, “Magic” lives in the real world, holds down a job and enjoys life.  AQHF funds similar facilities across the country and has awarded more than $400,000 to date.
• Doreena Lunsford entered a photo of her horse, Skippin Doc Gold, in an AQHF Christmas card contest last year, and it changed her life. Her horse caught the eye of a trainer, who ultimately fit him for the Palomino Horse Breeders of America World Show, where he and Doreena placed third in amateur aged stallions in July. She is now an official ambassador for the Foundation, spreading the word about its work as far as she can.
• Racehorse breeders Bob and Jerry Gaston made their own memorial donation in honor of Double Down Special, a 3-year-old champion gelding who set a world record at 400 yards and won the All American and Ruidoso derbies before his career was cut short by a fatal illness. To recognize the Gastons’ gift, the Foundation will place a granite paver honoring “Double Down” in the Wall of Honor Plaza in front of the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum.

Cool stories, all of them. And cool work being done by the Foundation.

I’m planning to make a donation in Junior’s name every year. And I think that for 2012, I’ll target the funds toward therapeutic riding, to honor his role in that realm — his most important job.

And to my friends out there, both real-world and virtual, a challenge: There’s sure to be someone in your life who deserves to be honored with such a donation. Make it happen; you’ll be surprised at the healing it holds.

Best,

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine

Praying for rain, preparing for drought.

Abandoned Oklahoma farm in the Dust Bowl era. Photo by Arthur Rothstein, part of the Library of Congress collection.

I remember the photos of apocalyptic dust clouds, iconic and frightening images of the Dust Bowl that overtook parts of western Oklahoma in the 1930s. What wasn’t covered by those clouds was still stricken with severe drought. My dad, born in 1926, remembered neighbors lining up arms’ lengths apart to walk through pastures, shooting the jackrabbits that were thriving in the desert climate. They were eliminating varmits and feeding their hungry families. My grandmother talked about putting wet towels around her windowsills and still having to sweep out piles of dirt. The crops, the cattle … none of it fared well. To say it was tough times is hardly enough. And to say the people who endured it were tough … that’s also an understatement.

The Oklahoma soil, originally covered by shortgrass prairies, had been cultivated to death. Robbed of its protective cover and subjected to a harsh drought and howling winds, the topsoil picked up and left. Some of it, quite literally, landed in Chicago. Some of the people, too, picked up and left, and many of them landed in California where they became migrant farm workers. John Steinbeck wrote about the emigrant ”Okies” in his book “The Grapes of Wrath.”

We stayed. My grandfathers on both sides of my family were known for their stubborn streaks (a highly heritable trait, in case anybody’s wondering), and I can only imagine them setting their jaws and figuring out how to make things work in the more hostile environment. My maternal grandfather, whom I never knew, was famous for saying that during the Great Depression, when his neighbors were struggling mightily, he had everything he wanted on top of the hill where he lived. Of course, there was a catch: He just didn’t want anything. A sense of humor helps.

We adapted. The government taught better farming methods in hopes of preventing further erosion. President Roosevelt’s “New Deal” administration had Civilian Conservation Corps planting tree rows as wind blocks that would hold the soil in place. A line of beau d’arc trees borders our homestead now to the east, and many more are not far from us. (If I let him, Ocho will eat the horse apples off those trees.)

Occasionally, though, you’ll see bulldozers taking some of the trees down, reclaiming a scant acre of cropland here and there, and I wonder if we’ve forgotten the lessons of a generation ago. It’s probably time to start remembering them.

Western Oklahoma, West Texas and much of the surrounding areas are in the throes of what the National Weather Service calls an exceptional drought. That’s the worst category there is, and it’s said to be comparable to the Dust Bowl days. It’s striking to hear news reports of flooding in other parts of the country. Is anybody having a “normal” year?

But this generation, too, is adapting. Hay has to be trucked in from eastern Oklahoma, where there has been plenty of rain. It’s not of the quality I’d like to feed my horses, but you have to factor in economics. Even the lesser-quality hay isn’t cheap. Most of my horses are wearing fly masks this year — not necessarily to keep flies out of their eyes, but to provide some measure of protection from the sand and debris that blows in our extraordinarily high winds (40 mph is not at all uncommon).  Our cattle’s faces are streaked with mud — tears topped by blowing dust. It’s about the only mud we see, as many farm ponds have dried up.

Unbelievably, we aren’t in a burn ban, and I’m very nervous about the approaching Independence Day. Fires are already a major problem in the drought area, and a few stray fireworks could be disastrous. I know my husband, a volunteer fire fighter, won’t be far from his radio that weekend, and I’ll be scanning the horizon myself. The horses will likely stay in the barn.

The good news? Forecasters are predicting an above-average Atlantic hurricane season, which could potentially send some rain our way. (Here’s hoping it doesn’t do damage to our coastal areas, though. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, even if it sent us some much-needed precipitation.)

And in the meantime, I’m not worrying a bit about grass founder. We don’t have enough green grass to cause any problems there. No worries about the ponies living in mud and developing nasty cases of thrush. And rain rot? Not an issue. I suppose there are silver linings to everything.

I came across this Associated Press report from 1935: “Three little words achingly familiar on the Western farmer’s tongue, rule life in the dust bowl of the continent – ‘if it rains.’”

Those are familiar words these days, too. And they bring to mind another saying of my hard-headed grandfather’s: “It’ll rain before it’s too late.” Hope — and stubbornness – spring eternal.

Praying for rain,

Holly Clanahan
Editor, America's Horse magazine