The competition at the Wisconsin Horse Fair was tough, but I have to say that I was with some really good people. Really top quality horse trainers and everyone was willing to help everyone even though the competitive spirit was there, it wasn’t a hinderance or obsacle to camaraderie. It was a very good group of people who participated in the event.
There was a total of 33 horses and the top 30 were very well done. The whole experience was phenomenal. I ended up thirteenth, which was disappointing for me but was not due to the horse. It was due to the idiot on her back. Making wrong turns costs you points, but Kickstart performed nicely, just as I knew she would, so it was rider error not horse problems or anything she did.
Kickstart got as high of a score as you could on body condition. When I train a horse I train the whole horse, so with 3 months
of hard work her body condition really showed
off all the hard work she had put into the training. In the in-hand trail course we had a little problem because of my bad knee, so we lost some points there, but she did everything she was supposed to do.
In the riding course she picked up good, did her lead changes very smoothly, did her turnarounds well, went over the bridge without hesitation and side passing through the cones she did really well. In the free style she did lead changes, loping, moving her hip and her shoulder, had a tarp on her tail, side passed nicely, two tracking went well. The crowd was reall pleased with her performance, hooting and hollering and clapping., which did not bother her at all. I had been hauling her around the country to different shows, one in Mississippi and one in South Dakota and a few other shows as well so she was used to the crowds and the noise. A few horses had issues with the noise. Some of the trainers were able to prepare their horses for the noise and crowds and some were not, so a few horses had issues with the hollering and clapping in the auditorium.
I was not in the top ten, so at that point we were done except for selling our horses at the auction. That had me pretty blue, as we had developed a pretty close relationship and bonded well. To be honest, when I prepared for the sale I did not ride her through, I let her roll in the mud, I wanted this horse but she was not really in my budget. They handed me the mike to tell about Kickstart and I said ”She kicks, she bites and she ain’t worth a damn, don’t bid on her” Course I had to say it with a hint of a smile cause anyone who had seen the competition and had seen her go new better. People were laughing and clapping. She laid down and rolled 4 times in the process of me trying to down play her ability. She was very comfortable with me and with the environment.
The bidding started and it wasn’t long before it got out of my ability to buy her. I was heartbroken and walked outside of the pen when it was done, quite disappointed to have to part with her, I was pretty close to tears, as I had really bonded with this horse. I was standing there talking to TJ Clibborn, when one of my clients came up with the paperwork in hand and gave me the horse saying “Here’s her paperwork and here’s your horse.” What a blessing that was!
So now Kickstart is on a 30 day sabbatical and when that is done she will be trained for roping, ranch horse versatility and extreme trail, my plan being to make her my signature horse working with her to make her a well rounded horse.
I would like to thank Michelle, my wife and Emma, my daughter, for all their patience and support during this whole process of training and traveling with Kickstart. Addie for all her hard work, grooming and caring for Kickstart at the shows, riding her down and all the extra work she took on during this intense time of training for this event. The Meyers family for all their support and a special thanks to my very good friends TJ Clibborn and Tracy Porter for their support and friendship during the process of training, during the challenge and just for being friends.
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