Gold

Gold came to us in 2000, by way of internet shopping! I wasn't really looking for a new show horse, but someone else's misfortune became my dream come true. His story is somewhat of a Cinderella scenario, or better yet, a frog whom was kissed and became my handsome prince.

I was reading classifieds, when a newly-posted ad caught my eye. Cart, harness, saddle and a wonderful little backyard Mini was up for sale due to a divorce situation. Needed to be sold immediately and boy the price was right ! I wrote and asked for photos of the cart and equipment and of course the horse. Lord knows I did not need another horse, but he came along with all the other goodies, so I went ahead and said ok. I sent a check off the very next day without telling my husband. How could I tell him I purchased another horse, especially another gelding.?? This is the photo they sent me when I inquired about him.

I had planned on buying the package for the accessories, and re-selling the horse to recoup my investment. ... sounded easy enough. He was located clear across the country and I had to pay quite a bit to get everything shipped here. When it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised with exception to the horse . He was a little thin, and his hooves needed trimming. My hubby said his feet pointed in four different directions!! He would definatly need a few months of TLC, but with spring arriving, I would surely find a home for him.

The previous owner had called him Apache, but somehow that just did not fit him. I always imagined an Apache as a pinto or appaloosa. I changed his name to Gold.

To make a long story short, the next few months were spent making friends with him and getting him conditioned and cleaned up for resale. We harnessed and hitched him a half dozen times to assess his training and be sure he could be also be advertised as a driving horse, making him more valuable. He was green, but very smart and moved nicely. By the time I had him 2 months, he had transformed into a beautiful, responsive horse with a wonderful disposition. I just could not bear to part with him.

I showed him very little the first part of summer, I already had a B show horse. I played with him a little in Halter classes, but chose to keep competing in driving with our other horse Rocket. My husband and best friend, Laurie, both told me I was using Rocket as a crutch and an excuse not to show aggressively with Gold. .A decision was made, and we sold Rocket to a family with children. I hated giving him up, but needed to move on and see what I could do with a new and different horse to challenge my abilities . By the end of that first summer, Gold and I were finally getting in tune with one another. The following spring when we pulled him out, we were amazed at how he had matured. His mannerisms and movement cried out "look at me" ! Our first show out, he won almost every class he was in. Over and over we achieved High Point B horse at the shows, Halter, jumping, driving.... there was no challenge he did not meet eye to eye and tackle. He became affectionately known to all my family and friends as "THE GOLDEN GELDING".

These past six show seasons, I cannot name all the awards Gold has won. He is consistently in the ribbons, and we push him harder at every show we take him to. Asking more and more of him... he steps up and enjoys every minute of it.. His first trip to Nationals in 2001 netted us a National Championship in Driving and Top Ten's in every class he showed in.

We added 2 Youth handlers in 2001, John Miller age 7 and Kristen Adams age 12. Both have won numerous "High Point Youth" and helped Gold achieve High Point B horse at shows around the western US. They all placed highly in the MWMHSPO club year end awards program and the AMHR National All Stars in 2001 and 2002. We started him in Versatility and Roadster in 2002 and added Driving Obstacle in 2004.

Kristen showed Gold to a Reserve Championship at the 2002 AMHR National show, and all in all-( three handlers and 14 classes), he placed Top Ten in every one of them.. The part of this that amazes us most, is six weeks before Nationals, Gold contracted a serious intestinal infection and was almost lost. 5 days in intensive care at the veterinary clinic and hundreds of dollars later, we brought him home. He could not be excersized hard for 3weeks afterwards, missing shows in August and putting us way behind schedule in preparing for our trip to Nationals. We almost left him home, but we chose to take him and play it by ear... one day at a time just watching what he could handle once we got there. We were truly impressed at how he went in the arena and showed them who was boss.... he was not playing any games. He was definatly not in top notch condition, and his energy level a bit low, but he really put forth a gallant effort and made us all so proud.