Brad and Esther Pagh Reining and Reined Cow Horses

July 4th Weekend Fun!

2010-07-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend in Ocala, FL at the FRHA show! Suprisingly, it was not too hot!

We have three beautiful youth girls who are relatively new to showing in the reining. They each had their own successes this weekend.

First, Cassandra Saldi had an excellent run Saturday morning in the Youth 14-18 class. She ended up finishing in 2nd with a 69 1/2! This is her best yet! We are so proud of her, she has been working hard and riding her mare everyday! Here she is with her proud Mommy and nephew...

Morgan Burns also had a great run on Saturday winning the Novice Non Pro class with a 71! She is looking great with her new horse Oakie! Morgan is also been riding and working very hard to reach her goals.

Caroline Blackshear had a great weekend finishing off on Sunday with 2 amazing rides! A 72 to win the Youth 14-18! And before that a 71 put her in the lead for the Ladies class. Great job Caroline!
We are also very excited to mention her 3rd Place finish at the CRI Competition in Oklahoma City last week at the NRHA Derby. She won the bronze medal and a trip to Kentucky for the Finals!

Lucas McCullough, the one lucky boy youth rider (he gets to hang out with all these cute girls) had a great run on his gelding, Bobby in the youth class.

Elissa Roberts also did well showing in the Ladies both days with First and Second places!

And Congratulations Kay Simpson who rode to a nice 69 1/2 in the Rookie on Sunday giving her a top five finish!

And last but not least, Jeremy Zangl did quite well on his horse Stormy earning a paycheck.....way to go Jeremy!

Green Riders are Rockin' !!!

2010-05-12T16:50:00.000-07:00

This season... this year... just keeps rockin' on and we are counting our blessings all the time. With many businesses around the country struggling we are so thankful to be very busy. Josh is doing a great job and earning his keep daily! Thanks also to Brooklyn who is such a faithful steady worker and doing a great job in the barn!

I have not taken time to get on here and blog about our last couple shows so tonight Esther set me up and here we go!

Our Green reiners are doing so awesome! Kassidy Long has now won two Green 1 plaques at the NRHA shows in Ocala and the fun part is that Ashlyn Harper is right there neck and neck with her!
They were first and second on Saturday with Kassidy just edging out Ashlyn by a half a point! They were 70 1/2 and 71! Isn't that great?!

On Sunday once again Ashlyn won the class! Way to go Kassidy and Ashlyn!

Kyndall Harper also had a great weekend winning the Limited Non Pro on Saturday and tying for the win again on Sunday with her friend from south Florida, Danielle Cohen. The girls agreed to be co-champions and Danielle won the flip for the trophy. Congratulations girls!!!

Josh also had a good weekend showing several times. He showed Jeremy Zangl's stallion "Stormy" and Marti Daugherty's gelding "Jac". Josh got paychecks both days! Good job!

Now.. on to the green riders showing for the first year at the cow horse shows! Megan and Malerie Whitehurst are having a great year! Megan is leading the southeast region of the country in the Youth Limited as well as for the FRCHA and DRCHA. Last weekend in Sarasota both girls rode real well... Megan won her first Limited Non Pro class and Malerie had her best runs of the year on her mare in the green 1 class.

Gwen Ajar also showed for the first time in several years at an NRCHA show and was third place in the Limit Non Pro class which was great!

We have some great young horses in training right now and we are really excited about the future and the horses that will start their show careers in the next couple years! I keep thinking of ideas I want to blog about including spot lighting some of these young horses. I will do my best to get that done soon!

See you all soon! Brad

2010-03-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

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I'm So Proud of Kyndall !!!

2010-03-08T10:45:00.000-08:00

You know its kind of funny but I always feel that one of my jobs as a horse trainer and coach to all you riders is to kind of put myself out of business! In other words to get you all to be so good at this that you are self sufficient! I guess I'm glad there are always young horses coming along to train so I can keep making a go of this! Here is what I'm talking about.

This weekend I took five horses and headed to Sarasota for a cow horse show.. that all went well... Luke was 2nd in the non-pro and Meagan and Malerie Whitehurst both did a great job showing their horses... Meagan is leading the Southeast Division of the country in the youth limited class and was 3rd in the Limit Non Pro! Malerie was 6th in the Green One and really had a nice ride in her second cow horse show ever!

... the biggest story of the weekend however is that JB and Bonnie Burney took their granddaughter Kyndall Harper up to Perry Georgia all by herself to the NRHA show there and showed her horse Chicken four times. Kyndall and Chicken won the Youth 13 and Under both days and bigger than that they won the Limit Non Pro both days!! Two pewter trophies and a couple hundred in paychecks and all without me there!! I couldn't be more proud of that!!! That tells me that Kyndall has really learned how to do this whole thing including preparing her horse to show and getting thru without me hovering over her the whole time!!

Another added dimension to all of this is that Ckicken has been off for almost two months due to a bruised sole.. he was really lame. The vet had told Kyndall before the Florida Classic that it would probably be OK if she brought Chicken and showed him there cautiously. Kyndall made the decision to leave Chicken home and let him have another few weeks of rest which I thought showed a lot of maturity on her part. And now I guess we could say it all paid off in the end!

I try my best to bring each of my riders along in their abilities and realize that someday they will become pretty self sufficient. As least that is my goal with every one of you that rides with me. I just hope it doesn't happen to all of you at once!!

Way to go Kyndall.. you make me very proud!!! Brad

Fixing a Mistake

2010-03-03T21:12:00.000-08:00

A couple posts ago, I had included an amazing video of little Ashlyn riding "Chic O Lana" But, the video did not work for most people. I decided to make it easy and post it on Youtube! Below, you will find a repeat post, but this time the video works.

Also, look for upcoming blog about the last show....you won't want to miss some exciting news!!

Get Ready for Make A Wish Fundraiser

2010-02-11T18:44:00.000-08:00

Hey, I just want to remind everyone to come and bring all your friends Monday night to the Make A Wish Equine Challenge in Ocala. It is turning out to be a really big deal that nobody will want to miss. For details go to DRCHA.org and please tell all your friends. We'll give you a full report after the weekend is over!!! Brad

Happy New Year!!!

2010-01-26T16:04:00.000-08:00

Those of you that read this regularly can probably always tell immediately who is writing each one of these. I have to say I always enjoy writing once Esther gets me set up on here and I take the time to do it.

We have had so much happen since the last time I wrote on here so here we go. Lucas is the first news...he has gone through several months and four long rounds of Chemo and has done really well with it. It has not been easy but I can say honestly I have never heard him complain about it .. not once! Lee and Jean have been steady the whole time as well... Lucas certainly gets his good attitude from his parents. Luke still has some radiation treatments to endure but I don't really know the schedule of that yet. So far the outcome has been very positive... please continue to keep Luke in your prayers! We hope to have him riding again in about a month!!

Now thinking way back to the affiliate finals in Williamston N.C.which happened right about the time Luke got sick. Ginger and Kyndall were really great. Ginger had the ride of her life and ended up Reserve Champion Rookie! She won her way to Oklahoma City for the NRHA Rookie Finals and along the way also won her first Morrison Bronze Trophy! She was the high point Rookie for a four show series in N.C. and did so in two rides!! She was presented with the Bronze after we had teased her all weekend about repeatedly going to the office to see if she had at least won a little blue printed towel they were giving to class winners.

Kyndall also had a great weekend winning the Youth 13 and Under and forging her way to OKC as well! Both Ginger and Kyndall won Jackets and Chairs and got win pictures... it was all very fun! Congratulations to both of them!!

Finally on this episode we wanted to let you all have a chance to see something really special!! The McCullough's were nice enough to let 8 year old Ashlyn Harper practice on their good mare "Chic O Lana" who has over $40,000 in life time earnings and who is currently in foal to Wimp's Little Step...due in February. At the last show of the year Ashlyn showed Lana for the first time so please enjoy the video of Ashlyn and Lana! By the way ... Ashlyn won the class!

2009-12-24T09:02:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas party last night...thanks to everyone who helped make it a success! I will put pictures up later. And thank you to Karen and Miles for hosting!

Here is a little photo book of our puppies, they are too cute!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Lucas McCullough

2009-11-19T18:21:00.000-08:00

If you hadn't heard yet Lucas McCullough was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, cancer, two weeks ago today. Lucas has two lymph node groups affected around his heart and lungs. If you look back at our blog and web site you will see Luke is a huge part of our lives and a big part of the Team Pagh family. To say the least Luke's mom and dad, Jean and Lee were devastated with the news. They got over the shock and rallied around their son with the determination that together they would see Lucas through this. The doctors all say this is a very treatable form of cancer and we are all believing in Luke's full recovery! Luke has begun chemo treatments that should last the next several months followed by radiation. Luke was in Shand's Hospital in Gainesville for a week and a half but is home now this week. He is moving around a little slow but has been out around the ranch everyday. Luke is looking forward to getting through this whole thing and getting back to what he loves... riding and showing his horses. If any of you want to get in touch with Luke you can call me and I will get you his number. Please be praying for his speedy recovery! Brad

Horse Showing is an Experience

2009-10-18T16:54:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about horse show weekends is not so much the wins, trophies,and championships. It is the relationships and camaraderie that occur around these events. It is the building up of a friend when they are feeling low because they did not accomplish what they wanted to. It is a father who loves his child so much he waits around all day for those two minutes to watch her go in and try her best in the show pen. It is the grandparents devoting so much time and effort into their precious girls. It is the coach who dedicates himself to his students so they can reach their goals and dreams...and to be there on the other side rooting them on whether they do or don't. It is the relationships that form and bond from a group that cheers each other on through the good and the bad. And it is also the family that extends beyond even the borders of competition. Okay, sometimes the borders become a little higher when the heat gets hotter. But in the end, we all appreciate each other because we know the sweat and sacrifice that takes place in order to do this thing we do...reining.

Having said all that... the thrill of competition is a blast! The stakes were higher because this weekend was the last show of the year for FRHA. Some of the horse/rider teams had a lot of lea-way and easily sealed the deal for the year end awards. Others just barely squeezed in there by a few points. And some fell just short of their needed points.
Lucas and Bobby were the ones who came through at the last minute! They were leading the 14-18 Youth Division by 2 points for the year end buckle going into the show. On Saturday however they had to be at the cow horse show down in Sarasota. While down there they won the Non Pro, the Novice Non Pro, the Youth Bridle, and were second on Luke's new mare in the Non Pro Hackamore! Pretty slick work for one Day!! Here at the reining someone had jumped ahead of him by one point for the year end buckle. So Sunday came and Bob and Luke marked a "70" to win the class but he still needed one rider to score in between him and the other rider who was currently leading the division. We had Lana at the show for Ashlyn to show in the Green so we took advantage of that and stuck her in there to see if Luke could pull it off. Well before Luke showed Lana another boy placed between Luke and the year end leader! Luke and Lana followed doing the same so in the end Luke and Bobby won the year end buckle by two points!! That's close after a whole year of showing! Congratulations Lucas for sealing the deal!
Another great triumph this weekend was Kyndall and "Chicken" clenching the 13 & Under Youth Division Year End Championship! Yeah!
We also want to give a shout out to our two Green riders who are graduating out of the Green and on to the Rookie. Congratulations Burl White and Karen Anderson for winning your buckles. They will receive them early next year at the awards banquet.

A new up and comer that deserves a praise is Ashlyn Harper (Kyndall's little sister). She won her first class this weekend.....only her 4th time showing and only her second try on this particular horse. She won the Green 1 on Sunday and got her first ever trophy plaque!!!! Thanks to Jean McCullough for allowing her to borrow "Lana". They made a great team! Yeah Ashlyn, we are so proud of you!!!

Brad and Dually (Smart Doc Dualittle) also finished the year out strong, winning the Novice Horse Open Division by about 20 points on Cathy Voit's talented stud!

Dually is also the sire of the three year old that Kyndall showed in the Non Pro Futurity on Saturday night! Kyndall and Funny Face (Dualittle Sweet Gun) put forth a great effort in their ride. Funny Face was just not quite into all the crazy people screaming in the stands. These young ones take a little time to get their feet wet.
Colleen Smith and Dallas (This Playboy Dunnit) also competed in the Non Pro Futurity. They really gave it their all and were looking like strong contenders for the lead when a little glitch in the end put them out of the running. Again, three year olds....anything can happen! But they looked great out there.
Good job also to Jeremy and Stormys Fancy Twist who qualified to compete in the Rookie division at the affiliate finals! Jeremy has really brought Stormy a long way this year and has done really well at a bunch of Quarter Horse Shows!

Okay, so things were going amazing for Ginger and Juiced Up in the Rookie 1 & 2 Divisions. She was about 10 points behind for the year end buckle going into the show but you know, who's really counting?...haha. On Saturday the pair one both divisions bringing them with in 4-5 points of the leaders!! On Sunday they gave it their all and had a very nice ride but basically tied with the ladies she needed to beat so no points were changed. She fell just short of gaining what she needed for the Rookie buckles, but came in Reserve Year End Champions! Also its very exciting that Ginger and Juice up are qualified for the affiliate finals and is still able to win NRHA Rookie of the Year! Reserve Champion in both Rookie 1 & 2 is really an excellent achievement!! Congratulations Ginger!!!
Next stop for Kyndall, Ginger, & Brad.....South Eastern Affiliate Finals in Williamston, North Carolina!!!

One of the highlights of the weekend, other than all that stuff....was the Doggie Costume Contest! Grace and Ruby, Ashlyn and Lemon, Cain and Charley, and Karen's dog Zack all were contenders. We had so much fun watching them strut their stuff and the whole crowd was wild about them. Here are some pictures of the cuteness! Okay and Cain was very handsome!

Esther

Long Days.....Lots of Fun...

2009-10-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

It has certainly been a couple of busy months in the horse show arena. I see the last thing I blogged about was Kyndall at the USEF and Lucas up in Tennessee.

Well I would say these two are still at it! Congratulations to Kyndall and her steady mount "Chicken" for being Reserve Champions again this year at the Congress in Columbus Ohio in the 13 and Under. It was a cold three days up there for us Florida folks and Chicken had plenty of energy because of that. Kyndall also placed 9th in the NRHA approved Ladies division out of about 90 horses and got a nice paycheck for that.

Kyndall now has her sights set on the Florida Futurity this Saturday night in Ocala. Then two weeks from now in Williamston, North Carolina she is riding in the futurity they have there during the affiliate finals weekend. She will be riding her three year old mare, Funny Face. Good Luck!!!!

We have been at several cow horse shows with Lucas since I last blogged. Lucas and his steady cow horse "Bobby" have been paying their way every time. They are like a Horse Show ATM machine.... go to the show and withdraw money!! Seems pretty easy doesn't it!! They have made it look easy but I will tell you they work hard at home and just keep getting better! They sure make me proud!!

Lucas just bought a new 4 year old mare with his own money and we are real excited about her. She is by Boonlight Dancer and has a lot of potential. He is going to test drive her at a couple of shows and then hopefully have her ready for cow horse derbies next year.

Congratulations to Meagan Whitehurst of Williston, Florida for her purchase of Burl White's horse Hickorys in Hollywood, "Bugsy"! Meagan is a very good rider and in her first cow horse show last month she did amazingly well for her first time out. The pair marked 69's and 70's in the reining and in the cow work they marked... 70, 71, and two 73's!!!! It was really fun!!! We hope to see them at a lot of the cow horse shows in 2010!

Congratulations to Rodney Osborne on his purchase of a very nice four year old stallion by Soula Jewel Star! We will be excited to see the horse get out there and work some cows in the show pen! Here he is pictured below with Brad giving him a try.

Last month in Ocala, Ashlyn Harper made her reining debut!! She has been practicing so hard and really did a great job on her Aunt Lisa's mare. This month Ashlyn is going to give it another try but this time she is going to ride McCullough's good mare Lana so it should be exciting!! Good Luck to them!!!

This weekend in Ocala, we have one more show of the year here for FRHA. One exciting part of the show will be the three year old futurity. Colleen Smith will be showing her three year old stallion "Dallas" for the first time! Good Luck to Colleen and Kyndall on their futurity horses!!

In two weeks we will be in Williamston at the NRHA Affiliate Finals. We have four horses going there. Kyndall and Chicken are in the Youth 13 and Under and also Kyndall will show Funny Face in the futurity there. Ginger and Juiced Up will be competing in the exciting Rookie Division. It will be a huge deal to see if she makes it to Oklahoma for the Rookie Finals!! Finally, I will have Dually to show in the Novice Horse. He is the only Florida horse qualified in this class!

See you all soon!

Brad

Lucas and Bobby, NRCHA Show in Tennessee

2009-08-01T16:56:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we were in Harriman Tennessee at the East Coast Reined Cow Horse Classic Derby and Bridle Spectacular. They put on a beautiful show! This is the third year we have been there and its better each year..way to go Paul Bailey who runs the whole thing!

Lucas and his horse, "Nice Bobby Sox", were entered in the Non Pro and Novice Non Pro Bridle Spectacular. If your not familiar with that it is like a derby or futurity except for older horses and there are three sections to the competition. Herd work, rein work, and down the fence on a single cow.

Lucas and Bobby marked a 133 the first day in the herd work and really looked good. Bobby had some huge moves..actually so many big moves that the photographer got about 7 or 8 great pictures of the pair in perfect form making it hard to pick just one of them to buy! Anyone who does this knows its hard to get even one good shot so that was pretty cool! They had no major penalties and the cattle were real tough because Lucas cut late in his group meaning the cows were getting pretty used up. I was thrilled with that first go!

The next day Lucas showed the reining and cow work portions of that class in conjunction with the regular classes. Lucas and Bobby had a very nice reining pattern and kept it a little conservative marking a 137. Then came the fun part... the part we all love to watch!!! They turned out a nice cow and Lucas and Bobby went to work! The boxing was tough and the cow challenged them hard several times back and forth across the arena. Bobby dropped down and shook in front of that cow like a cutter! Lucas set up his fence run and took the cow in perfect form all the way down the long fence and had a "HUGE" first turn!! Back down the fence they came and hit another very nice turn. Lucas drove the cow out to the middle of the pen and circled both ways in great position getting the whistle from the judge. It was a classic great cow horse ride with no waste of energy and total control of the cow!!! They marked a 144 in the cow work which ended up being the high cow score of the class!!

Lucas ended up 3rd in the Non Pro and 2nd in the Novice Non Pro and when the checks were paid out he won over $1700 dollars!!! His biggest pay check to date!

Lucas rode one more time the next morning winning the Youth Bridle Class and a nice head stall for doing that!

Lucas is becoming a tiger in this sport and is playing at the highest level in the country! At age 16 that's pretty cool! Way to go Luke and Bobby!!!

USEF Finals for Kyndall Harper

2009-06-30T05:31:00.000-07:00

What an exciting day in Oklahoma City for Kyndall and Chicken who's real name is Please Me Whiz!!

This was the United States Equestrian Federation Finals for the 13 and Under Division. Kyndall had qualified to get to this point by winning several qualifying shows during the past year. Kids from every part of the country were there and the crowd was into it!!

Kyndall really had her game face on and in her first ride marked a very nice 214!!! Well that held for a while until she was eventually tied by Emily Wineger from Texas. Emily is actually a 14-18 rider according NRHA rules but for USEF the dates are different so at this event she is back in the 13 and Under for this last show. So, the two of them tied and set up for a run off which means they both ride one more time. Kyndall went first and held nothing back! It was really one of the best rides that her and Chicken have ever had! Beautiful spins and great circles!! Then came three gigantic stops!! The crowd was going crazy and when it was over Kyndall and Chicken had marked a 216!!!

Then came Emily's ride and she did have a very nice ride as well! She finished with a 217 to win the event.

I couldn't be more proud of how Kyndall and Chicken did under a great deal of pressure!! Kyndall was flawless in that final run!! It was so much fun to have all the support of the crowd especially from all the other Florida folks in attendance there.

So for the second year in a row Kyndall and Chicken are the USEF 13 and Under Finals Reserve Champions!!! Congratulations!!!

Fat, Slick and Healthy!!!!

2009-06-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

A lot of people ask us about what we feed..in fact that topic is discussed every time a horse comes in training. People like to know what it is we do to keep our horses looking so good...fat and slick. Well, it can be summed up very easily. We feed the horses the absolute best feed we can buy meaning both hay and grain and all these horses are on a work out routine. Does that sound familiar to what you hear on T.V. or from your doctor? Diet and exercise are the keys to good health!

When you think about what these horses do for a living there is no other good comparison than that of being a professional athlete. When an NFL football player shows up at training camp he is fed the best food the nutritionists can find and each player is given a diet plan suited to their needs. Then they use that energy to exercise and build muscle in the places they need to perform their job.

Our horses need a high calorie diet to provide the energy necessary to keep up with a rigorous training program. One critical factor here is that this high calorie diet needs to come from a source that is low in starch and sugars. Horses are herbivores meaning they eat grasses as their main diet. We feed straight alfalfa with a protein level of about 23%. If you don't feed quality hay you will be fighting a losing battle because the majority of a horses nutrition and energy comes from their hay.

Secondly, the grain we use is specifically low in starch and sugars and is very high in fat. It has been determined that fat is the best source for usable energy without negative effects on your horse. What we want is a lot of energy without driving a horse crazy! We need calm..good.. usable energy.

"Tribute" is a relatively new company that has the best product on the market. We specifically use the grain called "Kalm Ultra". This is an extruded grain which means it is fully cooked and comes in pellet form. Horses are able to digest every bit of this with no waste. There are no short cuts with this company either. Many companies these days use a "least cost formula" which means they change the formula according to the price of various ingredients so each time you buy you are getting a different product. With Tribute feeds you get the exact same thing every time and they are committed to using the absolute best ingredients they can find.

I have found that I am able to fatten horses up quickly and then drop the amount of feed each horse gets to half of what I am used to feeding. My horses are slick and fat and have a great stamina. Rest assured when your horse is in training here they are getting the best food we can buy!!!

Finally, keep in mind that when you are feeding horses this type of diet they need to be getting regular exercise. The key is daily work...not once or twice per week. So in figuring out your horses program consider your horses body weight and how much they are getting worked and adjust accordingly. We feed Tribute Kalm Ultra to every horse on the ranch including brood mares and growing youngsters but we do not feed the same amounts and for the outside horses we adjust the amount of alfalfa according to the grass supply in the pastures. We feed no additional supplements. I love that!!!

One Busy Weekend!

2009-06-26T06:17:00.001-07:00

We had two shows to attend this past weekend! Friday Lucas and I headed to Sarasota for a cow horse show while Esther stayed in Ocala and worked with the reiners at the FRHA show at OEC.
Lucas and I both had fun Friday night schooling Boony and Bobby in the AQHA cutting classes. We are getting both horses ready for a big cow horse show in Tennessee next month.
Saturday Lucas had an outstanding ride on Bobby marking 72 1/2 in the reining and a huge 75 on his fence work!!! It was a flawless cow work getting in and out quickly and making a very fast run look easy. They won the Non Pro and the Novice Non Pro garnishing about $580 dollars. Lucas showed Bob three times over the weekend and marked consistant 72 1/2's in the rein work all three times. Sunday he ended up second with another good ride but not as good of a cow to work. What a great weekend!! Lucas is becoming more and more composed as a showman and thinking clearly making good decisions on his cows...its really fun to see him doing so well!!! Way to go Luke!!!
Boony had a very nice outing for his debut cow horse show. I showed him one time in the Open Hackamore class and he was very good. He marked a 74 1/2 in the rein work and a 70 on his cow. He was so relaxed and happy to go down the fence real hard...he is a fun horse to show!! I am really looking forward to getting him in some derbies for the first time this summer!

Back in Ocala the reiners were working hard as well! Both days this weekend Karen Anderson really rode well. She was so relaxed and in control on Piggy and won herself enough points to get her Green buckle!!! Congratulations Karen!!
Burl wrestled with Bugsy a little bit but the ride I saw on Sunday morning was really good! The best spins I have ever seen Bugsy and Burl get done and until the last stop... one of the best rides I've seen them have! Way to go Burl!
Kyndall had nice rides winning the 13 an Under on Saturday and placing 2nd on Sunday with a nice 71. She was getting ready for the USEF competition in Oklahoma so she was working hard on Chicken's form and did a great job! Good Luck next Saturday Kyndall!!!!
Ginger had a bit of a tough go on Saturday with Juiced Up, (I think due to the heat) but came back with a wonderful ride on Sunday placing 2nd and 3rd in the two Rookie divisions!! Your hanging right in there Ginger... keep it up!!!
I have to say a huge special thanks to my good friend Steven Duchac for helping this past week with Dually!! Since I was going to be gone and Esther hasn't been feeling well the last several weeks...(yes for the obvious reason..Grace is going to have another playmate in her future)..Steven rode and showed Dually. He did a beautiful job and gained 6 year end points for us in the FRHA standings!! Thanks So Much Steven!!!
Everyone did a great job this weekend...we are proud of the whole team!!

I want to say a special thankyou to Cassidy Long who has spent three days with us in the last two weeks just working her heart out!! For a fourteen year old she has such a great work ethic and is such a joy to have around. I hope to have her around a lot more this summer as a working student!! Thanks Cassidy!

Very Sad News

2009-06-25T19:12:00.001-07:00

Steven Duchac's horse "Bodie" died on Wednesday morning. Steven and Anne are of course devastated and we are all just in shock about it. Steven bought Bodie exactly one year ago and has really had a great season going on him. Steven was currently sitting in 2nd place in the Rookie Professional class in Florida. Just this past weekend he showed Bodie and had a nice 71 ride Saturday night winning that class. Steven said on Tuesday Bodie became sick late in the afternoon and the vet treated him for being dehydrated. Steven was with him until late in the night but said that Bodie had recovered and both he and the vet thought everything was fine. Wednesday morning they found him in his stall and he had died sometime early that morning. This is the kind of thing that you never picture happening to you, but it just reminds us how fragile life is. We all lift Steven and Anne up in our thoughts and prayers. Steven and Anne: we are all very sorry for your loss.

Reining in May

2009-06-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

You can bet your lucky red shirt this girl is hard to beat

About as rare as getting a picture of the McCullough Mom and Dad

What we love about horse shows is the time it gives you to just think

and think

and think

The famous perching area

...horse shows are a time to play hide and seek

to gather together and cheer for each other

smiling faces

working hard to accomplish goals

a job well done, loving care

This is what our horse show weekends are all about!

Puppy Update!

2009-06-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Cow Horse Show in Ocala

2009-05-03T17:57:00.000-07:00

Lucas showed Bobby this weekend at the Dixie Reined Cow Horse Association show at OEC and really did a great job! He won all three divisions of the Non-Pro both days! Total earnings of $650 dollars! On Saturday they scored a 142 and on Sunday the duo marked a 71 in the rein work and a 74 in the cow work with a total score of 145 and really earned that nice score. Lucas also collected his hardware, two buckles, from last year winning the 2008 awards for Novice Non Pro and the Non Pro! This was Lucas' first cow horse show this year so it was a great start!! Way to go Luc ... keep it up!!!

Ruby's Pups Are Born!!

2009-05-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

It started around 5 am this morning and she finally had the first puppy around 8:30am. She was trying to hide wherever she could when the contractions started...

She had a hard days work ahead of her.

First came three back to back. Little girl one, little boy two, and then another little girl.

Ruby was very tired at this point. I was thinking surely there must be more. And there was. She was just taking a little much-needed break! I did not mind one myself. I did get a couple winks of sleep earlier that night! I love this picture of little boy two resting on his Mama's arm.

Now we have five! Two boys and three girls. Grace is going to be ecstatic when she gets back from Minnesota!

She is a crazy good mother, as I knew she would be!

She is very worn out, but is not allowing herself to rest much because she is busy tending to the beautiful new creations!

FRHA Show in Ocala, April

2009-04-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

One of the brightest spots this whole weekend was seeing Christine Ramage show a reiner for the very first time! About two months ago Christine purchased "Lark's Peppy Step" from McCullough's and jumped in. This was her debut weekend and it was sweet! She rode into the Green 1 Class with just a few signs of outward nerves and had close to a perfect ride. She marked a 69 with a 1 point late lead change penalty. Other than that she spun, circled and stopped beautifully...even her lead changes were great other than one being late. We are so proud of you Christine...way to go...and we are proud of Lark who spent so much time here. Its nice to see her work well for you!! Congratulations!
Saturday went well for the kids! Kyndall and Danielle were first and second in the 13 and Under and Lucas was second in the 14 to 18. Lucas was showing three horses, Danielle was showing two horses, and Kyndall had her three year here for the weekend besides her show horse so they all did a lot of riding! Good job to all of you for working so hard and riding well all weekend!
Burl and Karen both had nice rides this weekend in the Green Classes. Karen really stepped up Sunday morning with a beautiful ride! Way to go!
Ginger just keeps knocking on the door at the top of the Rookie Class. Awesome spins and stops both days!! Good job Ginger!
Steven Duchac had another great weekend on Bohdi! Second place both days in the Rookie Professional Class with very stiff competition! Steven's wife Anne was making her own noise at a Dressage Show on Sunday where she won every class she entered! That is really exciting!! The hard work those two put in on their horses is really showing!
I was real happy to get some more money won on Dually for Ronnie and Cathy of Sandy Creek Performance Horses! We won the Novice Horse Open on Sunday so for the third show in row Dually has shown well and got a nice paycheck!
Finally, it was really fun to see Kyndall riding her three year old, Funny Face around again this weekend. Saturday night after the show we spent some time working together and Kyndall really got some good work out of her. Its really been fun for me to pick out a two year old just for Kyndall and see her come along in her training to the point where Kyndall can get her shown. The other part that makes it all fun is that Funny Face is by Dually that I spoke of earlier. They are real nice horses and its fun to see them blossom!
Keep up the good work everyone! Brad

April Clinic at the Ranch!!

2009-04-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

Just a quick one about the clinic yesterday! We had eight riders and they all did a fantastic job! Several of the riders were seasoned veterans and several were brand new to riding reiners.

First of all let me talk about Kassidy Long. This was the third time this week I had the good fortune of coaching her since she was on spring break. Kassidy is 15 and has been taking lessons with me for close to two years and is a regular at my Jacksonville clinics. She has never kept a horse in training so she does all the work on her own horses at home.

Kassidy has become a great example of how I like to see someone ride. The way she sits and keeps her upper body in position and uses such soft quiet hands is awesome. The 4 year old mare she is riding has made a huge transition in a very short time all due to Cassidy's skill and obvious effort. Way to go Kassidy... you are destined to be a star!!!

Well I am not going to talk about every person that was here and several of them are good at everything they do so I was not surprized. But... there were three absolute beginners to the reining style of riding that did an excellent job! Steve and Sharon Hansen and Bobbie Miller. First of all Steve found out that his horse had some reining skills like spinning and lead changing that just need to be honed a little bit but the ground work is all there... that was fun. Bobbie was riding a reiner, our lesson horse, for the second time ever and really did such a nice job all day. She rides well already and is going to add the reining skills to what she already knows. She hopes to get a reiner of her own and jump in!

Finally our most improved rider of the day was Sharon Hansen. Last week Sharon bought Chic's Chilli from JB Burney and has only ridden him three times on the trail. At the beginning of the day she was having some trouble getting Chilli to work well for her but after some private time with Natalie, our apprentice, and then fitting back in with the group she was galloping all over the place with the rest of us!
She loped and changed leads both ways...spun beautifully...and even fenced Chilli with several little stops! Really it was exciting to see the progress made in one day!! Way to go Sharon... we hope to see a lot more of you and Steve!

Thanks to all of you for coming out... it was a fun day for me!

SFRHA... Sarasota...Great Turnout!

2009-04-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

Sarasota was the place to show reiners this weekend and the South Florida people must know how to spread the word! They had a great turn out and a very nice show! The ground at Triple J is so good its just plain enjoyable to ride there. Danielle Cohen was the only rider from our group that showed and she did an excellent job with her two horses. We are working on getting both horses to be steady and consistent and that was definitely accomplished! Danielle was in full recovery mode this weekend after breaking ribs two weeks ago. Saturday was a practice day and that all went well. On Sunday Danielle placed 1st and 2nd in the Youth 13 and Under with scores of 70 and 69 1/2. She had very nice circles and spins and had beautiful stops on both horses. Way to go Danielle!
Well, I hope you all have a great Easter with your families!! Brad

What Could Be Better Than This?

2009-03-30T17:46:00.000-07:00

We had our biggest group of horses ever at a horse show so there was no time to sit still!!! What a nice weekend! Everyone pitched in and worked together to make it all happen and the results were very nice!!

Ginger White was in her element on Saturday in the Rookie class showing her good mare Juiced Up and winning both divisions with a 72!!! It was a gorgeous ride!! She is right on track this year and being so consistent which is the key to the year end awards. Way to go Ginger... keep it up!!

Lucas played paintball on Saturday and let Brad school his horses but showed up on Sunday with a plan to show well. With a smooth hand on the reins and his upper body back in his run downs Lucas placed first and second in the Youth 14-18. Real nice rides on both Chubby and Bobby!! Congratulations!!

Kyndall marked a 71 on Saturday and won the 13 and under and then had a fun day on Sunday as well. An up and coming 10 year old from south Florida marked a 73 early in Kyndall's class so the bar was set high. Since we've been showing Chicken pretty soft this year we thought we'd let Kyndall give him a run and try to beat that big score. Kyndall and Chicken sure gave it a big try but in the end marked a 72 and ended up second. It was all great fun and most of us are glad we don't have to show against those kids!! Great Job!!

It was a tough week for Danielle Cohen. On Wednesday Danielle got into a little horse wreck when she was unsaddling at her barn in Davey, Florida. Danielle ended up in the hospital for a day and a half with two fractured ribs. In spite of that Danielle made it to the horse show and showed all three of her horses. Just getting on and off was tough so you can imagine how hard it was to run down the pen and stop. We're real proud of the big effort she made and time is the only cure for those ribs.... hang in there!

Saturday night was our FRHA Awards Banquet..and Dance! We all had a blast and were thankful for the volunteers that made it all possible. We were very proud of the individuals on our team who received the awards. Natalie Pace was awarded her Green buckle for graduating out of the Green classes and earning over 80 points last year! Way to go Nat and good luck to your future in reining! Ginger was also awarded her Green buckle and given the Tony Schmidt Award for the high point green rider last year! Danielle Cohen also got her Green graduation buckle. Lucas received his Youth 14-18 Champion buckle, and Kyndall was awarded 2 championship buckles: Rookie and Youth 13 & Under. The buckles this year are particularly nice!!!!

Sunday went really well for a lot of us! Both Burl and Karen had nice rides in the Green 2 class. Burl ended up 2nd in the class and Karen was showing her new mare "Piggy" for the first time this weekend and did a great job getting through her pattern with some very nice stops! Jeremy Zangl also put in some good rides on his stallion. Also, Steven Duchac did well getting his gelding ironed out.

Brad marked a 73 on Dually to start off the Novice Horse class and that lasted until the last rider who beat him with 73 1/2. So second place and a couple hundred for the paycheck was still fun!! Congratulations Cathy and Sandy Creek Performance Horses on Dually's second pay check!

Special thanks to Natalie for all her hard work this weekend both at home and at the horse show!!

Well its back to work this week and looking forward to our next show! Way to go gang!!!

Here are some other pictures from the show. I don't know what was up with all the red?

This is just a fun picture I wanted to add of Danielle. This is her ex reiner that she taught to jump. I am just amazed by this! Welcome to the team Danielle. You have shown us what it means to really be passionate about something by pushing through your injuries and still giving it your best effort!

Horse Show and Farm Days

2009-03-11T06:08:00.000-07:00

These are a few candid pics from the January Jax show that my friend Anne sent over to share with everyone.

Mike, Sherry, and Baby Samantha G
Plus, the "little horse show talks" we all know
(Brad & Burl)

Luke the goof!

The beautiful Lady in Red, Karen.

A classic pose!

Cutie Miranda
Brad riding Ginger's "Juiced Up"
Lucas...Suave!

.............

Last week, we had a great visit from Brad's parents, Gary and Betty Pagh. They joined us for a day of lessons on the farm.

Grace is showing off her faithful, and tolerant dog, Ruby!

Who is expecting a new litter in May!

Anyone else who has some pictures they want to submit, send them over!!

Grab the Money and Run

2009-03-11T05:29:00.000-07:00

We ran in and out of Georgia last weekend in a few days, won 3 out of 6 classes we entered, and enjoyed doing it! Kyndall Harper, "Miss Consistent" won both days of the Youth 13 & Under on "Chicken" with 71 and 1/2's. She also won the AQHA youth class and the USEF both days all on the same rides. Way to go Kyndall! Lucas McCullough ended up placing 2nd and 3rd on Sunday in the upper youth division on his two horses Nice Bobby Sox and Chics Annie Oaklynn. He had nice solid rides, good job! One of our up-and-coming horses, Smart Doc Dualittle, owned by Sandy Creek Performance Horses, also put forth a great effort. He won the Novice Horse Open Division with a 72 1/2 winning $299! Sandy Creek is located in Valdosta Georgia about 100 miles from Perry and this was his first NRHA money and trophy so it was a nice win! Congratulations Cathy and Ronnie!

Florida Classic/Jacksonville

2009-02-18T16:58:00.000-08:00

To sum this weekend up the usual suspects did well as usual!! Kyndall showed "Chicken" in the youth 13 and under classes and won both days! I remember about a year and a half ago she won her first youth class ever getting her first plaque and we all took pictures and the whole family celebrated ... now its so normal that we all take it in stride!! Way to go Kyndall!!
We had fun watching Lucas show his new mare "Chubby"(Chics Annie Oaklyn). Together they won $184 dollars in the Limited Open class which actually quadrupled her lifetime earnings!! Before this weekend she had only won $62 dollars so good job Luke and Chubby.
Ginger showed her good mare "Juiced Up" in the Rookie both days and did a beautiful job!! They won the Rookie 1 class on Friday and placed second on day two!! Thats huge!!! Keep up the good work Ging!!
The rest of our group worked hard all weekend and had very respectable rides...Steven, Burl, Melanie, Ray and Amber... way to go.
We sure missed Karen Anderson this weekend who is helping her mare, Patti, recover from surgery on her sesmoid bone. Patti is out for the year and is going to be bred to "Nic It In the Bud" which is the only redeeming factor of that situation. That should be a stopping.. spinning maniac of a baby!! I can't to ride him/her!
Esther showed a couple of horses this weekend for the first time which was fun. She got along very nicely on "Smart Doc Dualittle" in the Rookie Professional class and then also showed "Smart American Lena" in the Limit Open Derby. Both horses show a lot of promise and are just beginning what we think will be nice show careers.
I got to show "Boony" in the Open Derby and had a respectable ride going until he stepped on his tail and flipped over backwards as we backed up on our last manuever!! Bummer...thats all I can say. I guess I'll cut his tail shorter next time... as a matter of fact I already did.
Finally I want to give a big congratulations to my friend from south Florida... Dave Moore won the Florida Classic Derby in all three divisions!! He's been hiding that yellow sports car of a horse since last year and finally got him out of the garage and spanked everyone!! It was really a great ride!! Way to go Dave! and congratulations to the owner .. Javier!
Well we actually have a couple weeks at home before our next show and it feels great!

2008 Big Year for 16 Year Old!!!

2009-02-10T16:43:00.000-08:00

Well its time to brag a little bit about Lucas Mccullough. Lucas owns the ranch here where we train....well actually his parents do but you get it. He has been riding with us for the last 4 years and has come along way. 2008 was a pretty amazing year for Luke and two of his horses. To begin with Lucas and Nice Bobby Sox won the year end Championship for the Florida Reining Horse Association Youth 14-18. This is no small feat!! The youth competition level is very strong here in Florida. If you can compete here you can compete anywhere in the country.
Lucas also rode both "Bobby" and "Lana", (Chic O Lana), in the National Reined Cow Horse Association shows this year. Lucas won eight buckles including the following...Reserve NRCHA Champion in the Novice Non Pro. This is huge!! Lucas' first year ever going down the fence on a cow and beat the entire nation except for one person! On top of that he won three year end titles in the South East division of the NRCHA... the Non Pro the Novice Non Pro and the Youth Bridle. He also won those same three year end awards for the Dixie Reined Cow Horse Association. He was also reserve year end champ in the Novice Non Pro for the Florida Reined Cow Horse Association.
So put all that together Lucas and his two horses won NINE BUCKLES!!! in one year!! Pretty crazy for a kid who only turned 16 in September!

So... whats next for Lucas? He has a new mare by Paid By Chic we call "Chubby" who is eligable for reining derbies this year. The focus will be to get some money won on her as well as showing Bobby and Lana at enough AQHA shows to qualify for the Youth World Show and the NRCHA World Show again. Lucas will also plan to show in the USEF Reining competition this year as well. Don't be surprized to see his name in the magazines again!!
Congratulations on a great year Luke!!

First Show of the Year a Hit

2009-01-11T16:52:00.000-08:00

We had a great weekend at the Florida Reining Horse Associations' Snow Bird Slide. It was in Jacksonville at the beautiful equestrian center. We started with the Rookie riders setting the tone. Ginger White got third place in the Rookie class after just a minor mistake took her out of the win. But she had a stellar ride on her new horse, Juiced Up. JB Burney also showed in the Rookie division having a really nice ride. Then Steven Duchac who is just getting into reining but is also a horse trainer and on our team, rode well in the Rookie Professional class earning his first NRHA money of $60! The next day Lucas McCullough and Kyndall Harper both won their youth divisions (14-18 and then 13 & Under) with a 71 1/2 and a 72 1/2. Karen Anderson also made progress this weekend in the Green 1 finishing up there in her class! Burl White tied for the win in the Green 2 and really rode his horse Hickorys N Hollywood like a champ all weekend. Lucas McCullough rode his tride and true gelding Nice Bobby Sox, to a second place finish in the $1,000 Added Novice Horse Non Pro with a 72 1/2! He made over $400 and his parents thank him! Today, Steven Duchac also finished 2nd in the Rookie Pro class garnishing his second NRHA paycheck of $120. Big weekend Steven, it is no small feat to start earning money in the NRHA! Lucas also finished 1st in the 14-18 Youth and Kyndall was 2nd in the 13 & Under Youth. Big weekend for our youth riders! We have such a great group of people and we love spending every minute with you all. A special thanks to those of you who came and cheered everyone on with support and also for all the helping hands-Natalie and Cassidy.

The Value of starting a horse at a young age

2008-12-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

Pictured right: A Tinsel Nic weanling who will be started next November.
As the first of the year is approaching, and all the long yearlings are about to turn two on January 1st, I want to bring up the value of starting these youngsters right away. So many people want to wait until the horse is three or four or even just two and a half. I want to suggest that this is setting the horse up for failure right away. Now, this is refering to people who want their horse to have a career and specifically in the disciplines of reining and reined cow. There is a big push for these horses to be ready for the futurities at the end of their three year old year and then on to the derbies as a four, five,and six year old. Often at the cost of the young horses well being, soundness, and mental state. I disagree with pushing them at all costs, but I think there are those that can mature and develop at a steady pace where they would be ready for these events. This is the process that we suggest in our training program. Take a long yearling that is mature enough and big enough to ride, and in November put a light start on them. A lot of ground work and then just lightly riding them for a steady month. Then give them December and part of January off. At the latest, starting them by February 1st of their two year old year. Then you can slowly start them back up and they have a little bit of handle on them already. Now they are set up for a bright future, being able to somewhat take your time for the next year and half to get ready for the futurities the summer and fall of their three year old year. So what happens if a horse is started late? Every month that goes by the more urgency you feel to get them ready, the more apt you are to not give them much time off and the worst scenarior: if they have an injury they will never have enough time to recooperate. Where as a horse that has been started on time will have room to give if it needs some time off. Even just a couple of weeks to clear the brain. The older a horse gets, the more set in their ways they become and the harder it is for them to transition into a work program. If you think about it your horse competing against other horses who have had 4, 5, or even 6 months or more training than him/her it is almost unfair for your horse to have a chance. And being behind does not end there. You will then be behind the following year and those there after when your horse would be competing in the derbies. It will take a few years for your horse to catch up to these highly trained competitors. Now, I do believe there will always be a select number of outstanding horses that will surpass these odds and rise above the rest even with less training. But, I would not want to mess with these odds. Because you are always taking a risk, even when you do everthing possible the correct way. They are only animals and they are not perfect. I love these animals, and I love seeing the look in the little long yearlings eye. The look of curiousity and excitement. Wondering...what is going to happen next?

2008-12-05T14:17:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Success at the Smoky Mountain Reins

2008-11-14T07:55:00.000-08:00

This was a great weekend for Blue Boon. He ended up tying for 4th out of 35 horses! Murfreesboro is a great place to show with a beautiful arena. Smart American Lena (pictured left) is another 3 year old that Brad has trained and is now showing in futurities. He placed 7th in the class.

2008 American Quarter Horse Congress

2008-10-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

Kyndall Harper and Please Me Whiz win Youth 13 and Under Reserve Champion at Congress! Kyndall and "Chicken" add this win to their list of accomplishments this year. Some of her others include: Reserve USEF Youth Champion, Leading FRHA Youth 13 and Under and Rookie year end standings.