"Red the Tough Runner"

2006 - Fairview Josey was a scrawny 2 y/o register AQHA sorrel gelding I bought for $490 at the Arthur Sale Barn 13 years ago. I bought him along with 2 other wild untouchable horses that day to break to ride & resale. He was fairly easy to train to ride. Before I advertised him for sale, I noticed that he was terrified of men. He would stand in the back of the stall showing the whites of his eyes if a man even looked at him. To this day, he is still shy of men that smell like hogs… So, of course my soft side kicked in and I had to save him, couldn't let him be sold to a man and be scared. That's how I ended up with another one of the best 3 horses of my life. Years after I bought him, I finally looked at his papers & saw that he goes back to Wimpy & Leo. Great names, but that doesn't really matter to me.

Red is my favorite trail horse and he has traveled far & wide including Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, & Colorado. I took him on a 13 hour cattle drive up the mountain & he was still prancing all the way down! Talk about stamina…...and sore butt & sore knees!

At age 11, 4 years ago, I started training him for barrels, poles, kegs & flags. I spent 3 - 5 days every week working with him that year. We went through 3 bits as he progressed and learned how "fun & exciting" it was until I was able to control his speed & turns. That first summer we competed was a lot of fun since I didn't have high expectations with him still in training. By the second season, 3 years ago, I expected a lot more, so the fun was over & the familiar nerves & stress were back. We won High Point in Sr Barrels, Sr Poles, 1 point away for Sr Kegs & All Around Rider for the entire season. Red's 3rd season, 2 years ago, we won High Point Barrels & Poles as we also did last year. We competed in one rodeo a few years ago in deep slippery mud where we both went down turning the second barrel. I kicked my foot free of the stirrup & he got up & headed for the 3rd barrel until he realized he no longer had a passenger. Red & I have also competed in several other open shows & rodeos, beating a 16 time world champion once. We've also beat two other world champions at over 12 shows now. Does that mean my horse is worth more than theirs (one was sold for $10,000 & the other was purchased for 30,000)????? I wish, but it really wouldn't matter since I wouldn't sell Red anyway. That brings us to this year planning a little competion.

During all of this, Red was diagnosed with WNV in his second season. He was 1 of 4 horses out of 40 on the place that got the disease. One died & the other 2 recovered. It was pretty serious with Red for a while. He had severe symptoms including very labored breathing, lethargic & careless attitude, decreased appetite & poor control of his hindquarters. Thank God he came out of that. The next year, Red contracted EPM. Again, a very dangerous & expensive disease affecting the Central Nervous System. What are the odds the only horse I own that has ever gotten either disease was Red both times???? He must be tough, Red is about 90% recovered, where 25% of the horse die & 50% never fully recover with either disease.

A few years ago we started working cattle which is a blast.

The only thing we didn't accomplish was pulling a buggy. After weeks of ground driving, he said a big "no" on the day we hooked him up & he nearly exploded.

Red is so awesome because he will try anything & has natural ability. The best thing that ever happened was the day I decided to "save him"!