SPB Western Pleasure

PHJ: Congratulations! Could you tell me a little about Chester?

Dwayne: Well, he’s kind of a horse that was shown as a 2- and 3-year-old, just kind of put on the backburner and was a lesson horse for quite some time. A buddy of mine had him and I had a customer that was looking for one and I just kind of went and looked at him and let the clients know this horse was available. They kind of took a chance on me. I liked him when I saw him. He was just turned out in the pasture, basically. I’ve had him for about three months and everything has come together really well. I really have enjoyed him; he’s been nothing but great.

PHJ: What about Chester influenced the purchase?

Dwayne: Just his fluid movement. Especially the jog. For these big shows like this, you’ve always got to have a horse that can jog, not just lope around. This is only his third show. So anyhow, he can jog in place and people say, “Can he jog and lope in place?” and I guess he could but that’s not what we’re looking for.

PHJ: Did he make the transition to horse showing easily?

Dwayne: I’ll be honest with you, it’s been three months, seven days a week. It was a lot of natural talent. It’s just stuff that I kind of enhanced, I guess you could say. He’s never given me an ounce of trouble with his training. The thing I like so much about him, that I really emphasize, is every time I passed him in my barn, he always looked for me to come get him. He wants to be ridden. Even if it was seven days a week, he was like, “Hey, man. Don’t forget me.” He’s so talented to me, that I couldn’t neglect him or ignore him.

PHJ: How did you feel riding in today?

Dwayne: Cotton-mouthed! I hadn’t shown here since ’96. Had some really nice horses then, but I knew this was the horse to come back with. Just coming into the deal, we got here on Tuesday afternoon, I felt like we had so-so rides on him. But honestly, last night and this morning were the “flip the switch” deal for me. That turned things around. I prayed a lot about it. I felt like that’s something the good Lord really answered for me.

PHJ: What does Chester’s future look like?

Dwayne: Well, I bought him for a youth client, so we’re going to try to get him qualified for the Youth World. Possibly have an all-around career.

PHJ: What events do you think he will excel him?

Dwayne: Of course the Western pleasure. We’re gonna try the hunt seat, the equitation, the horsemanship and the trail and the Western riding. So if that path leads there, that’s where we’ll go.

PHJ: Was his Youth rider here?

Dwayne: Oh yes, absolutely. They put a lot of trust in me to do this deal. They have actually been with me for three years. They have been involved in 4-H and open shows, that kind of deal. The girl that owns him has another horse that I helped her win District 4-H pleasure with. This year she won the hunt-seat eq. So it’s gonna be a big transition for her, but very exciting for her as well.

PHJ: Is this the right horse to make that transition for her?

Dwayne: Absolutely, yes. I actually talked to the guy that had him as a 2- and 3-year-old and he said, “Man, you made a great choice for a youth horse. That’s gonna be a good deal.”

PHJ: Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

Dwayne: I’d like to mention my wife, Amy. She’s the backbone of this whole deal. She has ridden me like Zorro from day one. I put a lot of trust in everything that we do in the Lord. I am surrounded by some good people. My horseshoer, H.L.—man I don’t know where my world would be without him on this shoeing scene. And the people who own this horse. They’re really great people.  

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