Our 1st mini Cowboy earns his Pinto Championship

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targetsmom

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For those not familiar with the Open Pinto Championship, it requires 150 points, including at least 65 in halter and 65 in performance, with at least 35 of the performance points in a single event (his was jumper). Points can only be won if there are three or more entries in the class. Cowboy is our third mini to win this award and his was definitely the hardest to come by. At least three different people showed him - Gary and I, plus a teen helper we had a few years ago. We are all very proud of the boy!!!

We bought Cowboy (SRF Masters Touch) as a very hairy 2 year old stallion in January 2004. The breeder kindly gelded him for us, as we got him as a companion for our Pinto Target. And also to show at Pinto shows.

We knew when we got Cowboy he was going to be a challenge and he didn't disappoint in that regard.

- He had been returned to the breeder by a previous buyer who just couldn't deal with him.

- He was barely halter broken and took 2 people/2 lead ropes to work with him at first. I lost count of the number of times I was dragged.

- He is terrified of any kind of spray - like fly spray and Show Sheen.

- He hates water, so the first shows we had to wash him with a bucket and sponge.

- He doesn't load well and is claustrophobic and needs 2 slots in the trailer - if we can get him on. He missed one show when we just could not get him loaded in time.

- Clipping is an adventure (he is getting better on this one) and he once reared while twitched and came down on me (the clipper) AND the person still holding the twitch.

- He loves to jump, but only if he has seen and approved the jump first.

- He is very spooky too, which makes a trail/halter obstacle class an adventure.

But he has nicely balanced conformation and is really very lovable!! And when he is good, he is very good!!! He once placed second (to our mare Princess) in a trail class with 15 entries that included the Pinto Mini of the Year in Trail. That is him jumping in my avatar.
 
Congrats on a well earned championship! Sometimes life is harder everyday for some people, and Cowboy sounds like one of those people! He makes up with his love though. We have one like that, and it takes lots of energy.

Again, congrats!
 
Congratulations on a hard earned championship!. Being a pinto person I recognize all the hard work it takes to put a championship on a horse, especially one that is hard to deal with.

Val in my avatar, was the handful your horse was. My favorite picture of him is before I got him and he is snubbed to the fence and crosstied just to get his feet trimmed. He was a 5 yo stallion, wilder than a March hare, running with about 25 other stallions on about a 25 acre pasture. When I bought him they squeeze chuted him to get a halter on him, got him through the gate and handed me the lead rope. Mind you, he doesn't know how to lead, we are in the middle of acres of walnut grove and the trailer is about a quarter of a mile away. I took a very firm hold of the lead and pulled out all my horsewoman skills and we had a very good lesson in leading and respect, mind you as we walked past the mare pasture. By the time we got to the trailer he was watching every move I made, being respectful and jumped right into the trailer. The owners were very impressed with my handling and I was a nervous wreck feeling I had just dodged a bullet.

Training him was very challenging but he went on to be a world/reserve world champion, 3x Horse of the Year and pinto champion. Just goes to show what you can do, even with the challenging ones and the wins mean even more when you look back on how far you have come. Especially when you have done all the work yourself.
 
Congrats Mary, on your accomplishment. Sounds like you had your hands full with that one. I also understand how hard it is to earn a championship, so kuddos to you. I hope you have many more champions in your life!
 
Thank you all! Sounds like he is not the only "challenging" mini out there. He is always a favorite at home though, and I have a new helper who wants to show him, so expect to see him in the ring this year! It is almost always entertaining!
 

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