SHOW US YOUR

[susanne]

Especially, but not just, at halter...

How old are they?

How successful have they been?

What is the oldest horse you have shown successfully?

So many horses are retired for breeding once they get their Hall of Fame or reach whatever goal has been set...I want to see those who have continued in, or returned to, the show ring.

 

[Flyin G Farm]

Here is my older show horse

: He was the first mini I ever showed...actually the first mini I ever owned! He is 14 years old in these pictures...they were taken the show during the show season right before I gelded him in 2004. Prior to me getting him he had been used for breeding for several years (although he had been shown before that). I think he has kind of a bad reputation with people in my area for being a handful from before I owned him...but we get along great...he taught me a lot about showing and helped me build confidence in myself (although he can definitely be a handful!)...and there were definitely times he made me look like a jack@#$. I still think he's a huge pain in the butt at times...but I absolutely adore him

:

This is Black Tie Affair:

Tracy

 

[miniaddiction]

Veeerrry nice Tracy! I dont have any oldies YET.... but mine will at least be activity horses for a very long time.

 

[sfmini]

This is Commodity at 14. He is 16 now and still going.

 

[Sanny]

I agree that I see a lot of horses that show for a year or two - maybe three or four if they get into performance classes - and then are "retired".....I think the old pros have a lot to offer, especially to youth and ammy exhibitors.

Check my avatar photo...all four horses of the horses in it are considered "old" compared to a lot of the horses they compete against in the show ring. They range in age from 7 yrs (YES there are a lot of people that consider that "old") to 12 yrs (that particular horses' old owner refers to him as "grandpa" and "old fart" when he asks about him) IMO they are in the prime of their lives, they are healthy and active and have done it all and seen it all and take wonderful care of our children (and us) in the show ring. All four won either national championships or reserve championships at AMHR Nationals this year in addition to 39 other top tens or top fives. I've got great driving and jumping pics of all of them.....

Here are just a couple.....

My daughter at World Pinto Championships - she won the open jumper class.....they didn't offer a youth jumper class last year and she (10 years old) was the only child in the class and competed against the adults.

Then her again at AMHR Nationals with Phantom who is 11 so in some peoples eyes "old"she was reserve champion in both youth pleasure driving and youth roadster and third in youth versatility (8-12 year olds) he looks funny because he broke into a canter when she dropped her silver platter into the basket and spooked him for a minute .......

And my seven year old driving another "old fart".......

and my husband jumping another - this pic is from when he won ammy hunter at nationals and the horse is older than most of the other horses in the class of 70+ and my husband was probably older than many of the other exhibitors in the class (he doesn't plan to retire himself anytime soon either)

I'll stop posting pics now, but just want to say none of our older horses will be retiring anytime soon as long as they are healthy and going strong and still seem to enjoy showing and just being worked and staying active.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Ok here is Foxy he will be 10 this spring and yep going out again Raven wont show without him

:

 

[Mini_Bre]

Sanny I most certainly agree with you! And I know in big horses people dont even bat an eye if their 14,15,16,17 because they are truely in their prime. For some reason in minis people tend to think differently...

Heres my guy. I love him to death and he was my first show horse. Hes 16 this year and I dont think I can imagine showing without him! But as long as hes happy and healthy I will keep dragging him to the shows.

Bre

 

[Sandee]

Here's Martin's Mr. Chips in June of last year at Tulsa -Pinto World. At age 17 he took Reserve Grand Champion in obstacle driving.

 

[MInx]

Here's Alliman Joy's Color Me Shammy again :bgrin She's 15 (turns 16 April 11th) and picture was taken I think in 2002 so she was 13. She will be shown locally this year and probably try Midland AMHR again next year in Senior mares. Isn't she a beauty?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/min...girlShammy2.jpg

 

[Kim]

This is my kind of thread! All of our core group of show horses are what the majority of mini people would consider to be ancient! I find it really funny that mini owners think horses are over the hill at age 10, when most big horse people (show jumpers, for example) don't even consider horses to be in their prime until well into their teens.

Anyway, here are some of ours: (Some are not the best pictures, because I don't have many on the computer!)

Circle J Champ's L'il Chief - he is a 22 year old gelding, and has been shown every year of his life I believe. He is an amazing horse and can do every discipline. He has AMHA National Championships, Reserves and Top Tens in Hunter, Jumper, Obstacle Driving, Halter Obstacle, Pleasure, Country, Roadster, Showmanship and Halter. He also wins Grand Championships in Halter every year on our local circuit, which is quite an accomplishment because we have an incredible group of geldings. This picture was taken of him a few years ago, at age 16, I think.

Next is Circle J Duchess. She is Chief's daughter (before he was gelded!) and is 17 this year. She has had two foals, but her main role is as a show horse. She has won National Championships, Reserves and Top Tens in pretty much every discipline, including World Champion AOTE Roadster, Reserve National Champion Amateur Mare, Reserve National Champion Obstacle Driving, Reserve National Champion Halter Obstacle and Top Tens in those events plus Liberty and Pleasure. She also gets lots of Supremes on our local circuit, her most recent last year at age 16. I don't have a good show picture on the computer, but here she is at age 12 with one of her foals.

Circle J Princess is Duchess's full sister and she is my 19 year old pleasure driving mare. We got her at age 13, and she had had barely any handling at all. I trained her to drive, and the next year she got numerous National Top Tens in Pleasure and Roadster. She is still a great pleasure horse and I will be showing her again this year. This is her at age 16.

Circle J Bunanza is not what I would consider old, but I guess many would! He is 12 this year, and has won tons at Nationals/Worlds in Country, Hunter, Jumper, Halter Obstacle, Showmanship and Halter. He has 6 National/World Championships and was Best All Around Horse in 2002. Here he is at age 9.

Circle J Buster Bo is our other 'oldie but goodie'. He was my first mini and is 20 this year, and we don't show him as much as we used to simply because we don't have enough handlers! He is a half brother to Chief and Bunanza, and is also a great performance horse. He's not a halter horse (I think he only ever got one Grand when I used to show him in Halter when I was a kid!), but he's got Nationals awards in Pleasure, Roadster, Halter Obstacle, Obstacle Driving and Showmanship, and he has got an amazingly huge heart. He had a corneal ulcer a few years ago and the vets were unable to save his eye, but it didn't deter him at all--he didn't miss a beat in the show ring, and can still do everything he used to be able to and just as well.

 

[angel_cowgirl]

I can't believe my boy is 12 (well his bday is in May but..) this year, I've had him since he was a yearling.

OMP Pizazz's Copper Coin (aka Copper) is a 4-time National Champion and multiple Top Ten winner, as well as having won the Honor Roll and many Honor Roll top tens. He's done halter and performance. And we haven't applied for them yet, but he has enough points to get a few ROMs. He showed from the time he was a yearling til he was 5yrs old. He loved showing, and only stopped because of allergies. He loved to learn new things, it only a month to learn and win halter obstacle! I love him to death and could never part, he's been my best friend and been there for me when I needed to talk.

:

He's got his own page on my website, with his whole story and his winnings listed.

 

[Kendra]

Kim, my mom was talking about a "20+" halter class at the club show ... what do you think? :lol: That's just because she's hoping Di (25 years young) foals earlier rather than later and can bring her baby to the show. We could get some great "family portraits!"

Last year at a show the judge, in the Judges Choice class, chose Chief (as the horse she would most like to take home) and asked us how old we thought he was ... it was funny, everyone in ring knew the answer, she had to go to the audience to play her game, and they were more than happy to participate, after watching him all day they were all Chief fans too! Oh, Kim he did miss one show season, he stayed home and was gelded as a four year old! But he did show as a weanling, so this will be his 22nd show season!

I guess the oldest we ever took to a show was FWF Vixen in 2001, he was 25 and that year only went in Costume and Ridden Barrels with his princess, Taylor. But the year before he went in team and roadster and barrels same as he always did in his younger days! Okay, so he didn't go in halter, but he never did, even when we first got him (when he was a young thing of 8!) because, he just wasn't a halter horse. But whatever committee put him together knew what they were doing after all, he was a great horse, we lost him two years ago at 28.

(I'm not sure where the original of this is?)

Not that our regular show string are spring chickens or anything, but when you show against Kim's Chief all the time they seem like youngsters!

NFC Illusions Image

He's 16 this year, and is going to retire, not because of his age, but because he has some lameness problems that are getting worse with the travelling. But he has an AMHA Superior Event Horse in Open Roadster, he was Honor Roll winner in AOTE Roadster, he's 4 times the Canadian National Champion Roadster Horse, and he's still the most fun horse I've ever driven.

Circle J Zachary

Zac's 11 this year, we've shown him many years and plan to for many more!

Circle J Elvez

Elvez is 12 now, last year at 11 he won a Supreme Horse Horse!

And they're all geldings.

 

[Millstone Farm]

Here's a photo of Germels Abraham at the ripe age of 12 when this photo was taken. He went AMHA Reserve National Champion Sr. Gelding 30-32" that year.

I retired him 2 years later because he had been shown since he was a baby and I thought he deserved to retire. He now is 20-yrs-old and is as fat as a tick (but if you asked him, he'd say he was starved!!!). Abraham never met food he didn't love!

http://millstonefarm.com/Graphics/abrahammillstone.jpeg

For many years, Abraham was the winningest horse in AMHA history, but has since been passed.

 

[Shari]

Maggie is going to be 10 but that is not super old. My Fjord mare is going to be 13 years old.

Everyone has seen Maggie lots of times...but below is my Fjord. Dusty has been to many Fjord horse shows, back country riding, lots of time going in cart and parades and had at least one foal for her first owner.

Here she is pretty much a lawn mower.

Love seeing everyones pictures!

 

[KTS@Sawmill River]

We have a couple of "old" ones that have/had been shown for a while.....

One of them is SRF Encore. He is a 13 yr. old 30" gelding. At the age of 12(which would be last year) he was AMHA Reserve World Grand Champion Sr. Gelding!!! He has been an AMHR National Champion twice as well as AMHA World/National Champion Multiple times. He also was AMHA Reserve National Grand Champion Sr. Gelding in 1999. He will be on our showstring again this year. Not bad for a little guy......

And this girl does not show anymore. NFCs Flashdance was 15 when she retired and she is now 22. Her last show was the AMHA Nationals in 1999 and she brought us home a National Champion. In 1992, she was AMHA National Grand Champion Sr. Mare. Unfortunately, we were never able to get any foals out of her, she has just turned into a fat and happy old mare that hangs out with the broodmares. I don't have any recent pictures of her, but this is a picture of her in her prime.

 

[jdhand]

and my husband jumping another - this pic is from when he won ammy hunter at nationals and the horse is older than most of the other horses in the class of 70+ and my husband was probably older than many of the other exhibitors in the class (he doesn't plan to retire himself anytime soon either)

Your husband was outstanding at Nationals. He out did me and he was jumping more than one horse from what I remember. It was so fun. My horse is 7 and he is quite the athlete. We are geared up for this show season

 

[Belinda]

:new_shocked: When you say Older how about OLD,, This is one of my favorite mares , Her birth year is listed on her AMHA papers as 1970 that makes her 36 yrs. young .

: She has not had a foal in several years but has for sure earned her right to live here forever

: This picture was taken yesterday while she enjoyed a afternoon snack in the wonderful warm afternoon..

 

[susanne]

THANK YOU!!! for showing your beautiful horses...they are all gorgeous, and prove what I've thought all along -- for so many, the best is yet to come!

I hope more people will continue showing their beautiful horses so that we can continue to watch them and drool!

Belinda, that mare is absolutely beautiful, and she looks to be truly enjoying the sunshine and her lunch, as well she should!

 

[Michelle@wescofarms]

Great topic Susanne!

We're new to showing so don't have any older ones out showing yet! My friend, Nicolette, does show her stallion still and he does quite well at the age of 15. She's hoping to take him to the AMHR Nationals this year.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Rabbit at 25, winning what will very likely be his last overall Championship (You have to remember red is win, blue is second in Europe- You lot just HAD to be different, didn't you??

)

This horse is extra special to me, there will never be another.

I was there when he was born, had his mother from a foal, and he has won so much for me that I can't remember any of it now.

He started showing in Shetland classes but he was "too small and far too pretty, and he moves too well" to quote a very well known judge!!

So he left that circle and was registered AMHA- no shows for them so we went into open classes.

Rabbit has won against Welsh Cobs, Arabs and once won an open condition class with SIXTY entries in it!!!

We know each other very well, he has his little ways - as he proved yesterday be squeezing through a gap between the wheel barrow and the gate and galloping across to visit his yearling granddaughters!!!

I take him to one show each year and he still gets in the top five (to everyones disgust) as he is still one of the best movers of his size I have ever seen.

His conformation is just about perfect, and he is still an active stallion.

I know he is not immortal, but I just cannot picture life without him!!!