Olympic Contenders in 1978

This was Me and My RC after warming up at the

Midwest Regional Championships

being held at Lamplight Farms before our dressage test.

These are the only pictures I have of this great horse...

All our history together disappeared forever

when my car was stolen during a move.

Unlike now. Photos were it....

The United States

participation

in the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow

were cancelled due to the

Russian invasion of Afghanistan. 

So much for that dream...

Omen is a beautiful Stallion.

Andalusians start out black as shown below

and turn white as they age shown above.

Good Omen at 2 Years Old.

He is gorgeous standing still or on the move...

Just starting to turn grey....

Omen at 4 years old...

 

 

Good Omen ~ the beginning of his training under saddle.

Pretty silhouette picture of Omen in the barn entryway.

 

I just love that silly horse :-)

The beautiful mature Omen almost snow white!

Aftans story... This picture taken the day I bought her.

Two cowboys showed up one day with Aftan in the back of a small 2 horse trailer, they wanted to know if I could teach her to neck rein.  At 17 hands her withers just missed the roof when they backed her out. She was smashed in there like a sardine...

Fifteen minutes later she was sold and they were leaving.

She was an unbelievable find with a heart of gold and guts to spare....

She took to jumping like a fish to water :-)

 

Here's Aftan jumping one of her first fences with some spare fencing that was available.

I quickly found out that Aftan was a great jumper! 

Olympic Rider ~ Bruce Davidson called Aftan a "Hot Tamale".

Bruce went on to win an individual Gold Metal at those games.

She never batted an eye at anything I pointed her at.

Realizing Aftan had more talent then my finances could carry her...

I sold Aftan to Vicki Baker who was in the

United States Equestrian Team Developing Riders Program. 

Aftans fearless style made her a perfect prospect for the upcoming

2000 Olympic Games in Sydney Australia. 

Unfortunately, Vicki had a horrible wreck on another horse

at the Devon Horse 4Star Trials

which ended her quest for those games...

Vicki recovered well enough to still join the

United States Equestrian Team as a Groom for another rider.

Upon her return, Vicki bred Aftan who produced a beautiful baby. 

She was then sold to a Junior Rider in Florida and thats the last I heard of her...

Poor Sarah was a mess when we bought her for $100

in January this particular year.

Starving, no water, urinary tract infection and infested with lice.

This poor little girl was not long for this world...

She looked so much better in October of the same year.

Here we are out riding at Pawnee Buttes several years later.

This ride was a rattlesnake extravaganza!

~

Sarah spent the last 5 years as a seeing eye dog

for an old blind Appaloosa,

they were inseparable. 

Now that Old Bud has passed on

we are starting to have some fun out and about again.