Will and Joey


2006 and 2007 PNW O-Mok-See Champions
2007-08 SCWGA Series Champions


Below is Will and Joey's 22.5 Pole run at SCWGA--one handed!



Will had a wonderful first horse, Teddy, who we rescued as a bag of bones at a horse trader's, and later discovered was sired by Flaming Jet, son of Jet Deck, and the all-time leading sire of NFR qualifying barrel horses. She was a marvelous horse, and a great teacher, but had had a hard life and her old bones needed to be retired. She now resides with Laura Steward, DVM, of Cimarron Labradors, whose daughter, Jessica, rides and loves her, and whose 20 acres make a wonderful retirement home.

We had known it was time to retire Teddy, but the push came when our trainer called and asked if we were interested in buying their mare, Joey, for Will. Joey was only six year old and had already won three saddles. Her first saddle came as a four year old at the National O-Mok-See. The National runs six days and fifteen events, so for a four year old to be able to win that is simply remarkable. She is a great horse, so with the help of my father, we found a way to buy her and bring her home.

Will was only nine years old, and while a very good rider, struggled with Joey. She was a handful on the ground, and in the arena knew only Mach 9, so there was to be no going slow and getting to know her. Holding her back only made her mad and usually sent her off course, so Will got a crash course in riding a very fast horse at a very young age. At the same time Joey was very safe--when asked to stop or turn she did it, so there was never any worry of her taking off, bucking, or doing anything dangerous. Will simply needed to learn to keep up with her.

There were glimpses of greatness in those early months. The two went to the National just two months after we got her, and while they dq'd in half the events, they also won Poles and were 2/100ths of a second from breaking the record. Amazingly, it all came together at the Pacific NW Championship O-Mok-See in September. Joey and Will were simply on fire, and had a great show. They qualified in every event except two-barrel-flags (and even that was just barely), and ran the fastest times they had ever run in practically every other event. They even qualified for the first time ever together in International Flags, which was the last event of the show and had they dq'd, they would not have won the saddle.

Joey and Will came back and won the PNW saddle again this year (2007), and were so good they even won the Fast and Clean trophy blanket, which is awarded to the team with the fastest combined times with no dqs out of all age groups in the whole show. No Pee Wee (10&under) has ever won it before. This award is donated in memory of a great stallion, Flyboy, who won ten PNW O-Mok-See saddles before dying tragically of colic. Flyboy is Joey's sire.

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