On The Rodeo Road

Ashley Whyland and Honorabull

Ashley, thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with OTRR again. It has been a while since we talked but I know that you have a young horse now and you have been seasoning him this year. Let’s talk a little bit about that process:

First tell us a little bit about Atticus:

His registered name is Honorabull and he is quite the character.  Atticus is one of those horses that are always in your pocket.  He LOVES attention.  He is a very laid back horse, but very codependent.  He either wants to be around a person or another horse at all times.  He is an own son of Bully Bullion out of a Jet of Honor mare.  I bought him from Laura Jane and Jeffrey Durfee.

 How long have you had him?

I have owned him for almost a year.  We bought him around Thanksgiving last year.

How old is he?

5

How far along was he when you got him?

Atticus had been hauled some when I got him, but was still green.  He has some great handle on him and they really had him broke the way I like one, so that has made it easy for me. 

Is this your first summer hauling him?

Yes, I have taken him to a few shows this spring/summer and now that it has started to cool down, we plan on going some more this fall/winter! 

I know that we all set goals for ourselves and our horses at the beginning of the year. Going in to a new year with a new horse, what are some things you want to accomplish?

I plan on taking things real slow with Atticus.  I want a horse to be sound and sane for the next 20 years.  He’s past his futurity year and sealing up his Derby year, so there is no reason for me to be in any hurry.  My goals are for him to be nice and solid going into summer of next year.  I plan to take him to some local rodeos to season him next summer.

Take me through a day at a one day barrel race with Atticus? Tell our fans about exhibitions, your warm up routine, etc..

The past couple of times I’ve run Atticus, I haven’t been able to get an exhibition in so we have run cold turkey.  It’s all about timing with us right now so my second run is always better than my first.  If I’m able to get there in time for exhibitions, I like to trot him through the pattern and let him see what all is in the arena.  Then I cruise him through, basically high loping the pattern not asking for any speed.  His warm up routine is basically like any other horse I have.  Walking for about 5 minutes, long trotting for about 5 minutes and loping for about 5-7 minutes.  After I get him warmed up, I work on his stop and pivoting off his hind end.  Atticus can get a little front-endy, so this helps him really concentrate on using his butt when I ask him.  What I look for is him to really plant his butt in the ground and when I ask him to roll back for him to be really snappy.  When I take Atticus in the alley, I make sure I come in from the right side so that he always catches his right lead going into the barrel.  His first barrel is pretty darn automatic which I think will be a huge plus in the rodeo pen.  He still needs a little help on his second and third barrels, but all in all Atticus knows his job really well.  I think the most important thing with young horses is knowing them.  Spending lots of time around them and knowing how they think, react, what calms them down, what hypes them up, etc. 

Do you run Atticus in different headgear? Did you go through some trials in finding the right headgear? I know that finding the perfect bit/combo/hack can be hard on a new/young horse?

Atticus will pretty much ride in anything.  He’s a light mouthed horse and doesn’t need a whole lot of bit.  However, I have found that a Reinsman Little S hackamore is the best to run him in.  It really helps keep him flatter in his turns.  I try to ride him in a different bit each time I ride at home.  If I need some work on collection, I’ll put him in a draw gag.

Tell me some things that worry you when seasoning a young one as opposed to getting on a horse you have been rodeoing on and knows the ropes?

Atticus takes a lot of the worry out of most situations.  He’s a horse that may get spooked by something or get upset, but he’s not going to have a total meltdown over it.  With young horses, the things you take for granted to walk past at a barrel race or rodeo may be a BIG deal to these colts.  One thing that I have found to work on the younger horses is if they’re acting cautious or spooky of something, I’ll just act like I don’t even notice it and go on.  Nine times out of ten, they’ll walk right on also.  It’s when the rider makes a big deal and tightens their reins/seat that the horses feel they have something to worry about. 

Of course, ground condition is something that comes into play also with the younger ones.  I have yet to take Atticus to any rodeos and he hasn’t been to any horse shows where there has been bad ground, so I have yet to see how he’ll handle.      

 We are going in to the Fall, will you continue to haul Atticus this winter or give him a break?

My plan is to go to one or two shows each month during the winter, weather permitting.  I normally try to keep the horses in shape the best I can without hauling them several times a week, but if the weather doesn’t allow that this year they may get a break until early spring. 

Stay tuned for more with Ashley and Atticus as they continue the seasoning process and start getting out on the rodeo road.