Equine
Equine Superstars & Everyday Heroes – Blake and Hooter
By Janis Blackwell
Near the small, north central Texas town of Forestburg, lives 12-year-old Blake Weston Keith and his horse Hooter. Hooter is the subject of my article this month, and although he could qualify as a superstar, he is most definitely an everyday hero, especially to his boy, Blake.
Hooter was originally owned and trained by Walt Johnson, the 2015 Montana Cowboy’s Association Heritage Award Winner, a man who has been breaking and training quality horses since his childhood. At the time Mr. Johnson owned him, the horse was called Pretty Boy.
From about age six to 14, Hooter (aka Pretty boy) was owned by another Montana cowboy, Grant Racki, who roped on him. Grant said until the horse was 14, almost every time he roped on him, he bucked, but only with adults. His nieces used him for running barrels during those same years, and he never bucked with the kids.
His name changed after Grant had bought him and brought him to his place. When he turned “Pretty Boy” into a lot next to the barn, a big barn owl started hooting. That hooting scared Pretty Boy so much he jumped the fence and took off down the road, and that day his name changed to Hooter.
At age 14, another Montana team roper, Egan Boschee, bought Hooter and hauled him all over the West and Midwest to big ropings including the “Richest One Day Amateur Roping” held in Reno, Nevada, and the 2013 World Series of Team Roping Finale in Las Vegas.
These are the credentials that qualify Hooter to be classified as a “Superstar,” but the best story about Hooter, and I personally think the best years of Hooter’s life, started about a year and a half ago when Hooter became the team roping horse of young Blake Keith.
To read more pick up a copy of the October 2018 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
By Krista Lucas Wynn
Each year, when the professional rodeo season wraps on Sept. 30, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association announce the Nutrena Horse of the Year, presented by the American Quarter Horse Association, in each event. This is a prestigious award, voted on by the members of the associations. To be named Horse of the Year by fellow competitors is a high honor only a few achieve.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Krista Lucas Wynn | Copy Editor
The name, “Daddy of ’em All,” instantly brings to mind the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and western celebration. Cowboys and cowgirls from all across the country dream of competing on the iconic Cheyenne arena dirt.
Every July, pro rodeo contestants travel to Cheyenne, Wyom. to vie for the title of champion of the Cheyenne Frontier Days. The rodeo is steeped in western tradition and celebrated the 125th year this summer. With nearly two weeks of rodeo action, fans watched bareback riding, calf roping, breakaway roping, saddle bronc riding, team roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, bull riding, and steer roping.
Steer roper, Tuff Hardman, knew winning “the Dad” was a tall order, but with a good horse and a few prayers he left no doubt who the best steer roper at Cheyenne was when it was all said and done. After two rounds, Hardman qualified back for the finals tied for ninth place with a time of 30.8 seconds.
To read more, pick up a copy of the September issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
Utilizing the horse to human connection.
By: Hannah Claxton | Editor
Deep in the heart of Texas, both humans and horses at Stable Strides Farm in Pilot Point, Texas aer demonstrating just how big their hearts really are. Founded by Mandy Cleveland in 2001, Stable Strides Farm serves dozens of Equestrians with Disabilities and Veterans each week.
Deep in the heart of Texas, both humans and horses at Stable Strides Farm in Pilot Point, Texas aer demonstrating just how big their hearts really are. Founded by Mandy Cleveland in 2001, Stable Strides Farm serves dozens of Equestrians with Disabilities and Veterans each week.
“My boys have been riding since they were 18 months old, and for the first 17 years they had a leader and sidewalker. When we moved here, and Mandy started teaching them, she just said, ‘Let’s see what they can do,’ and they ride independently now,” Danielle Frank explained, whose two sons, Adison and Aiden, ride with Stable Strides Farm. “Mandy is amazing beucase she doesn’t place any limits on them, she always wants to see what they can do.”
It is her dedication to never setting limits that earned Cleveland a spot as a national finalist for the NSBA 2024 Dianne Eppers Cowgirls Reaching-Out-to-Community Award. The award was established by the NSBA Foundation to recognize cowgirls across the industry for their selfless contributions to the equestrian community.
To read more, pick up a copy of the September issue of the NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
(Photos Courtesy of Hannah Claxton)
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