PG . 51
( Q-96453 ) ( IS )
THE BOOM OF BET HESA BOON
( Q-96453 ) ( IS )
WORDS BY : BET HESA BOON
“ I watched him move in the round pen the day I first looked at him ,” Servi recalls . “ I don ’ t even know how to explain it , but there was something profound about him . He had a presence about him . Conformation-wise , he was the cream of the crop . He had so much mane and tail and his dark points were striking .”
The dark roan , by Bet Hesa Cat and out of Flo N Blu Boon by Pretty Boy Boon , was more than simply easy on the eyes , though . When Servi asked National Reined Cow Horse Association $ 1 million rider Clayton Edsall to pilot Boon at the end of his 3-year-old year , Boon responded to every ask with enthusiasm . The duo quickly began amassing NRCHA and National Stock Horse Association wins and money . Boon has a $ 120,000 of career earnings to his credit , a number that that continues to grow as he keeps showing .
When Edsall had committed to showing a different horse in the 2023 World ’ s Greatest Horseman , he and Servi handed the reins off to horseman Tyler Merrill . With its four-discipline format of cutting , reining , steer stopping and cow horse , the event is a big stage for an all-around cow horse .
“ Boon is the type of horse that says ‘ yes ’ to everything you ask of him ,” Servi says . “ He is sensitive and he ’ s a pleaser . When he feels trust from his rider , there simply is no stopping him . The best example of that is when Tyler showed him at World ’ s Greatest Horseman .”
Despite only a few months of practice before the show , Merrill and Boon won the preliminary round reining with 224.5 and set an arena record of 231.5 to win the preliminary round steer stopping . A strong performance in the finals placed the duo third overall . Servi believes the
World ’ s Greatest Horseman exposure came at just the right time for the stallion .
“ People had the opportunity to see him — I mean really see him ,” she says . “ It made my heart so happy that people watched what I had seen and felt all along . I can ’ t say enough about how Tyler let him shine and showed the world exactly what kind of horse he is .”
2023 AQHA YEARBOOK ~ MAY / JUNE ISSUE