Late last year I received a phone call out of the blue from Horse Deals. They wanted to know if they could use a photo of Lacey and Dennis( Denims the Menace) for their Horse Deals Diary 2017.
I could not believe what they were asking, when they said what photo they would like to use I was so happy. The photo is a photo that speaks for itself, an emotion packed photo of a horse and a young girl that love each other to no end.
When the photo was taken at the Nationals by Tania Hobbs, I told her that it would end up on the front cover of a magazine. We did not tell Lacey about any of it until Horse Deals rang and said, " Well now we need a back photo. Can you get a photo done ". We found a local by the name of Jane from Miss Jane ' s photo’ s to do the back cover photo.
Lacey and Dennis have an amazing relationship and I think it is best summed up by her speech that Lacey made at the AQHA Awards night in Brisbane in 2015 when Dennis was given the Medal of Excellence.
“ Dennis is a truly amazing horse, having achieved over 3500 Points, 49 Awards, two Gold Awards and two Silver Awards, he is a much loved and recognised horse in the AQHA, with fans everywhere he goes.
Having had a number of Youth owners over the years Dennis always shows true QH trait’ s, of quietness and reliability and outstanding performance.
Dennis has a huge personality that I love, but most of all I love his big wobbly belly and jelly bum, but Dennis would not be the horse he is today without his past owners, for without them and their dedication Dennis would not be the horse he is today”
We as a family are very proud that Lacey and Dennis got to be the face of Horse Deals for the next 12 months, and as a long standing member of the AQHA I am also very proud that we have a Quarter Horse on that cover as well.
Delightfull Mr H A1-9263
At the start of July 2016, 9yr old 1st cross Quarter Horse, Delightfull Mr H, came from Barnawartha to join my herd in Arthurs Creek. Haitch hadn’ t done much over the previous couple of years – a few trail rides and the occasional bit of Team Penning, but mostly he was a very pretty paddock ornament. A strange series of phone calls and a horse that wasn’ t even on the market was suddenly mine. Poor fella didn’ t know what hit him when he came to me!
I was looking for a trail riding horse that would safely take me far and wide and I have certainly found that. I also started to take weekly Western Pleasure lessons with Courtney Norbury. It was great to learn a new riding discipline( I’ ve always done dressage) and a wonderful way to learn more about my new horse and how far I could push him.
It only took five months to clock up over 100 hrs and we are over 160hrs to date( start January). Up until last week, Haitch hadn’ t done the same trail ride twice! Road rides from home don’ t count.
We have travelled far and wide across southern Victoria tackling Mt Hedrick and Valencia Creek near Maffra, Mt Nicoll near Foster, Mt Disappointment State Forest, Lysterfield Lake Park and White Womans Waterhole just out of Yarram. I am a member of the Yarram Horse Trail Riding Club. A couple of these are club rides and the rest are with some wonderful friends I have made through this club or on my trips to Snake Island.
We have done some of the rail trails – Tallarook, Great Southern and a few later rides along the Warburton Rail Trail, but the biggest adventure so far was the trip to Kosciuszko National Park for a week at the start of December.
With a small group of YHTRC friends and some of their trail riding friends( spread from Benalla to Bairnsdale and everywhere in between) we tackled the big drive and spent a week camping at Cooinbil Hut. Each day we would travel out across the plains and / or through the bush following the brumby pads and carefully negotiating the bogs and streams to a new beautiful destination. The brumbies were a sight to behold – I felt very privileged to see such magnificent animals in the wild. The whole trip was absolutely fantastic and I just can’ t wait to go back.
In the meantime, we have a trip to Mt Howitt and an overnight stay in Wonnangatta in February to look forward to. Hooray for my beautiful Haitch. I love this horse.
Colette Apted
Page 20 • The Australian Quarter Horse Magazine January • February • 2017