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