AQHA MAGAZINE May / June 2020 AQHA May-June YB 2020 WEB LR | Page 54

PG.52
AQHA FEATURE
Caring for, and
working with horses,
has always kept
me sane!’
When it comes down to talking about her AQHA
stallion, Reach for the Roan, Q-81103, one can’t
help but see and feel the pride Rose has for the
horse. Bred by Robyn Davies, Reacher, as he is
known to one and all, was foaled in 2014. He’s a
beautiful, 15.1hh bay roan Quarter horse stallion,
by RL Best of Sudden (USA, and out of Amazen
Grace (USA).
‘I’ve watched him since he was a baby.’ says Rose,
proudly. ‘He was always so well-behaved and
very eye-catching, with a lovely blaze and two
hind socks. I saw him at Caboolture at a show
when he had just turned two years old and he had
finally come up for sale. His looks, movement and
temperament was everything I wanted in a horse,
so I couldn’t help myself, and offered to buy him.
I never really did intend to keep him as a stallion
but, but he’s proven himself as a very quiet and
easy to work with horse. The incentive for me to
geld him was just not there, and I’m more than
happy with that decision.’
Rose loves training her horses, so decided that she
would not send her stallion away to be trained.
Instead, she would train and show him herself.
‘I ride Reacher five days a week, anywhere from
20 to 40 minutes.’ she says. ‘Mostly, it’s the shorter
amount of time, as he is just so lazy he doesn’t
need anymore. I just love training and showing
him myself, and I get a great buzz when Reacher
and I place well, particularly in the Open classes.
I compete in most of the western events, and just
love all the pattern classes. I think Reacher really
enjoys them, too. If I have to pick a favourite one
amongst those, I’d have to say Trail, definitely. I
also really love Hunt Seat Equitation.’
Early on, Rose had some great success with her
AQHA mare, I’m A Stardust Seeker, aka Delta,
a mare who’s now retired and looking after
Reacher’s babies. 2019 was a year to be proud
of for Rose and Reacher. They had quite a few
successes, including High Point Stallion awards,
High Point Select Amateur Trail, and High Point
Select Amateur at Sizzler.
‘Winning the Junior Trail and the Runner-up
AUSTRALIAN QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION - WWW.AQHA.COM.AU