At Rick and Bek’s property, "illuka" at Taroom, they have a select
amount of mares that they have chosen particularly for their
Barrel Racing pedigree and other mares that have successfully
raced over short sprint distances. They use their two Dash Ta
Fame stallions over these mares to produce top quality Sprint
Racing and Barrel Racing prospects.
By coincidence their oldest stallion Mojo has phenomenal
movement and his foals from the thoroughbred sprinters seem
to be turning out with the same classy looks and spectacular
movement that he has. They hope and expect that in the future
they may see some of these fast bred Quarter Horses entering
the showing arena as well.
They have yet to see the progeny reach the age suitable for
Barrel Racing and Sprint Racing competition, but they are
not too far off. In the meantime they were delighted to see
that three of their Barrel Racing horses were sold to Tenielle
Middleton, Elley Hulls and Teal Ayres, who were amongst the top
contestants performing at the mighty Mount Isa Rodeo.
At "illuka" Rick and Bek pride themselves on turning out
magnificent honest quality horses and dedicate themselves to
selling prospects to the public with thorough honesty for what
their horses are, and what they can do.
Bek adds a Barrel Racing tip: “This is a lesson I learned and want to share with my
friends. I'm sure a lot of you know already, but just in
case I can save you some time.”
“This weekend I took a mare who's barely been anywhere
to Barrel Race at the mighty Mt Isa rodeo. I've had her
three years and while she is good, I've never fed her grains
and potions like a big time horse. I never raced her like one
because I didn't think she was ready, as we've hardly been
anywhere. And so while I love to ride at Mt Isa I didn't think I
had a good enough horse to fit in, but I had no choice. I only had
my current mare to use and compete on, and as we wanted to
ride in the Mailman Express and needed to compete at the Rodeo
for the ability to camp at Mt Isa I just had to ride her.”
“Eight weeks ago I rode my mare and fed her like a racehorse
and treated her as if she was big time every time I rode her,
because I didn't want to make an ass of myself not fitting in with
all the big time horses. My mare stepped up literally overnight
and she went from running 3D times to running a great 2nd
round time at Mt Isa. She would have made the top ten or very
close had it been her first round time at the Rodeo.”
“So it just goes to show that if you act like you and your horse
deserve to be in the event and you treat your horse big time
right from the start that you might make something of your
horse a lot faster and just surprise yourself.”
“My mare sure surprised me and I’m so grateful. It's
important to not let doubt enter your mind, as it can waste
a lot of precious time and precious horses. I hope this helps
someone else one day.”
Bek can be contacted on 0428 286 062 if you are after a
professional and knowledgeable contact for your new Barrel
or Sprint horse.
September • October • 2015 • The Australian Quarter Horse Magazine Page 69