Missy (Chico Miss)was a golden buckskin Australian Stockhorse mare by the amazingly talented palomino sire Chico D’Oro, who was not only a champion show horse in his day, but also an A grade showjumper and producer of other top A grade show jumpers. He was owned by the Chugg family in Sydney. She was out of a black ASH mare owned by a family living in Sydney’s north west area.
Missy was bought as a weanling by my friend Lynda because she needed rescuing. She was thin, her coat was dull and lifeless, and she had a big pot belly and obviously was in desperate need of worming and good quality feed. After a few months of good care Lynda started taking her to shows and showing her in the buckskin classes, where she usually picked up blue ribbons and broad sashes. As a two year old she won so many ribbons she was awarded the trophy for buckskin high point filly of the year.
Lynda then became interested in breeding and showing purebred Arabians and decided to lease Missy to an acquaintance who bred and showed Australian Stock Horses. So for several years Missy lived a happy life going to shows and also becoming a mum.
When she was ten years old Missy was turned out in a very large paddock out in the west of NSW with other brood mares. At the time, NSW started to go through a bad drought and the paddock wasn’t adequately able to support the band of mares. To add to their problems, one of the mares had a colt foal that grew old and mature enough to cover the mares and get them all in foal.
This is the part of the story where I come in. All the mares in that paddock ended up with foals by that colt. He was a chestnut part arab and Missy produced a buckskin colt by him. Because she had been in the drought affected paddock and was feeding a new foal, poor Missy was in a terrible state. She looked, frankly, like a toast-rack, and her poor little colt was looking decidedly thin and weedy too because Missy wasn’t in a position to produce enough milk for him to be strong and healthy. Lynda had her hands full with Arabians so offered the mare to me and I instantly accepted. I had loved and admired Missy from when she was a foal and had always been crazy about buckskins.
Missy's story- A twice rescued mare
17 Love Thy Horse Magazine
By Elizabeth Funnell