Where This Obsession of Mine Began...

I was one lucky kid.

While some little girls begged and pleaded with their parents to let them have a pony, my parents bought me several ponies (show-winning ponies) and we traveled all over the midwest entering every event we wanted to try.

Here was my first halter prospect (lovely tuxedo shirt, I know! LOL)

His hocks could be a lot better... :)

Then there was Skeezix. He was quite a handsome boy. He was originally meant to be mine, but my sister and I ended up trading horses to better fit our personalities. Skeezix and my sister ended up getting reserve out of 82 horses in Sr Western Pleasure at the International show one year. The class was so large my sister had to ride 4 times. The first cut had 8 classes. Skeezix was a spaz but I still have yet to see anything move nearly as pretty as he did.

Then on the other end of the beauty spectrum was Roadrunner. Poor Roadrunner hit every branch when he fell out of the ugly tree, but the old guy had a heart of gold and there was nothing faster....

PeeWee (Wonders Equal) was a son of the great Siri Wonder and my first resale / training project. This was his sale photo. I had also trained him to roll on command. He was so much fun. He went to Indiana, I believe. I sure hope he had a happy life.

B.V. (Beaver's Best Yet) and I competed in everything--showmanship, western, reining, English, jumping, barrels.... He was a blast--a true all-round competitor. In fact, B.V. is still out there showing. He'd have to be at least 24 by now, but last year he was still top ten in the nation overall. I'm so glad so many kids have gotten to enjoy him over the years. I am quite honored to have been one of them.

So you see, this is not a phase--this is a long-term addiction. There is no hope...I'm a gonner.

My name is Jessie Baker, and I'm a horse addict.