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Howdy Friends,
For those of you who are new to my Susan Klaudt Horse Ministry Newsletter, I deviated from my usual horse ministry and teaching format a few weeks ago in order to share with my readers about a bucket-list trip to Texas that I planned for me and my son, Karma, in October, 2015 (see Archives, Headed To Texas). I also shared how we hadn't taken a road trip together - just the two of us - since Karma was 8 years old! For those of you who don't know, Karma is now in his 40's, and a very busy and successful business exec, so I was especially thrilled when he agreed to take some time off and drive Miss Daisy (that would be me, his mom) to the Lone Star state in search of some cowboy adventure and some quality mother-son time that can only be achieved on a long road-trip together!
A picture of me and Karma
during our last mother-son road
trip. It was 1980, and Karma was
only 8 years old!
During our road-trip to Texas, we attended Clinton's Anderson's very first Ranch Rally in Stephenville for two days, took in bull-riding at the Lone Star Arena, visited the Stockyards in Ft. Worth, and shopped at Teskey's (the nation's largest tack store) in Weatherford. We also drove to four-time winner of Road To The Horse, Chris Cox's Horsemanship Ranch in Mineral Wells, and ate brisket at Hard 8 BBQ more times than I'm willing to admit! We also visited the beautiful ranch of Olympic Gold reining horse winners, Tom and Mandy McCutcheon. For both Karma and me, the highlight of our trip was a visit to McQuay Stables in Tioga. With my love for reining horses, it was something that had definitely been high on my bucket list for a long time. Tim and Colleen McQuay could not have been more kind and gracious. They welcomed us to their famous ranch that is home to some of the greatest equine bloodlines and reining horses in the world, and ranch assistant, Cori, gave us the personal tour of a lifetime.
Of course, unbeknownst to me, Karma had a few must-see's on his bucket list, too! With that in mind, one of the places we headed to was the Gas Monkey garage in Dallas, home of TV reality show, Fast N' Loud, starring motor mastermind, Richard Rawlings, and mechanical prodigy, Aaron Kaufmann. Since Karma was a little boy, he has been a car and motorcycle enthusiast, so it was pretty thrilling when Rawlings showed up personally at the Gas Monkey garage looking like a new age cowboy with tattoos to spare, and driving a shiny black Ferrari!
Karma and me posing for a selfie
on our Texas road-trip in
October, 2015!
As you've read the past couple of newsletters about our mother-son road trip to Texas, I hope it has inspired you to think about your own bucket list. And maybe, just maybe, I've spurred you a little to begin thinking about that long over-due road trip that, perhaps, you also need to plan and take with your husband, your daughter, your son, your loved one - just to reconnect - just to say I love you - and just to create some amazing memories together. Finally, there's an old saying that goes something like this, "Life is what happened today while we were busy planning tomorrow." I encourage you to get out your bucket list. Don't have one yet? Take time to make one. And no matter how young or how old you are, start checking off that list today. One day, you'll be glad you did!
Riding With Faith,
Susan
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Me with Aussie horseman, Clinton Anderson, at his first-ever Ranch Rally at the DownUnder Ranch. Everyday I thank God for wonderful clinicians and teachers like Clinton Anderson, Chris Cox, Craig Cameron, Pat and Linda Parelli, Buck Brannamon, John and Josh Lyons, and Julie Goodnight, to name a few. Each of them with their unique God-given gifts and talents have enriched my life with horses beyond measure.
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This is a pic of the Hard 8 where Karma and I ate way too much BBQ, but kept coming back for more!
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If you haven't been to the Stockyards in Ft. Worth, it's worth the visit. In addition to the many western gift shops, and historical buildings, the cowboys drive the Longhorn's down the main cobbled street twice each day.
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Me standing just outside the fence at four-time winner of Road To The Horse, Chris Cox's Horsemanship Company in Mineral Wells. I wasn't brave enough to hop the fence, but I was sure tempted!
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Karma and I had an awesome time and met lots of great Texans while enjoying the Bronc and Bull riding at the Lone Star Arena.
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Me at McQuay Stables with owner and World renowned reiner, Tim McQuay, posing with Yellow Jersey, a 2004 palomino stallion with NRHA lifetime earnings of more than $150,000. Yellow Jersey was a 2014 World Equestrian Games Team USA Gold Medalist, as well as a 2014 individual Bronze Medalist. McQuay Stables is in Tioga, Texas.
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These are just some of the saddles at Teskey's, the nation's largest Tack Store, located in Weatherford, Texas. I promise you, when I walked through the door, I thought I had died and gone to cowboy heaven!
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These are just a few of the trophys that Olympic Reining Champion's Tom and Mandy McCutcheon have won over the years and can be seen at McCutcheon's Stables!
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This is a pic of me and Karma with Always Gotyer Gunsup, daughter of the late Gunner, at McQuay Stables. She was not only beautiful, but an absolute sweetheart! Among her many other accolades, NRHA's million dollar rider, Mandy McCutcheon, won the 2012 National Reining Breeder's Classic Level 4 Non-Pro Championship on this amazing horse!
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This is a pic of Karma at Richard Rawling's Gas Monkey garage and gift shop in Dallas. At first, I didn't know who Rawlings was, but I soon found out when he just happened to drop by his garage looking like a new age cowboy with his tattoos and driving a jet black Ferrari!
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This is Karma with Gas Monkey's owner, Richard Rawlings from TV's Fast N' Loud show outside his garage. Way to go, son. Now you can scratch one off your bucket list, too!
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Karma stopped to admire one of our favorite all-time reiners, Lyle Lovett's 2003 stallion, Smart and Shiney - winner of the 2010 World Equestrian Team Bronze in addition to winning NRBC's Open Prelim Co-Championship. Smart and Shiney is also an NRHA Futurity and Derby Open Finalist, not to mention he's absolutely gorgeous. Check out Smart and Shiney's long, braided mane!
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Me visiting Tom McCutcheon's reining horse stallion, Gunner's Special Nite. This magnificent horse is one of the most decorated horses in the sport of reining. Tom McCutcheon and Gunner's Special Nite dominated the 2010 World Equestrian Games competition taking both team and individual gold for the USA. Gunner's Special Nite was also the U.S. Equestrian Federation's 2010 horse of the year, and the first western horse to ever receive this honor (see picture of this magnificent reiner below).
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Always a fan of the late, great reining horse, Gunner, I must admit, I completely lost my heart to Gunner's Special Nite at McCutcheon's Stables.
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Karma and me paying our respects to the late, great Gunner at his grave-site at McQuay Stables. Colonel's Smoking Gun (aka Gunner) was inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 2003 by NRHA. Gunner earned more than $175,000 during his competitive career, and his get have earned more than $5 million to date. Gunner was one of only five stallions and the only paint horse to ever reach this milestone. Just a point of interest - Gunner was born deaf! Today, you can Google all the famous reining horses we visited and watch them on YouTube, too!
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Visiting the grave site of the unforgettable and talented Hollywood Dun It at McQuay Stables. Hollywood was a NRHA Futurity Reserve Champion, a NRHA Derby Champion, and a Superstakes Champion. During his lifetime, Hollywood was the leading Sire of reining performers, siring both AQHA and NRHA World Champions. By 2010, Hollywood Dun It became only the 2'nd Sire in NRHA history whose get had exceeded $6 million!
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Some of the top reining horses in the world can be found at Tom and Mandy McCutcheon's Stables. For those of you who may not know, Mandy is the daughter of Tim and Colleen McQuay. More than 300 horses are blessed to call Tom and Mandy's ranch their home!
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P.S. I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the pictures from my bucket-list trip to Texas. And son, if you're reading this, thank you for sharing with me one of the most amazing trips of my life. I love you more than words could ever express, and I will always cherish the memories we've made together. Until next time, may God bless you with the ride of your life, and I'll be back in a few days with our regular horse ministry "teaching" newsletter!
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