When I was 6 and a half, my dad and trainer decided it was time to buy me my first horse. My parents were not horse savvy but they were committed to supporting my passions. If you’ve found yourself with parents like this, you know how blessed and special it is to have your parents supporting you and helping you grow; I’ll forever be grateful for them.
That being said, although they wanted to support me in this new endeavor, they also had almost no experience with horses. My dad however, had the wisdom to seek counsel from our trainer and even paid her to join us on the day that we had set up appointments with several people who were selling horses that seemed to fit our needs and budget.
I think my dad had made appointments to try five or six horses on a Saturday, some time in the midsummer of 1996. That morning, we hopped in my trainer’s old chevy truck and drove all day to different arenas and family farms to try different horses. The first couple were okay, nothing too special, but then we got to a small family farm operation and there he was. The cutest most handsome little pony I had laid eyes on. He was about 12 and a half hands tall, sorrel with a flaxen mane and tail. He honestly looked like one of the horses in my toy horse collection at home. I was in love! We all were. He seemed like the perfect fit.
They saddled him up, I swung my little leg over his wide back and off we went at a solid little trot. He was great, minding my cues and was as smooth as a short strided pony could be. He was great. I was starting to think “he could be the one.” That is until we got about half way across the 10 acre field and all of the sudden, he came undone.
As we were striding away, another horse nickered from the barn. Immediately this pony leaned as hard into my right reign as he could, stuck his nose out and began a dead run back to the barn. I tried to pull him up with all the strength in my little arms but it was no use. He had made his decision.
As we came around the corner of the barn he plowed under a corrugated steel overhang and had I not pancaked myself on top of him, ducking before we got there, I am almost positive I would have been extremely injured if not worse. He got to the front of the barn and halted abruptly.
My dad and trainer came rushing up as I climbed off of him. The sellers came to the pony’s defense saying that he never acted like that and it was out of character for him to do such a thing, which may have very well been true, but my dad had had enough. He waved us to the truck and we got in to go to see the next horse.
Lesson learned: The prettiest pony in the barn might very well be the worst horse to buy.
We then drove to Bonham, Texas where a man about my dad’s age was petting a big almost 16 hand sorrel gelding as we pulled up to the backyard arena. We hopped out of the truck, walked up to the man and shook his hand. He explained that the horse he was petting was named Todd, and although he was big, he was very gentle. We saddled him up, I made the high ascent up into the 10.5 inch western saddle and off Todd and I went. First at a walk then at a trot and then finally loping around the arena. He was so smooth. His big long stride at the lope felt like sitting in a rocking chair. He was wonderful, gentle and what I later found out he was what horse people call a “babysitter.” He just knew he had to take care of me.
I was in love.
My dad told the sellers that we’d think about it and call them later that week, but little did I know, my dad had already made up his mind.
On the way home my trainer and my dad discussed the options, going over the pros and cons of each horse. To our surprise, even after that little pony nearly beheaded me by ducking under the barn roof because he was so sour, my trainer thought with time he would be the best option because of his size.
My dad on the other hand loved Todd, the gentle giant. Although he was much bigger than we were looking for, his soft eyes and patient nature captured my dad’s heart. And mine.
We ended up buying Todd. Although my dad was sure to take in our trainer’s feedback, he also had a gut feeling about Todd that would prove to be better than we could have ever imagined.
Todd became the horse I grew up on as a rider. He taught me more than I ever taught him. Which is exactly what you want for your first horse. You want a horse that will teach you the ropes, be patient with you when you mess up (because you will) and grow with you in the discipline that you choose.
Todd was all of that and more for our family.
I began competing in barrel racing about a year after we purchased him. We grew up together, learning how to add speed and precision as well as learning how to control both of our competitive natures. Todd would eventually carry me to multiple barrel racing championships, a plethora of buckles and trophy saddles, arena records in barrel racing and pole bending as well as top 10 and top 5 finishes at the Josey Jr. World Championship as well as the International Finals Youth Rodeo.
He was a dream come true, but it did not come without a lot of good counsel and support from our trainers. You see, my dad did not just seek counsel in the purchasing of the horse, he also was committed to receiving feedback from our trainers throughout the following years and decades.
Although the competitive success we had with Todd later in his life was rare to find in a first horse, his nature and the things we looked for when we bought him are applicable to every first time horse-buyer’s process.
At TNT we are wishing you the best in your horse buying journey. If you’d like more help or advice for purchasing your next horse, our team would be happy to connect with you.
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