Tragedy Gives Way to Triumph at 2014 NSBA World Show For Spratto Barn
Rhonda and Larry Spratto with Andrea Foss at last night’s NSBA Awards banquet. Photo courtesy of Andrea Foss.
By: Brittany Bevis
Many of our readers will remember a tragic day in 2012 when horse trainers, Rhonda and Larry Spratto, of Pickett, Wisconsin sustained extreme damage to their property, barn, and lost all of the horses contained within during a fire caused by a lightning strike on the morning of May 3rd. Now, more than two years later, the Spratto barn family is forging ahead, recently finding great success at the 2014 NSBA World Championship Show.
According to client Andrea Foss, the road to recovery has been long and hard, but the wounds have almost healed. A particularly rewarding win came for Rhonda aboard Andrea’s horse, The Kids Got Moxie, in the 3-Year-Old Novice Horse Hunter Under Saddle on Tuesday. Also, Jerry Erickson rode The Kids Got Moxie to a win in the BCF 3-Year-Old Limited Open Hunter Under Saddle while Rhonda rode You Will Be Seein Me to an 8th place finish for owner Debra Palmer.
“It’s been a really long process for them, and it’s still emotional,” Andrea says. “Even at dinner the other night, we were talking about it. When Rhonda won, she and Larry were both in tears over it. It’s nice that good things can still come out of the bad.”
“Most all of their customers were able to get new horses, and a lot of them are still with Larry and Rhonda. They have a full barn with 16 horses. They’ve rebuilt a beautiful barn right there at the same farm they’ve always been at.”
Photo courtesy of Larry Williams Photography.
Only three days into the NSBA World Show and one Spratto-trained horse is now a two-time NSBA World Champion, but the show’s not over just yet. On Wednesday, Andrea showed The Kids Got Moxie to a fourth place finish in the BCF 3-Year-Old Limited Non Pro Hunter Under Saddle and a fifth place finish in the BCF 3-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle. Fellow Spratto barn mate, Tiffany Smalkowski, rode You Will Be Seein Me to a sixth place finish in the BCF 3-Year-Old Limited Non Pro Hunter Under Saddle and a seventh place finish in the BCF 3-Year-Old Non Pro Hunter Under Saddle.
Meanwhile, The Kids Got Moxie still has two performances left at the NSBA World Show. Andrea will pilot the 3-year-old in another non-pro hunter under saddle class on Friday, and Jerry Erickson will jump back in the saddle for a final performance on Saturday. After that, it’s back home to Wisconsin to being preparations for the All American Quarter Horse Congress.
“My dad [Janis Kengis] bought Kid as as yearling,” Andrea says. “We also own his mom, RB Touch Of Moxie. He is by NI Fabulous. We kept him until he was a 3-year-old and then took him to Larry and Rhonda. He hasn’t been there but a year, and he’s had very limited showing. He’s been shown at a couple of local shows in Wisconsin where he’s done really well. I showed him for the first time at the Tom Powers. Honestly, that was my first time ever riding him in a hunt seat saddle!”
“We sent Larry and Rhonda a couple of horses after the fire, and that’s kind of how all this got started. We’ve had a relationship with them for almost 30 years, off and on. It’s good when something like this happens to people who work hard. It’s just the two of them. They clean all of their own stalls and feed their own horses.”
Big winner! Photo courtesy of Andrea Foss.
As far as Andrea is concerned, this double win couldn’t have happened to more well-deserving folks than Rhonda and Larry.
“It’s not very often you find two people who are genuinely honest, caring, nice people who care about the animals more than anything else and are kind to their customers,” she says. “There is no drama. They are very talented and extremely helpful. Every single day I go out there, I learn something new and come out a better rider.”
We would like to congratulate Andrea Foss and Rhonda and Larry Spratto on their recent success and wish the entire Spratto barn family the very best during the remainder of the 2014 show season.
