Owned, Shown, Loved, and Prepared by Dawn Strohecker

DIY Amateur Dawn Strohecker and Illicit Intention earn 2022 top honors as 3X AQHA National High Point Champions

By Delores Kuhlwein

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. –Les Brown.

One might say that Dawn Strohecker is a go-getter.  The blond-haired dynamo from Illinois envisions her objectives, and then she goes all-out for them, writing down her goals at the beginning of each year and checking them off as she completes each one.  At the start of 2022, her aspirations had everything to do with being #1 in Level 3 Amateur Geldings with Illicit Intention, her 2017 sorrel gelding by My Intention and out of Kiddins Drama Queen.

When the dust settled and the official results were published in January 2023, the team not only earned the 2022 AQHA Level 3 Year End High Point in Amateur Geldings – they also achieved the Level 3 High Point in Open Geldings as well as Open Junior Geldings.

“Last show season we earned 605 ½ show points, 174 Grands and 48 Reserves,” she explains. “We showed at 28 AQHA circuits and showed to 122 judges, and we traveled about 22,000 miles last year.”

A DIY Journey

What’s even more impressive than the numbers: Dawn is a do-it-yourself amateur who keeps “Spanky” at home on their 160-acre farm, doing the fitting, training, and showing herself.  She also hauls him to each show in her living quarters horse trailer, a small feat for the semi driver with her CDL.

“We farm and I haul our ag commodities during harvest, then throughout the rest of the year, I’m a broker who hauls corn and beans to the river and to the ethanol plant,” Dawn says, explaining on the day she was interviewed that her route in her sleek, massive blue Peterbilt totaled 600 miles to transport beans to the Illinois River.

Despite her challenging work schedule, she manages and takes care of all Spanky’s needs, including his vet work, dental work, shoeing, and feeding with the help of her fiancé when she’s on the road. Spanky also has a mini pony buddy named Hoss to keep him company. Dawn says keeping Spanky in show condition requires a lot of work and attention to detail.

“I usually groom Spanky twice a day and work him seven days a week, and that’s what he loves,” she explains.  “Most people do six days, but he is happiest working every day – I just don’t work him as hard on the seventh day.  Every horse is its own individual self and this is what works for him.”

She uses her John Deere Gator to exercise him outside from a mile to a mile and three-quarters a day, a task he loves whether it’s cold or warm. “He’s so happy and so fit,” Dawn explains, adding that he loves doughnuts, but his favorite treat is vanilla double-stuffed Oreos, which she stashes in the back of the  Gator.  “When we get done being worked he gets one, and at each stop when traveling to shows, he gets a cookie.”

Their special relationship they’ve cultivated at home and over the miles has allowed Spanky to know Dawn’s footsteps – he knows what time she comes home from hauling, and he’s very vocal with Dawn.  “He’s very talkative to me, and he squeals like a little pig,” she laughs.  “He’s a very special individual; everything has to be done on his schedule and he lets you know if he does not approve.  He loves me and he has his quirks, but usually the horses that are really good have special quirks about them.”

Dawn didn’t come by her knowledge overnight, however – she reveals she has shown horses in every discipline beginning in 1993 with an off-track Thoroughbred, and she primarily competed in open shows over the years. She began her journey with AQHA halter horses in 2008.  Purchasing Illicit Intention in 2021 enabled her to chase some of those dreams she had envisioned (and had written down) and 2022 marks the first year she went all out to make it happen.

In fact, she’s made such an impact on others as a DIY amateur while encouraging others to go for their dreams, two friends contacted The Equine Chronicle about her story.  “She used to haul me to horse shows when I was a kid and she did the same for my sister,” says Megan Boyle. “She is the reason both of us were able to show locally growing up, which has allowed us to be in the industry now showing at the breed level.”

“What makes this remarkable is that she completely managed, prepared, and showed this horse on her own in all three divisions without professional help, all while working fulltime,” says Jody Love.  “She is truly a DIY showman and has connected herself to the Halter horse community at a whole new level.”

Read on for her answers as a DIY amateur:

How did you learn to fit and show your horse on your own?

“When I first got started showing Halter horses, there was a book I’d always turn to by Denny Hassett called Winning At Halter. When AQHA’s monthly horse magazine came out, they’d feature a halter horse person who would explain how to fit neck sweats, how to band manes, and all those little details, and I’d save them.  I have also watched Ted Turner’s videos.

Then I would watch some of the top trainers show, something I even do now, and I love that everything is online so I can watch if I’m curious about something.  I watch the open halter classes at the World Show online and I enjoy watching the pros show – sometimes I go I go to the photographer’s website to see how everybody is showing and presenting their horses, and what everybody is wearing.

I still go on there at look at my horse to find ways to compare and find ways to improve myself. You never stop learning with horses.  I like to pay a lot of attention to detail and that’s why I enjoy the halter horses – a million little details all wrapped into one.”

What is the key to being successful at the highest level?

“I started out with cheap sale barn horses and I used to get picked on and talked about when I was showing at the open shows; it was very hard and I would get discouraged at times, but I never gave up.  I kept showing, and there were many times I was intimidated being a DIY.  I show in Amateur and the Open, and in the Open you have trainers out there and it’s intimidating, but you have to do the best you can and have a big smile on your face.

When I walk out there, I put into my head that I’m walking out there with a World Champion and tell myself I love my horse and I have the best horse in the world. Even if we go in and don’t win, you have that positivity radiating from you. It gives you a better mindset. If you get down in the dumps, you’re not going to show that horse to the best of your ability and show the horse to its best.

Go in positive always –  first impressions are everything. I’ve read that over and over, but it means everything.”

What about the expense of clothes and equipment?

“Clothes don’t have to be expensive, but being clean and crisp is so important.  Even between classes, I wipe off my boots and try to clean the dust off the bottom of my jeans.

I get shirts from JC Penney and I have a few CR Ranchwear shirts, and I have my Kimes jeans starched and pressed with a crease. I did invest in a very good hat, as that’s important, and I now I have a custom made Harris halter for my horse. The most important items are your hat, your boots, your halter, and your horse.”

What advice do you have for exhibitors who want to try an AQHA show?

“I know a lot of people starting out need help, but they shouldn’t be afraid to ask for it.  The worst thing someone can say is no, but at the show, most people are nice and friendly and glad to have more people there showing. Years ago, I came out of a class I wasn’t happy with, and I asked a trainer that was showing for his opinion.  He told me I needed to show my horse like a showmanship horse and only have two or three rings of the chain out of the halter, and that’s what I did, and it worked.  People get intimidated about doing it, but it never hurts to ask.”

Always Looking Forward

As one might imagine, Dawn is already planning her approach to her 2023 goals, including showing Spanky at many circuit a couple of majors, and showing her new horse, Manhattan.  “I bought him from Rick and Sherri Baker,” she explains.  “He’s by Evinceble, and Scott Trahan raised him.  He’s won Congress 5 times and a Bronze at the World Show last year, and I’ll bring him home in March.  I plan on showing him at many circuits and at the BHF this year.”

The allure of reaching another milestone with Spanky is dangling in front of her as well.  “Illicit Intention is by My Intention, and he’s currently My Intention’s second most point earning foal, and I think I’m 60 points away from making Spanky the all-time most point earning foal by My Intention.”

As someone who is always encouraging other amateurs to chase their dreams, she has this to say: “Pick a show that’s not a major circuit to get started; you don’t have to have the fanciest clothes. You just have to go out there and show to the best of your ability and have fun. Just go for it.”