They’re Baaack! Farley Barbera and Hot Jazzin Zippo Will Compete at 2013 AQHA Select World Show After Major Surgery Cut Their Trip Short in 2012
Many of our readers will remember a story we published back in August 2012 about AQHA select exhibitor, Farley Barbera, and her longtime equine partner, Hot Jazzin Zippo. As the pair makes the trip from North Carolina to Texas this week for the 2013 Adequan Select World Championship Show, we reflect on the long road to recovery that has led them to their tenth World Show as a team.
For Barbera and “Jazz,” the 2012 Select World Show was a roller coaster ride of very exciting highs and frightening lows. The competition began on a high note with a third place finish and a bronze trophy in Select Showmanship. Then, the pair pulled out impressive performances in the Equitation and Horsemanship preliminaries, which secured them a spot in the finals of both classes the following day.
However, when it was time to begin preparations for the finals, Barbera noticed that Jazz wasn’t acting like his usual self. Barbera has owned the now 18-year-old gelding since he was just a youngster; she was certain that something was terribly wrong. Just a few hours later, Jazz was in surgery at the Timber Creek Veterinary Hospital in Amarillo with a diagnosis of intestinal rotation.
Thanks to some quick thinking by one of Barbera’s trainers, Clint Ainsworth, and the nimble fingers of the surgeons, Jazz successfully made it through major colic surgery and was soon on the road to recovery. After a 42-day stay in the hospital, Jazz finally received the green light to head back home. Although the worst was over, Barbera soon discovered that Jazz had developed a large hernia at his incision site, which could’ve lead to a necessary second surgery.
Caption: Jazz wears his belly band after surgery during the 2012 Select World Show. Photo courtesy of Clint Ainsworth.
“I was afraid he was going to need a second operation, but NC State suggested that we put a hernia belt on him,” Barbera says. “It’s like the bandage they put on him after surgery. It goes from his withers to his back and has velcro so you can take it on and off. It applies pressure to the hernia. He wore that bandage from September to February. Then, I took him back to NC State, and by that time, the big, long hernia had developed bridges. Now, there were three, small hernias about a half dollar size. They claimed he could do everything with those and it wasn’t a danger.”
When Barbera received the good news that Jazz wouldn’t be needing a second surgery, she was able to start him back under saddle.
“I’d been hand-walking him since September, and I got to quit in February,” she says. “They allowed me to start riding him very lightly, mostly at a walk. Every one or two weeks we would add a little something. I just really brought him back gradually. I go up to NC State every 30 days for them to reexamine and measure the little hernias and do an ultrasound. The main thing you have to watch for are adhesions. We needed to make sure that his intestines were moving freely over top of the hernias.”
Jazz was able to attend his first competition after surgery this April. Barbera started out with one or two classes and slowly added to their regular repertoire. Now that Jazz was back and better than ever, the pair’s new focus became qualification for this year’s Select World Show.
“It took awhile, but he eventually made it back to his former self,” she says. “Actually, horse show-wise, he came back every bit as good if not better. To be honest with you, I was afraid we wouldn’t get qualified. I’d had some back trouble, so between my back concerns and his surgery we didn’t have but a handful of points from last year. I was really questioning whether we’d get qualified, but we plugged away at it. We had a couple of really good horse shows that were good-sized, and we ended up getting a number of points.”
During the 2013 Select World Show, Barbera and Jazz will compete in Showmanship, Horsemanship, Equitation, and Trail. Their first class of the competition will be the Trail preliminaries on Monday morning.
The pair is currently still on the road to Amarillo. Barbera decided to make the typical two-day journey a four-day one with plenty of layovers to ensure that the trip is comfortable for Jazz.
“We are just trying to make short, little jaunts,” she says. “He is pretty much back to normal, but I’m very conscious of his water intake. That’s one thing I have to be very careful of is making sure he stays hydrated.”
“[Missing the finals last year] pales in comparison with getting your horse through surgery, and Clint was so supportive. I couldn’t have gone through this without him. To be honest, I just want to get through this show, have some good patterns, and have him stay healthy. At this point in time, that’s the most important thing. If we should happen to be lucky enough to win something along the way that will just be a big bonus.”
We would like to wish Barbera and Jazz the best of luck at the upcoming Select World Show, as well as the rest of the Select crew competing under the guidance of Clint Ainsworth and Michael Colvin.
