Watching From Her Hospital Bed… An Owner’s Wish Fulfilled With APHA Ranch Riding World Championship

By: Brittany Bevis

Every once in a while, the stars align and someone very special is rewarded at just the right time for a selfless act of kindness and for giving an extra ounce of effort, even if no one else notices.

Leslie Temple set out to Fort Worth, Texas this year with one goal in mind. She was hoping to fulfill a dream of her friend and client Nadia Harris, who has been battling cancer for the past five years and is currently in the hospital undergoing yet another round of chemotherapy.

Nadia is the owner of Gunna Win A Prize, a five-year-old gelding that competes in Reining and Ranch Riding classes. Nadia bred and raised “Buckle” herself, and he was cleverly named by her now 10-year-old son, Kenny. Nadia has been sick since Buckle was born, so she’s never been able to show the horse herself. However, Leslie competed at just enough shows this year to qualify to attend the World Show, which has always been Nadia’s dream.

“She’s been fighting this for about five years and has had about five or six surgeries,” Leslie says. “She’s only 45 years old. She has never been healthy enough to show him. She really just wanted to come watch him show, but she had another round of chemotherapy last week. She got to watch Junior Reining on her computer the other day, and hopefully we got in touch with her fast enough today that she could watch this class.”

“I’ve had Buckle since day 1. This is his first real big show. We’ve haven’t gotten to show him that much. This is his third time competing in Ranch Riding today, and this is his first buckle.”

Buckle has a unique story of his own; he’s completely deaf, but Leslie says it’s had no effect on his ability to compete. “You can’t even tell,” she says. “He’s really sensitive to everything you do when you’re riding. He waits for you to tell him what to do. He’s definitely more in tune to your body weight and everything you do with your hands. You wouldn’t know that he was deaf, except you could drop a chair next to him and he wouldn’t blink!”

Buckle faced a number of minor obstacles this afternoon on his road towards achieving his first World Champion title. The class ran three hours earlier than expected, so Leslie had little time to prepare him for the class. Also, he’d never set foot in the John Justin Arena before.

“I barely had any warm up, because the class was three hours early,” she says. “It was kind of a rush job, quick change, go lope around two circles and go in. I was really impressed. I’d never been in that ring before, and he went in there like a trooper. Also, this was the first day I’ve ever worn chinks on him. He kept wanting to check out all the fringe!”

In addition to his sensitive nature and calm demeanor, Leslie praises Buckle’s excellent extended trot and ground covering gait, both of which are highly sought after in Ranch Riding.

Nadia hoped Buckle could attend the World Show last year, but, due to financial considerations, it wasn’t a possibility. This year, Leslie said she would help do whatever it took to get him to Fort Worth to compete.

“I told her I wouldn’t charge her anything,” Leslie says. “If she could just pay for the class, I would get him here and get him shown. She was doing pretty well a couple of months ago, and then she went downhill again. Her dream was for him to come to the Paint World and show. She couldn’t be here to watch, but I’m sure she watched on her computer.”

Congratulations to Leslie, Nadia, and Buckle on this special win!

The Reserve Champion in the class was Nonie Cassleman-Reed with Zeena Leena. Third place was Craig Johnson with Smart As A Bug. Fourth place was Stacey McAlexander with Risky Endeavor. Fifth place was Marty Dixon with Dirty Maybelline.

In 3-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle, the APHA stallion The Wow Factor claimed another World Champion title with Shannon Gillespie in the saddle. Click here to read our interview with owner and breeder Nicole Dalton when she was named the World Champion in 3-Year-Old Non Pro Hunter Under Saddle a few days ago. Not only was Nicole the breeder of The Wow Factor, she also bred the Reserve World Champion, I’m The Only One, a bay overo by Hot Ones Only and out of Absolute Charisma. He was ridden today by Ryan Painter. Third place was Lisa Ligon with Thefairestofthemall. Fourth place was Laura Spell with Iron Your Own. Fifth place was Teresa Sullivan with Too Hot To Iron.