Discovering a Hidden Gem

Without realizing it, Ginny Tauer brought home a diamond in rough with quite a reputation. But it turned out what Oh My Shes Awesome needed all along was the love of children in her life.

By Delores Kuhlwein

“In the least expected places, there exist the most beautiful treasures!” once wrote author Mehmet Murat Ildan.  Little did Ginny Tauer know that prophecy would come true when she first laid eyes on the the thin broodmare named Oh My Shes Awesome on a pivotal day in July 2016.  But she did immediately realize there was more than meets the eye.

“I thought she had a gorgeous face and I really liked her hip length and her shoulders,” Ginny explains. “Even though she looked pretty pitiful, you could tell that structurally she was really quite nice.”

Ginny was aware “Mya,” a 2006 ApHC mare by the Appaloosa stallion All Hands On Zip and out of an Awesome Mister daughter, had been quite talented at one time.  However, the mare didn’t have much of a show history, so Ginny wasn’t sure what to expect.

What she couldn’t have predicted was for Mya to change both her daughter’s lives – each and every time she was asked.

Polishing the Diamond In the Rough

Ginny’s daughter, Preslee, was six years old when they brought Mya home, and the first time Preslee rode her, Mya packed her around like an old pro, Ginny explains. “I was really surprised that after so much time off she could jog around so tightly – even with rough feet and being out of shape. The first month we had her, Preslee asked every day if we could take her to a horse show. We just kept telling her ‘no she needs to gain a little weight.’”

To bring Mya back to a healthy weight, the Tauer family worked closely with their Purina rep, Krystal Connolly. “She came to the farm every few weeks and would evaluate her progress. We tried to be very careful with her at first. When you have a thin one, your instinct is to just pour the feed to them…we all know that won’t work. So we were slow and steady with her feeding program,” Ginny says.

Then about 2 weeks after Ginny bought Mya, she went to the NSBA World Championship Show.  It was there she met two women, now good friends of hers, who had both owned Mia in the past.  Their initial skepticism about Mya’s career as a Small Fry horse was readily apparent.

“I quickly learned that Mya had a reputation that preceded her!” reveals Ginny.  “While she had always been really talented, she was tough. In fact several times people have told us stories about Mya and her antics before we bought her and they are always amazed that that pretty black mare packs around two kiddos!”

At that point, however, Mya was theirs, and they were bound and determined to stick with her.

Persistence Pays Off

So when they first started to show Mya, they had some shiny moments – and some not so shiny moments. Ginny says Preslee was killing it in the Western Pleasure with her, but the patterns were a 50/50 shot.  “She would either be perfect or TERRIBLE….there was no in-between,” Ginny admits.

But just as before, they stuck with it, and it paid off.  “It took a couple of years for the girls to really get the hang of her completely. Preslee would show her anywhere and in anything…..jackpot walk trot class-count on my 6 year old….she was totally for it. When Preslee turned 11 and started loping-you could count on her to fill a senior western pleasure class,” Ginny explains.

Then when Preslee was seven years old, Mya won her first World title for the Tauers in Leadline, then she came out, they swapped saddles, and sent her back with Preslee to the tune of a Reserve World title in the Walk Trot Western Pleasure.

Since that turning point, Preslee, Rory and Mya have amassed 17 world and reserve world titles, 5 national year end high points, a Youth Champion Medallion, 5 Registers of Merit and over 400 points with Mya, winning in all around events at the ApHC World Show, the Pinto World Show, and the NOHSA World Show.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

More than just the gift of winning, Mya gave the girls a legacy – the ability to ride, the lesson of the importance of rewarding their horse, and the knowledge that nothing worth doing comes easy, adds Ginny.

She attributes Rory’s and Preslee’s success in sports in part to what they’ve learned from Oh My Shes Awesome.  “Mya isn’t easy-the great ones never are! You have to work at it and keep working. She is tough – she will tell on you and you better have your plan together because Mya isn’t doing it for you! She will be an absolute angel as long as you treat her with respect and tell her she’s a good girl,” Ginny says of the mare who only has eyes for her girls.

Though they’ve retired Mya in the past, they all had dreams to fulfill together and she returned to the show pen more than once in 2023, sometimes because fate seemed to guide them; one time, for example, when Preslee’s horse didn’t work out, and another time when Rory’s horse came up injured. She’s done this both in foal and after being off for a year to raise her ApHC Just Sayin filly Shelby – yet she came right back and made them champions again.

For their 2023 return, they first tackled the Pinto World Show, and Rory won the 10 and Under Hunter Under Saddle and was Reserve in the Trail.  Ginny reveals the ironic part – it was the first time either daughter had ever successfully completed a Trail pattern with her, and she credits this to trainer Taylor Pearson, who she calls their magical horse show fairy whisperer.

Then at the Appaloosa Youth World Show, Mya won the 10 and Under Western Pleasure and earned a Reserve in 10 and Under Equitation and 10 and Under Horsemanship. She also won both the 10 and Under Hunter Under Saddle immediately followed by the 13 and Under Hunter Under Saddle. “It was the first time Preslee had shown her in the Hunter Under Saddle this year,” Ginny explains.

The Queen

When asked to describe Mya, Ginny says they call her the queen because that’s what she is!  “She is opinionated and smarter than all of us. When you show Mya you live by the rule-“you let Mya do Mya” – if she wants to lay down 20 minutes before showmanship-well-let her lay down. If you make her mad, she will growl at you.”

But Ginny believes Mya loves fiercely, and she showed it when she protected the girls when they were little. “She would literally try to bite other horses if they got to close to the girls in the western pleasure. I honestly believe she would walk through fire for those girls (most of the time).”

Of Mya’s return to retirement now that the 2023 ApHC Youth World Championship has once again been conquered by the queen, Ginny says she thinks this time, her retirement will be for good.   “She is 17 and doesn’t owe us a thing! I have no doubt she is looking forward to resuming her throne as the ruler of the barn.”

For others looking for their own diamond in the rough, following your gut is key, Ginny concludes, since she knew it in her heart when she first laid eyes on Mya. “Sometimes horses come into your life for a reason. We couldn’t afford the kind of horse that has given our girls this much success. Not even close. I could have sold her so many times and made a lot of money-she really is an amazing kids horse….but I have always sworn she would have a home with us for life. She has paid her dues. She has made so many dreams come true for our family, the least we owe her is a safe home for the rest of her life. Plus-if we have another horse get hurt, the old girl might have to go back to work again….lol.”