In Loving Memory of Born Hot Feelin Good (2006-2017)

By: Brittany Bevis

We are deeply saddened to relay the news of the passing of a very special horse that had an impact on many lives, the 2006, red roan gelding, known as Born Hot Feelin Good, or to those who loved him, simply “Brother.”

By Born To Be Blazing and out of Good Graces, by Zippos Mr Good Bar, Brother had the size, movement, and unique coloring to make a splash in the show pen. Most recently, he was partnered with Angela Stanhope, under the guidance of Clint Ainsworth. In just five shows this year, the team had already cracked the Top 20 standings in Horsemanship and Western Riding. But his story begins much earlier, when Dwayne and Amber Pickard sought out the horse for their client, Deanna Bailey.

“We bought him from Whistlestop Ranch in 2011 for Deanna,” Amber says. “He helped both Deanna and I place in the Top 10 in Hunter Under Saddle at the World Show. It was the first time for each of us. It was very special considering that he was a roan, and we were always trying to break that ground on a roan horse.” Deanna agrees. “It was like breaking down a piece of the Berlin Wall. You always see roans in Western Pleasure, Western Riding, and Trail, but never in Hunter Under Saddle. It was weird having him at the World Show. Everybody seemed to know Brother. They would spot him from a mile away and come over to say hello.”

During the six years Deanna had Brother, one of her favorite memories is winning Western Riding at the 2014 AQHA Novice Championship Show, a win that happened during her last year of eligibility. Once she purchased a younger horse, she knew it was time to let Brother help make someone else’s dreams come true.

It was a small ad on DreamHorse.com that led Deanna and the Pickards to Brother back in 2011. Interestingly enough, Angela found Brother in much the same manner. “I started showing at Quarter Horse shows on my daughter’s horse after she went off for college,” Angela says. “We started looking around, but it’s hard to find something to replace your first horse after you’ve had success. I saw him on YouTube and called Amber. I typed in ‘all-around, gelding,’ and he was the first horse that came up. I looked at others, but I kept coming back to him. We made the trip up to Michigan and took our trailer with us. We fell in love with him.”

Angela and Brother had only been a team for about a year now, but they’d already expanded their repertoire of classes to include Horsemanship, Showmanship, and Equitation. “Most definitely my favorite class to show him in was Western Riding. He loved it and he was so easy to show.” This progression is something Angela is proud of; because, until just recently, she’d kept Brother at home and done all the work herself. “I did that mostly on my own. I had just gone to Clint in the last couple of months, because I decided I needed some polish to get ready for the bigger shows, but we never made it. I felt like in the last couple of months I had really learned how to ride him. It feels like an unfulfilled dream.”

Some of Angela’s favorite memories of Brother didn’t take place in the show pen. She fondly recalls his class clown antics and funny quirks. “He used to have to hold the hose when he was given a bath. If you didn’t give it to him, while you were soaping him up, he would be indignant!”

Although Brother wasn’t in Clint’s barn for very long, his relationship with the horse holds special meaning as well. “It’s kind of a funny story,” he says. “When Angela called me and said she was looking to become more serious and competitive on the national level and wanted to come to my program, I was excited. I actually tried to purchase him when he first became available, so I was super excited to get him in the barn. I’ve always really liked this horse. He was very kind and easy to be around. He was a true gentleman.”

“Angela was very excited to start this journey on such a nice horse, so it’s all quite disappointing.” Amber concurs. “I just wish she could’ve enjoyed him for as long as we got to have him. I have to thank him so much, because he taught me so much in the show pen. He wasn’t very experienced when we bought him, but we managed to put it all together and become a team. I owe him a lot.”