Meet Our Horses

Merlot is a Trakehner/Thoroughbred cross gelding and he is known as the sweetheart of the barn. Everyone can’t say enough good things about him. Merlot takes care of all his riders, no matter their experience. He can go from jumping a clear course to letting an Alfred University football player ride for the very first time. He’s the best boy ever. 

Mikailah (aka The Hot Dog) is a barn favorite for members of the Texas State Equestrian Team. Despite having had 12 foals, this girl is anything but just a broodmare. She will jump anything that’s is put in front of her with ease and takes care of her riders whether they are just beginning to ride or have ridden for years. She is a youthful 21 years old and absolutely loves her job as a lesson horse and a show horse at Hunters Chase Farms in Wimberley, Texas. Her canter is as smooth as butter and when she jumps, you feel like you’re flying. Everyone who has had the pleasure of riding Mikailah agrees. She is one of a kind. 

Kadena is a Paint/American Quarter Horse cross mare and her team thinks she’s the best horse ever. Kadena is not always an easy ride, but she has come so far in her training and athleticism over the past several months. She and team member Selah Holland, have been inseparable since they started working together last year, and both of them have learned immensely from one another and have made tremendous progress.

Lucky (his registered name is Yankee Accent) is a 15-year-old American Quarter Horse gelding who has been used in ISHA stock seat shows for the past four years. Bred for reining, Lucky competed at a national level in reining competitions, with both professional and amateur riders, for many years. For the first two years of his IHSA career, he was used in both rail and reining classes. He always seemed to know the experience and confidence of his rider and would adjust accordingly, taking care of those who were new to the sport of reining and carrying them safely around the arena. But he was always ready to turn it up a notch for the experienced and confident reiners. 

After an injury forced him to retire from reining, Lucky made the full transition to an ISHA rail horse. He has been used for every ISHA division, Walk–Trot to Open, and he is a favorite draw among all the schools in our Zone. At ISHA shows you will usually find him in the warm-up area surrounded by a group of competitors and volunteers, being fed Pop-Tarts and having his picture taken. He is quite the handsome boy, and he knows it.  

In 2017, Lucky was named the ISHA Zone 6, Region 4 Horse of the Year; the photo was taken just after he was announced as the winning horse. 

All Time Fancy Man aka Manny was donated by Kaity Arthur, an alumna from Saginaw Valley State University in Zone 6 Region 4. He is a 10-year-old Paint gelding and has been used as an IHSA horse since he was 3 years old. He is the best because he’s quiet, forgiving and will do just about anything for a peppermint. Manny was voted as Zone 6, Region 4 2017-2018 Horse of the Year. During the summer he is busy showing in the all-around events at the Paint shows.