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Welcome to our 2nd Newsletter!
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Where are they now?
JC Chico de Amante (“Chico”) is the young lad in the top photo of this newsletter being ponied down the driveway. He is a Spanish gelding by Teonado out of JC Andaluza (“Lucy”) bred and born here at JC Andalusians. Laurie Houck bought Chico as a coming yearling and she has been wonderful about keeping us informed of all of Chico’s fun adventures. Here is what Laurie has to say about her equine Soul Mate…
“Chico lives in Walla Walla, WA, a small town in Southeastern Washington full of Quarter Horses and Arabs, wheat field and foothills, cowboys and trail riders. When he was two, people regularly stopped at the pasture to ask “what breed is he?” At three, he looked so young and immature — leggy, slim chest, long neck, and eyes of one unabashedly confident — even some horse people couldn’t guess. At four, he matured immensely in mind as well as in physique, and at five he is pratically bomb-proof, or as bomb-proof as a mischievous, cheeky, playful five year old can be. (And a passing driver said from her car “That horse is as gorgeous as I bet you think he is.”)
I haven’t yet told Chico that he’s destined for a dressage career; he thinks he’s a cow cutting, moose packing, hunter derby winning event horse who occasionally does something called dressage.  I went out to find a dressage horse who did a little mountain riding on the side, and because of where I now live, I find I do more non-dressage work (play) than arena work, but he’s the perfect fit: he loves adventure; he is a thinking, curious experimenter who likes to work hard and play hard, but has a lazy streak; he loves variety and trying new things. Tackling fences beats all in Chico’s mind, but he sure is game for all the rest. Dressage trumps in my book, but I’m game where he is.
When he was four, he went on a three week hunting trip and ponied the horse carrying the moose meat. He liked being off the high-line so much, he got to be camp boss and was the one who grazed freely, waking us up in the morning by poking his head through the tent flap. We explored the Wallowas that summer, and he learned the meaning of work.  On the trails, he was usually lead horse and in the evenings, he hauled wood back to our camp. That same summer, we did a family pack trip — we all hiked and he carried our gear. At one point, a pack string needed to pass us, so we got off the trail on tricky slope with no real clearing, and he stood stock still with my family while the string of clanking mules passed us. (Of course, he screamed in my ear as they faded from sight out of sheer loneliness for equine/mule companionship, but he didn’t move a muscle.) Later, we passed a family galloping their horses in a meadow beyond a screen of trees — we couldn’t see the horses, but we could hear thundering hooves and peals of laughter — and he stayed with me and focused, although mightily interested in what the raucous was about.
Last year, he competed in five hunter/jumper derbies and horse trials, and never came out of a class or event with less than third place. He is a bold, careful, tidy and tight jumper with form over fences that make one drool. He is brave but not foolhardy, and the  only fences he has refused are those at which he felt he was coming in too fast to successfully get over. I took him to a team penning to take in the atmosphere (we had worked cows a few times) and a rider gave me his runs, so we two novices competed in the timed event and did ourselves proud…and we’ll be back for more. Since Chico was four, he has ponied everything from naughty two year olds (whom he successfully told where to stand, when to move and when not to) to my 18 hand draft cross. On the weekends, I pony two horses to their pasture 1/2 mile away and he knows (and loves) his job.
This winter, he’s getting some well-earned time off while I recover from some medical problems, and then he’ll be back to playing with jumping, cows, trails and dressage, as we take an unconventional route to the upper levels. We have hope for just that: at his first-ever dressage test last summer, he earned a 67%.
(Can you tell I love this horse?)”
Our Website
We have been working hard on keeping our website updated. Please visit us if you haven’t been. We have recently updated Saphiro’s pages by adding a pedigree and offspring page. Espiritu has some new photos and our sales list is being updated regularly. We always welcome your feedback.
Take Care,
Jenni Johnson (and crew) |
Congratulations to Lisa Wheeler on her purchase of JC Olimpico (“Ollie”). Lisa and Ollie hit it off immediately when Lisa came to visit. We look forward to seeing them in the dressage ring together when Ollie is older. Meanwhile, Ollie gets to stay at JCA for young horse raising.
