In the Nick of Time
In
the Nick of Time.
"Nickers". American Saddlebred rescued by Kathe D. When
his new mom
removed that tailbag in the picture of Nickers at the feedlot,
his tail flowed
2ft. behind him! That's AFTER it hit the ground....2ft. of
tail on the
ground! My goodness! After Kathe helped Nickers get healthy,
shod, vetted,
she had him entered in a show in March 1999. He placed 2nd in
his class and 3rd in his class! Not bad for a horse that had been
thrown away
huh?
Update
5/30/00: Well, here is Mr. Nickers at his first AHSA rated show
... showing sidesaddle! Not bad for a "throwaway" Saddlebred!
How do you like the action?
Update 10/20/00
- Attached is a photo of Nickers and me from Reno. Who says you
can't post sidesaddle? and, the look on his face is "Rick,
she's making me set my head and I'm not happy about this!"
He may not be "hocky" but 1) there's no trailing hocks
and 2) this is not a horse anyone should throw away.
anyway, thought
you guys might like to see this ...
Kathie
Update
11/11/00
- Just a note to give you the latest update on our boy, In the
Nick of Time.
We are still searching for his papers, but I am bound and determined
to find
them.
But, here's the good news! Nickers is the Northern California
American
Saddlebred Horse Association HIGH POINT horse of the year for
Open shows.
This is given to Saddlebreds who are competing in Open (non ASB)
shows.
Additionally, Nickers is going to be a Saddlebred ambassador yet
again. He
will be going to EqWest in Del Mar on November 17-19th to be used
as the
Saddlebred petting horse as well as to participate in all of the
ASB demos
as a sidesaddle horse. At HorseExpo, we had at least 5 people
approach us
and tell us that they had heard of his story on TIER's web site.
One lady
was moved to tears by having seen him "in person." She
couldn't believe that
it was him ... and when she heard the announcer give out his story,
she
literally burst into tears.
He
is quite the fellow. Mom adores him as do all the children at
the riding academy. He is truly what Saddlebreds
and horse rescues are all about ... courageous,
kind, intelligent, and more than willing to forget his past for
a bright and promising future.
Thanks to
all who made him possible
Update
7/24/01 - Here are photos of Nickers from last year's horse
expo, taken by a very nice lady who had heard about him via the
web site. I've also included one of Miss P ... may she never experience
what Nickers did.
Miss
P & Kathy Dunn -
Another
Saddlebred Rescue - Impulse
This
is what he looked like when he was showing ... the other is from
this winter when he was still fuzzy from the thyroid problem.
But, it does show you his color and his gorgeous face!
P
is much more burgundy ... true chestnut than Nick. But she's a
beauty in her own right.
Update
11/27/01 - For the second consecutive year, Nickers is the
high point champion for the Open division for NCASHA (Northern
California American Saddlebred Horse Association). Because he
does not have papers, he must show in open breed classes against
other breeds. He has done very well at these shows.
At
his last show, he was the 10 and under Walk/Trot Pleasure Champion
and Grand Champion. I have attached a picture of him there. Additionally,
I have attached a picture of us sidesaddle at the California Futurity
in Pomona. It was a night class, so "we" went formal.
Again,
thank you for helping me to rescue this beauty. He is an ambassador
for both TIER and Saddlebreds wherever he goes.
Kathie
Update
8/11/03
- Do you recognize the proud boy in the photo?
Opening
ceremonies each night at the Charity Fair Horse Show in Del Mar,
CA featured Nickers & Kathie! - Read
about it.
2/24/04
- Nickers at Equine Affair in Pomona, CA.
Mmmmm....good
cookies... :)
Update
6/15/04 - Kathie, Nickers' mom, has spent 5 years trying to
get Nick's registration papers. She did research which entailed
blood typing and finally found out who he really is. The hard
part was getting the person who had his papers to transfer them
over to Kathie. This was the person who dumped him and he ended
up in a feedlot. It's been a long road for Kathie, she perservered,
and Nickers will have his name/heritage in place. Kathie has not
told her mom that she finally got his papers (Mom has been diligent
in helping Kathie and absolutely loves Nickers. Mom used to show
ASB's in her early years). So, at Del Mar on June 18th, Kathie
is going to suprise her Mom with Nick's heritage.
Anyway,
the class Nickie normally shows in is English Open Pleasure. Now,
he is eligible for all of the ASB classes. They are going to show
him in Country Pleasure. On Friday, the English Open Pleasure
class is right before the Country Pleasure class. Kathie will
take him out to warm up for EOP ... And mom will think he's going
to be in that class. He won't showup. We're going to let her fret
that Kathie screwed up or something is wrong. THEN, he'll trot
in for the CP class ... She'll still be thinking that Kathie has
screwed up and is now in the WRONG class. Then, when she figures
it out, Dad or Mike will hand her an envelope that says "Happy
Mother's Day," (she missed it this year - she was on vacation)
and the papers will be inside.
Update
6/22/04 - Photos from the big day!
Introducing.....
I'm W.O. Bentley!
http://www.asha.net/ASHASearchResults2.asp?Registration=097508G
Update
7/19/04
- Well here are photos, pre-parade with the new (old) rig. The
rider will be getting more sparkly, but the horse looks pretty
darn cute!
Update
12/16/06
- Check out Class #17 & Class #29 - 1st Place!! I'm W.O.Bentley,
formerly In the Nick of Time/"Nickers".
http://www.bluebonnetequine.org/virtualshow/november2006show.htm
(They're still working on adding pictures.)
Update 9/21/09 - I'm W.O. Bentley, formerly known as Nickers or In The Nick of Time was found in a So Cal feedlot about 10 years ago. TIER helped facilitate his rescue from slaughter and his mom, CA ASB, has helped him become an ambassador for rescues!
Nickers went from an unknown Saddlebred in a feedlot to finally being identified after several years of hard work by his owner. Previous to his identification he was shown in English Open Pleasure and did very well. Now that his identity is in intact, he can show in classes for registered horses.
And.....now he is carrying the flag on the USEF site under the Parade Horse discipline!
Link to USEF page: http://www.usef.org/_IFrames/breedsDisciplines/discipline/allparade.aspx
Update 1/2/10 - Want to share my awesome day with you. Kathie, owner of Nickers (In the Nick of Time on our website) asked me to take a mental health day and go to Temecula , CA (about an hour away) where she has a Saddlebred mare & her daughter in training. I met the baby right after it was born, about 5 years ago, and the mother is Miss P who is absolutely a divine feminine horse. So, I went.
We get there and there are tons of horses of course. Some gorgeous Fresians, a Palamino Arab mare I saw being worked western, other Saddlebreds, etc. etc. At the end of the barn this looooooong neck with a horse's head sticks out of a stall and I gasp! I didn't know Nickers was there! It was such a joy to see him again!
First they worked the "baby" whose name is Moxie. Boy those horses sure have a lot of action! Kathie had an Adult Equitation class on Nickers with her trainer for a bit and then they got Miss P. ready for her training workout in Western Riding. While Kathie was riding Nickers I got to see him do that famous Saddlebred canter with his head collected, neck arched, high stepping, ground eating movement. Nostrils flared......the whole thing! Goose pimply stuff!
Then, as they were getting Ms. P ready for her workout, they switched Nickers' saddleseat saddle for a Western one, put him in a hackamore and handed me the reins. Kathie says "Take the boy for a ride. You made it a possiblity for me to help him and now he wants to help you!"
I had gotten on him once at Equine Affaire, but that was just to sit on him (and that tiny little saddle) and take a few steps. Today, I rode him all over the property. He is absolutely push button and I never felt safer on a horse. I haven't ridden in a almost a year (Weezer died earlier this year) and then only around the arena.
Just what I needed and what a gift. Just wanted to share that with you! WOOOOOOO HAAAAAAAW!
Update 2/2/10 - Nickers is now known in the UK!
He made the front page of Saddlebreds.uk Issue 62 (Feb 2010)
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