2016 Miniature Horse WORLD Issues April/May 2016 - Volume 32, Number 2 | Page 34

Photo courtesy of Stan Parsons

Willow Cook and Duke Dynamo

Most of the hours Willow spent with Duke this year included shows and training. Duke was one of Willows 4-H
project horses. Since Duke hadn’t had a lot of experience
driving obstacle courses in the cart, Willow spent numerous hours
training him to pivot in the cart and also to stay calm throughout
the course. Her plan is to have him be as experienced at obstacle
driving as her other AMHA mini, Macho, who is 24 years old and still
showing. In addition, the two spent many hours together conditioning for shows by lunging him, driving him, and ground-driving him.
Add to that the numerous hours spent brushing and grooming him.

Rebecca Warrellow and
Lil Hoofbeats Spotless Image

Butterfly is where it all started. Rebecca had owned
many horses and ponies over the years, but when she
first saw Butterfly she couldn’t resist bringing her home. She was the
first AMHA registered horse Rebecca owned and instantly she became addicted! The very next month a Miniature stallion was also
purchased.
This year Butterfly introduced Rebecca to the show world at the
Lawrencetown Exhibition where the two had a go at driving, inhand jumping and obstacle classes. They came home with two 1st
place ribbons from the first two classes! It was exciting to go to the
show where they met some great people who were all very helpful.
Rebecca most enjoyed the in-hand jumping class but Butterfly also
introduced her to the wonderful art of driving showmanship.

In shows this year, Duke did extremely well. He and Willow competed in Hunter-in-Hand, Pleasure Driving, Driven Dressage, Precision
Driving, Showmanship, Halter, Liberty, and In-Hand Trail. Duke loves
to drive. He is also very gregarious and friendly. There have been
times at a show, he has walked up to another mini and start grooming him! Two years ago, Duke and Willow were awarded Reserve
Grand Champion in Reinsmanship and they also earned a bronze
medal. Duke has earned blue ribbons in Liberty, Halter, In-Hand Trail,
Hunter-in-Hand, Dressage, and Pleasure Driving.

32 Miniature Horse World

A P R I L / M AY 2016

In the fall there were many visitors to the farm (Mini Hearts Ranch),
where the children loved spending time with all the horses. Another activity they enjoyed was the local ‘Cider Fest’ in the town of
Bridgetown where people loved the costumes - especially the unicorn! Along with their other Miniature horse friends, Butterfly will be
further introduced into a new therapy program.
As we speak, Butterfly is carrying her second foal. Certainly he or she
will be just as special as she is. During the next 500 Hours these two
plan to continue practicing and learning. Butterfly has been very forgiving and she is a great teacher. In the year ahead Butterfly will
also lead Rebecca’s younger sister, Freya, into the wonderful world of
Miniatures. Exciting times are ahead and they are looking forward to
the coming show season!