to start competing in the Senior Stallion division , things got a little more serious . He was actually only 2 ½ when he was switched to this division -he wouldn ’ t be a full 3 yr old until the end of May- but he was now competing against horses several years older and fully mature , and he was not competing very well . Donnie made the decision to pull him off the show circuit to concentrate full time on his conditioning and give him a chance to mature some more . I watched Donnie and Skipper doing their “ two-aday ” workouts for months and months . You have no idea the work and dedication that it takes to make a champion until you walk through it .
At that time horses were required to qualify to show at the National Show , and they had to win Grand Champion at a local level show . To do this , we had to beat every horse in his class and beat all the winners from three other classes . We started showing Skipper again two months before the Nationals , but the Grand Championship was still eluding him and Reserve Champion did not count . We went to every show that we could find , but time ran out , and we were not qualified to show . We were about to lose hope , but then we heard that there was going to be a regular show the day before the Nationals at the same location and you could qualify at that show if you won . At least we would have one more chance .
The morning we arrived at the show grounds I overheard Donnie praying . In his prayer he said , “ God , I ’ ve done everything I know to do to make a success of this , but if nothing happens today , I will accept that I made the wrong decision to get in the horse business in the first place .” I knew Donnie meant it , as he and I had both abided by Colossians 3:23 for the last three
Donnie worked the horses full time but Skipper was his star pupil .
years . “ Whatever you do , work at it with all your heart , as working for the Lord , not for human masters .” God was our boss and source , but we had not seen very much income for our efforts , and it cost a lot of money to show . We were at the end of our faith and needed a miracle !
Many of the major farms had decided to take advantage of the opportunity to qualify horses at this last show- just as we were doing- and our competitors were some of the finest Miniature horses in the industry . By the grace of God , Skip a Star won Grand Champion that day and the legend , Flying W Farms Little Blue Boy was Reserve Champion . We had our first miracle ! We were qualified for the National Show two days later .
No more time for reflection - I am standing in line with twenty of the most beautiful grand champion Miniature stallions in the United States , about to go into the arena and I am back to my question , “ What do I pray ?” I remember thinking , I would like to pray to win , but what if every other handler and owner was praying the same thing ? I couldn ’ t do that . So I prayed , “ Lord , help me to do my best and KEEP MY HORSE FROM EXPLODING !
Skipper was snorting and pulling on the lead as if to say , “ Let ’ s go ; I ’ m ready !” Donnie had conditioned him to perfection and Skipper knew that he looked awesome ! He strutted into the arena flipping his head and mane as he entered . He had a commanding presence that said : “ Look at
The Grand Champion Stallion class of 1985 .