Hoofbeat Express

The past 10 years have gone by so fast. I have loved horses and barrel racing since I was 10 years old. When I had the opportunity to buy Hoofbeat Express in 2001, it was like a dream come true. I was finally able to use all my talents at my job. I had never been a writer before and it took a lot of practice learning how to write interesting articles and such. My mom and both my brothers have a natural talent for writing, but I did not. Being the editor of this paper has given me the opportunity of meeting and working with so many good people throughout Louisiana and Texas.

After 10 years and much consideration, this month I sold Hoofbeat Express and handed over the reins to Cassie Emerson of Benton, Louisiana. She is young and very outgoing. I know she will be a great editor and will make things happen. I will continue on with my graphic design company, Art Studio Graphics, which I started in 1998. I am sure I will see you all at the next rodeo, so down the road I go. Tammy Randall

Letter from the new editor, Cassie Emerson

Hello All,

To say 2012 has started with a bang would be an understatement. I was very excited when Mrs. Tammy approached me about buying the Hoofbeat Express. Owning and editing the Hoofbeat Express will allow me to use my love of writing to showcase my love of the equine industry.

For those of you that do not know me personally, allow me to share a little of my background with you. I have lived in Benton, LA the majority of my life and continue to call Benton home. I am often referred to as a third generation cowgirl and enjoy competing in the breakaway roping and barrel racing. I have one brother, Seth Emerson, who competes in rodeos across the country in the calf roping and occasionally the team roping. My parents Joe and Cindy Emerson both rodeoed in their younger days, but now enjoy cheering, driving, helping, and being supportive of both Seth and myself. In addition to her regular job my mom also secretaries and times rodeos. My grandparents, Dilton and Pat Emerson, own Emerson Horseshoe Supply in Bossier City, LA. Both of my grandparents have rode horses and have been associated with the equine industry most of their lives and my papaw continues to compete in the team roping. My Memaw, Mildred Glover, lives in Arkadelphia, AR and enjoyed riding when she was younger, but now she is just one of mine and my brother’s biggest fans and supporters. To say I have been blessed with an awesome, loving, and supportive family is a complete understatement.

My love for the equine industry does not end with competing. I have always enjoyed being very involved in the industry. In high school I served as an officer for Region IV all four years and served as Texas High School Rodeo Association student president my senior year. I have served on various boards and have been involved in a variety of events throughout the years. I also work several rodeos and events as a secretary and timer. My love for the equine industry is vast and continues to grow with age.

Growing up in Benton, LA, I have read the Hoofbeat Express for as long as I can remember. I have always enjoyed reading the latest news and finding out about upcoming events. It is an honor for Mrs. Tammy to think I can follow in her footsteps with the Hoofbeat Express. I plan to work hard to help the Hoofbeat Express grow. I am very excited to see where the Hoofbeat Express can take me and I can take it.

If anyone has any suggestions of things they would like to see or events they would like covered I would love to hear about them. I look forward to working with each and every one of you and to meeting new people.

Until next time… God Bless,
Cassie Emerson

NEW CONTACT INFO:

Hoofbeat Express
1232 Old Plain Dealing Road
Benton, Louisiana 71006

email: thehoofbeatexpress@gmail.com
phone: 318-935-9211

I hope you are tired out from all the Christmas doin’s and had a happy time getting through it. But mark my word, before we can turn around a few times, it’ll be here again. What I like about Christmas is that it makes us think more about the reason for the season. It always has brought me a little closer to the Lord. Now I don’t reckon on seeing him in person anytime soon cuz I still got lots of things to straighten out here on this earth of ours before I ease off into the bright light of forever.

My family never wuz one for givin’ out gifts to one another when we wuz young. Our folks got us things like candy peppermint sticks, and little cars and toys that cost next to nuthin. And we wuz happy to get ‘em. Mother could sew and she mostly made the girls some new clothes out of flour sacks. Papa made us boys some play things like stilts and put up new rope swings. One year he made a scooter outa wood and I don’t remember whar he got the wheels. But we wuz happy. We had no idea we wuz poor.

I’m still seein’ the woman I met whilst we wuz out ridin’ our horses one day. She’s a good cook. I told you that. And we been enjoyin’ goin’ to Church for preachin’ and singins’ and to town for this and that. I figgered I should get her some kind of gift, since she’s done a lot of stuff for me since we been courtin’. You young folks don’t know about courtin’, I reckon. Nowadays, it seems the baby arrives before the carriage is hitched.

We both are waaaaay past wantin’ to take in any kind of thing that has to be fed and took care of other than my cows, chickens and so on, but we’re a little past bein’ friends. So it come to me that I oughta get a little hint about what she might be expectin’ for Christmas. So as we wuz ridin’ our horses, I noticed the Church bells wuz a-ringin’.
I smiled and asked her didn’t she love the sound of that ringin’. The wind wuz blowin’ and I guess some of my words floated past her ears, cuz before I knew what wuz happenin’, she gasped and pulled back on her reins. She came on with something about it bein’ so soon to be getting’ that serious, but I could get her a ring if I wuz a mind to. Whilst I wuz tryin’ to catch my breath, she held out that left hand of hers and said she was size 8 or 9.

While my mind wuz trying to come up with any kind of answer, I wuz givin’ a second thought that meetin’ the good Lord sooner wuz not such a bad idea. She frowned and just up and asked me “Wuzn’t that a proposal?”

You just never know when some sort of off-the-wall thing like this is gonna’ happen; So I pulled back on my old hoss and patted his rear to turn him and face up with her. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I told her that I had to be truthful and I wuz not even considerin’ getting hitched again. I think I said somethin’ about my house bein’ just built for one and I wuz comin’ up with some other pretty good excuses, stutterin’ whilst at it.

Well, she turned her horse toward her barn and left me with dust swirlin’ all around. Strange how that happened. I thought we wuz getting’ to be good friends. With the new year just over the hill, I’ll be sure to be clear about my intentions. You might consider doin’ the same. And that’s all I got to say about that.

Stretch

Hoofbeat Express is excited to have John Carrigan of Keithville, Louisiana as our Spotlight for the month of January. John loves the sport of barrel racing and pole bending. He loves promoting barrel races and will put on a fundraiser for someone in need. This past year John was the one in need.

John Carrigan’s pre-op laboratory tests for a planned surgery did not go well. His white cell blood count was low, very low. His doctor told him that he had a worse problem than the relatively minor surgery he needed.

John had acute myeloid leukemia. He was immediately referred by his community physician to specialists at Feist-Weiller Cancer Center. Having never really been in any hospital for more than a few days, John was horrified to be told he should prepare to stay for three or four weeks. After quizzing Dr. Gerhard Hildebrandt about other options, John had to face the reality of treatment or death in a number of weeks. “Guess I’ll take option one,” John said.

He spent 62 days in the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) unit at LSU Medical Center. He had read that after long hospital stays patients want to go home, but when they do get home they miss the hospital. John finally understood this feeling. After almost nine-weeks, John said “The team, the unit…they are like family to me. It felt good to know the staff knows all the warning signs,” which he and his wife might miss at home.

“You know, I’m old school,” John said. After working for Kroger for 30+ years, he retired early and wants to enjoy the future. His sprawling homesite abounds with animals. “We’ve been adopted. We don’t own a dog,” John and his wife Cindy joked as they introduced strays they call Bones and Tigger.

The 67-year-old Keithville resident loves his horses and has four registered Quarter Horses. In the fenced pasture are Cowgirl and Buckaroo, two horses they have raised since they were colts. Granddaughter Kayley Poston sits atop Buckaroo on a clear November day. John proudly notes that Kayley competes in barrel racing and is starting to train Cowgirl to barrel race. She has been riding since she was four. A third horse, Cowboy, is 29 years old and semi-retired from racing. This horse is going to work with grandson Jordan as he learns to compete in rodeos. Then there’s the horse with the wrong name, Sweetie. “Not a sweet thing about her,” John said. “She’s a woman’s horse and can’t stand to have a man sit on her.”

John has organized barrel racing events and looks forward to producing an event to benefit Feist-Weiller Cancer Center in the future because “It’s a fantastic place,” and “I want to get the word out about it.” In the spring he’ll be looking for event sponsors. If you want to help or know of some sponsors, you can email John at:
johncarrigan69@gmail.com

John and his wife have five children, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandson. The Carrigan’s are a strong family providing support for John. As he looks ahead to another round of chemotherapy, John is confident that both his family and his Feist-Weiller Cancer Center team will be cheering him on.

I hope everyone had as great a Christmas as my family had. It is sad that some of the stores don’t say “Merry Christmas” anymore. What’s a “Happy Holiday”? It sounds so cold. Without the meaning of Christmas what is the point? It is so important to remember tradtitions and such. I actually got my shopping done early this year. Most of it was done on Black Friday and it was fun. I am looking forward to the new year as well.

I have a new horse that I am training on barrels, but I will be riding Haley’s horse “Riley” for a few months until she has her baby in April. We can’t wait!

The NFR was exciting this year. I didn’t get to watch every night like I did last year. I keep saying I will go to Vegas some year. Maybe next year…

Until next month. Tammy

Here’s wishing all our readers and advertisers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! It has been a great year and it’s hard to believe 2012 is just around the corner. Christmas is such a wonderful time of year. There is so many activities and places to go. I am happy to say that I got most of my shopping done on Black Friday. It’s was hectic, but it paid off. Before I bought this newspaper ten years ago, I shopped the week before Christmas. Now I am usually working on the January issue that week. See you next year! Tammy

I couldn’t resist using the photo of zebra for the cover this month. I took this photo at the Port Sullivan Ranch in Hearne, Texas last month while we were hunting. The zebras were beautiful, so I decided on something different this month. I felt like I was on a safari. Lindsey shot her first animal with her bow. It was a perfect shot on a red deer doe and also an aoudad ewe. My husband shot a blackbuck doe with his bow. I hadn’t planned on shooting anything except with my camera, but they talked me into shooting a red deer doe with my .243 rifle, because I’m not a bow hunter. We weren’t trophy hunting, but we saw some huge red deer stags. It was a awesome weekend spent with some wonderful people at the ranch. For more information you can visit them online at www.portsullivanranch.com.

Back to rodeo… Three of our associations just had their end-of-year finals last month. Check their pages to see the standings. The winter rodeos and barrel races are getting cranked up, so don’t hang up your boots!

NBHA LA-01 has a show on Saturday December 3 in Keachie, Louisiana at C-Bar Arena. See the ad on page 15. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
Until next month. Tammy

I ‘m so glad we finally got some rain. It wasn’t much, but at least it was some! North Louisiana looks like desert country. Usually October is our rainy season. Always in the past when it’s time for the State Fair of Louisiana and the Red River Revel, it starts raining.

On a sad note, my dad passed away last month, just one week before he turned 77. I wanted to thank my readers for all the messages on Facebook. It really helps to know how much people care.

I haven’t been able to go to many barrel races and I am ready to get back on schedule. My new horse is doing good, even with the limited riding. I’m hoping by spring she will be ready to go.

It’s a busy time for all the associations with their finals, so double check the schedules and do your best!

I wanted to thank Don Fincher of Burnin Sky Photography for the photo he sent in for the cover and photo gallery this month. That bull had to have been at least four feet in the air, maybe more. The photo was taken at the Shrine Bullfest in Lindale, Texas.

Until next month. Tammy

Lindsey Robinson is our Spotlight of the Month for October. She is 20 years old and is from Keithville, La. She works for Delta Airlines and also started her own cake decorating business, Custom Cakes by Lindsey which is on Facebook. Here photo is on the previous page. Here is her story in her own words…

I’ve been riding almost my entire life, but have been competing in Barrels and Poles for the last 10 years. I started out on a Tennessee walking horse which I named Bellagio. I rode him at Southside Riding Club until he was diagnosed with a respiratory disease known as Heaves. I was forced to make one of the hardest decisions of my life. The suggestions were to put him down or find a place up north where the weather is different and it would be easier for him to breath, I chose the second choice. I donated Bellagio to a Therapeutic Riding Center in Oregon, Illinois. Where he now lives today, very happy and healthy. I then trained my first barrel horse from the ground up a Palomino from Montana, everyone told me he would never make it in the sport but after winning his first saddle I gave him to my younger sister Emily, and she competed on him in Texas Jr. High school Rodeo Assoc. and is currently still competing with him today.

I found my angel that I had been waiting on at the Easter Barrel Race in Marshall, Tx. In 2007. I had been watching the good looking sorrel at the end of the stalls all weekend; unknowingly my mom went to Mrs. Ann Dodson and asked if she knew of anyone with a tall horse for sale. Unknowingly she said she couldn’t think of anyone but the horse she was going to be starting for next year was tall and just so happened to be in the stall at the end of the row. As soon as she pulled him out I fell head over heels for the sorrel, I had been drooling over him all weekend. My dream horse nearly slipped thru my fingers when I was told the price. I told Mrs. Ann that I wanted to try him out which would give me time to find the money. After, hoping, wishing and lots of praying, my grandparents, mom and I went to Minden, Louisiana the following week to ride him. I knew instantly he was perfect for me, as we headed home my grandpa made me a deal he said “if the stock market went up the horse was mine”, after a long sleepless night and lots of prayers the stock market closed at a RECORD HIGH the very next day and the horse of my dreams was finally going to be mine. “Sonny Leggo My Wranglers” was perfect. After getting him we had numerous ups and downs in Texas High School Rodeo my Jr. and Sr. year always getting close but never placing. We later found out that he had a terrible ulcer problem. Leggo ended up being the last horse that Mrs. Ann ever sold before she passed away. My grandparents gave me Leggo free and clear for my graduation present when I graduated from Southwood High School. Finally having time to be able to practice while in college Leggo has progressively gotten better.

After quitting college to work full time and chasing the dream of owning my own business I finally started to see my super star emerge. I’ve realized to make all my dreams come true it’s totally up to me because life is to short not to give all you’ve got and not let anything or anyone stand in your way of your dreams. I’ve dedicated myself to my horses competing in open barrel races all over Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. Weekend after weekend he had continued to improve winning numerous buckles and checks and will be attending CC5D Finials in Stephenville, Texas in October. He is currently in second place to win a saddle as a high money winner.

My family has always been my biggest supporters and I am truly blessed to have my mom who has always been my biggest fan. She is always the first to say it doesn’t matter how far it is if you want to go we will go. She is my traveling partner and working for the airlines had made it so easy for us to travel. We have been to Cheyenne, Wyoming and the Houston Rodeo and Livestock show this past year. The National Finals Rodeo the past two years and plan to be there for an entire week for my 21st birthday. My future plans are to get my WPRA card very soon, and being able to travel and really see what we can do. I have an upcoming horse that will hopefully help me achieve my NFR dreams. He’s a seven month old palamino stud colt. Holy Flit Guys on Fire is his new registered name, he’s out of Fire Water Flit and Frenchman’s Guy, hopefully he’s going to be my ticket to the top. I’ve been so blessed he has the personality of Leggo. My life is truly blessed because of my wonderful family, amazing friends, and the best horses a girl could ever ask for. Thank you to everyone who has ever helped me along the way and to those who push me to be the best that I can be.

Dear Ms. Mare,

I heard that you know some stuff about horses, so I have a few things I’ve been wondering about. I listen to riders discussing and cussing horses when my cowboy and I trailer around the country competing in this and that. So I’d like some “straight from the horse’s mouth” advice from an old gray mare that has walked the walk.
1. One cowboy says he shipped his healthy horse across country with a hauling company and when he got him off the van, he was sick with pneumonia. Some of the boys said the horse got it from other horses in the van; one thought it was probably from urine soaked bedding; and another thought there were germs in the feeders of the van.
2. Another horse was sick and some of the riders were listening to the sick horse’s stomach. What were they trying to hear? Why would the sounds tell them the problem?
3. How much water do adult horses need on a regular day when we are not working?
4. I know the answer to this, but cowpokes don’t have a clue: Do horses see color?
Curious but Smart

Dear CBS,

I think you and your cowboy need to spend more time worrying about winning, but I guess the more a person/horse knows, the better.
1. Organisms cultured from cases of shipping fever that develop into pneumonia are most often from the horse’s own mouth. Ammonia fumes, by themselves, aren’t likely to cause pneumonia, but it could set up an irritation which might turn into an infection. Horses might transmit diseases through sneezing and coughing, but those are usually upper respiratory. Pneumonia is found in the lower respiratory tract.
2. Riders listen to a horse’s belly hoping to hear low, long and drawn out grumbling noises, at least once a minute. This signals the progressive movement of digested material through the intestines. Lots of noise is better than no noise which is ominous. But I have to say also, that in some cases a noisy belly means trouble such as early colic or diarrhea is brewing. Humans don’t often listen to a horse’s belly unless there are other hints that the horse is not feeling like its normal healthy self.
3. Given an unlimited supply of water, about 10 gallons per day, or one gallon per 100 pounds of body weight. More will be required if the day is unusually hot and some diets may require a horse to drink more than usual.
4. I don’t know how humans know what we see. I guess they must do some of those scientific tests we hear about. But as you know yellow is most vivid, then green; then blue; red appears gray. They probably figured we would have to see green and yellow to find food. Duh!

Thanks for asking.
Old Gray Mare

by Barbara McGowan

This has been the craziest summer yet. I’m glad Fall is just around the corner. In fact, a cool breeze blew in just the other night as I was working on this paper. We enjoyed the coolness, but with it one of our horses had an accident. She cut her eye really bad and had to have stitches. I am thankful there was a vet on call! Dr. Nelson Lewis sewed her up and she is healing up fine.

I would like to thank everyone who has asked about my dad. He is still at the rehab facility, in fact he had to go back to the ER last week for some more tests. It’s really tough when you can’t help a loved one. About the only thing you can do is be supportive and pray for the best.
On a lighter note… I bought a new horse last month. Her name is Rettuc. She is a six year old bay mare. I was looking for a Flit Bar bred, but I found her instead. She looks so much like my old horse Latch it is scary. She is a good mixture of cow and race bloodlines.

Until next month. Tammy