Lena came to Hannah as a young horse that had already had 8 months of reining training, but would buck when first saddled, was afraid of her own shadow and was very unsafe outside of the arena. Lena was not even close to showing, and was a mental wreck!!

Within 3 months, Hannah was showing Lena in reining classes. By the time another month passed, the owner actually rode the mare through an Extreme Cowboy Race and finished in the top 5!

After selling her own barrel horse, Hannah asked the owners if she could start using Lena on barrels to promote the mare. At first they were very skeptical, not wanting to get a ‘crazy’ barrel horse, since they were finally seeing such great improvements in Lena. However, with Hannah’s training methods, Lena was running in the 2D after one week of patterning and was winning money by her 3rd race. Lena was getting solid, seasoned, and ‘broke’. She was also started running poles, tying goats and was being trained for breakaway roping.

Lena helped Hannah win the 2008 AFRA All Round Cowgirl title. Thank you, Lonnie and Cassie.

Lena was recently sold as a youth barrel horse.

Felina was an older barrel horse that had ‘stopped the clock’ in every rodeo, barrel bash, and high school rodeo that was out there. A nervous horse naturally, Felina became unsafe to get into the arena after only 6 months with new owners. Actually, the owners started having so much trouble getting her into the arena, they started tranquilizing the Felina, which of course didn’t encourage a winning run.Felina was put up for sale, but after 3 unsuccessful potential buyers, the owners had given up on ever selling her.Enter Hannah. Hannah had seen the mare run and purchased this ‘crazy’ ex barrel horse because she had a vision for her. The first week of ground work had Hannah wondering if she had met her match! Kick, strike, run over you…You name it, the mare tried it! However, persistence, consistence, kindness, and firmness finally started winning the day. Felina started trusting Hannah so much that after less than a month of owning Felina, the pair made it back into the arena just in time for AFRA finals, taking the reserve championship barrel title: controlled and calm.

Felina was relearning how to love life and people again!

People at rodeos recognized the mare and could not believe it was the same horse! They cleared the ally when it was Felina’s turn to run, in anticipation of a wreck! Only to witness the mare calmly enter the arena…without the wreck! One person actually told the previous owners that Hannah had found a super drug so that the mare was calm but would still run!

Hannah’s super drug? Ground work! Felina’s current training includes learning how to go out into the calving pasture trotting on a loose rein, as well as going back to basics of reining maneuvers.

Now Felina is a competitor to be reckoned with again.

Ellie kicked, bit, struck…or anything else she could think of doing. She couldn’t do anything without her ears pinned and teeth bared! She was started on barrels, but at her first barrel bash the owner handed her off to a friend to hold for a minute, and Ellie turned and kicked the handler with both hinds! Now that’s athletic!

Ellie was sent to one of Hannah’s friends who has a knack for matching people and horses but Ellie’s attitude made it very difficult, putting it mildy. Anytime Ellie’s name was mentioned, people acted like the friend was trying to sell them a Vampire! When the friend finally heard the whole story on the Ellie, she told the owners she couldn’t place the mare with her history of aggression, but recommended Ellie be sent to Hannah for manners and retraining.

Ellie was a challenge and it took Hannah a couple of weeks to get the mare to finally quit striking and ‘grouching’ so she was willing to start learning again. Ellie is a happier horse now, who will allow Hannah to clean her stall with her in it! Unheard of and too dangerous before. Now when Hannah is riding Ellie, Hannah doesn’t have to worry about the ’vampire’ biting her leg off! Ellie also goes out on the ranch and does plain old ranch work as well as advanced reining.

Ellie and Hannah as a team have won the 2009 AFRA All Around Cowgirl title; barrels, poles, goats and breakaway!"