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Beautiful, easy-going and smooth, they've been called the perfect
working and riding horses.
Rocky Mountain Horses
By
Summer Best
It
was September 14, 2005, and Kathy Parrish was at the Kentucky
Horse Park, hiding from her horse.
She wasn't goofing off or playing a game. No, no. This was
a serious situation. Kathy was in Lexington, Kentucky, for
the Rocky Mountain Horse Association's International Championships.
In the fancy show ring below, her horse, Mountain View's Seminole,
was performing under the direction of his trainer in the 3-year-old
stallion under saddle class.
She knew the phenomenal stallion could put in a flawless performance.
But there was one small problem.
"I had noticed at past shows, there was a tendency that
if Seminole knew I was there, he would be out there in the
ring looking around for me," Kathy explained. "When
he looked for me, it usually distracted him and it cost him
the class. So I hid, and I tried to just be another person
in the crowd."
You can call her crazy for her thought processes, but Kathy,
a horsewoman with 20 years' experience owning horses and studying
their behaviors, is intuitive - and sensible - about these
sorts of things.
"I thought hiding from him would work, but you never
know," she said. "It was the first time I'd ever
had a horse shown under saddle at the International. I was
trying to keep myself realistic. If we came out with a ribbon,
I figure that's pretty good at the International."
Pretty Good |
Seminole
was better than "pretty good" that day. Besting
a class of the world's premier young Rocky Mountain Horses,
the chocolate stallion with flaxen mane and tail strutted
around the ring with trainer Tim Little as though he was born
for it. Ultimately, the judges agreed: Mountain View's Seminole
would be named the 2005 3-year-old stallion under saddle International
Champion.
Kathy, who purchased Seminole as a weanling from breeder Paul
Pence, recorded the entire class with her camcorder. As the
results were called out, she remembers leaping out of her
seat and whooping and hollering, all the while holding her
video camera to document every moment. |
Mountain View's Seminole, shown by Tim Little, is the 2005
3-year-old stallion under saddle International Champion.
Photo by V.W. Perry |
"When they called the numbers, I was taping, and the
last thing I expected was for them to call his name first,"
Kathy said. "He got called, and I started jumping up
and down! The camera starts jiggling up and down, and I'm
screaming."
A friend grabbed the camera while Kathy tried to compose herself.
Up until that point, Kathy was pretty sure Seminole was still
oblivious to her presence at the show.
"Then I let out a whoop, and it was one of those moments
when the crowd went quiet," Kathy said. "Seminole
heard me, and you could tell he knew it was me. His head turned
straight toward me, and you could see he was mad at me for
not visiting him sooner."
Later, Kathy went to visit her horse, and she claims the personable
stallion was holding a grudge. "He was like, 'Huh, now
you'll come to see me.' It's like he knew I had been there
the whole time. I think he was a little upset with me."
Meanwhile, Kathy had a lot of phone calls to make. One of
the first people she left a message with was Maye Carter,
her longtime friend who was back home in Clermont, Florida,
caring for the Mountain View Farm. Maye, a nursing student,
had class obligations and couldn't make the trip to Kentucky.
When Maye heard Kathy's voicemail, she worried that the stallion
hadn't performed well at all.
"Her voice in the message just didn't sound that excited,"
Maye said. "Kathy wasn't really 'up'. Her message said,
'You'll never guess what he did.' And I thought, 'Oh, man,
he must have bombed.'"
Maye returned the call to Kathy later that day, expecting
bad news.
"She told me he won, and I literally dropped the phone,"
Maye said. "I just couldn't believe it. It was great."
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Meeting
the Rocky Mountain Horse
Much of Kathy Parrish's involvement in the horse industry
throughout the past two decades has revolved around riding,
driving and showing Saddlebreds.
In 1998,
a chain of events convinced her to look into Rocky Mountain
Horses.
"I was at a Saddlebred and Walking Horse show in Kentucky,"
Kathy explained. "A friend had talked me into going
to this little one-night horse show, and they had a demonstration
with Rocky Mountain Horses. I wasn't really paying that
much attention to start with. I kind of ignored the demo,
to be honest."
Kathy explained that the breed was represented as a "chocolate"
breed, and she frowned on the color emphasis. She would
later learn that, although the rich chocolate color is unique
to the breed, Rocky Mountain Horses are not considered a
color breed.
"We look at a good horse, and it shouldn't matter what
color it is," she said. "I've always said that
you can't ride color. A good horse is a good horse."
She couldn't ignore what she saw next. The stallion in the
demonstration walked quietly out of the ring with his rider,
and stood completely still and nonchalant as a crowd gathered
closely around him.
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"Instead of getting away from the crowd, he stopped
30-60 feet from the gate, dropped his reins, and let the
crowd come right up and start talking to him," Kathy
said. "First, I was thinking, 'Oh, no, someone's going
to get hurt.' I was getting ready to help if I needed to.
Then I thought, 'Maybe it's really not really a stallion!'
"
Sure enough, the stallion was the real deal.
"I thought to myself that this is the kind of horse
that I could actually take camping with me, and have a lot
of fun," Kathy said. "I got serious about it then.
I was attracted to the disposition right away. I had experienced
the part of the industry with the glitz and the glamour.
I was becoming more interested in a horse with a great disposition."
Kathy continued her research of the breed, and within months,
she owned her first Rocky Mountain Horse - a sweet, dark
bay mare named Cleo. Cleo was in foal, so Kathy experienced
the joys of a Rocky Mountain Horse foal the next spring.
"The foals are so kind and easy to work with,"
she said. "They are curious, outgoing, and they're
just fascinating. Each one has its own personality."
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History
of the Breed
The Rocky Mountain Horse appears to have originated in the
United States in the late 1800s in the foothills of the Appalachian
Mountains in eastern Kentucky. Basically a utility horse,
the horses (between 14.2 and 16 hands) were saddle horses
to be used for all seasons. Sure-footed, easy-gaited, they
were the mount of choice for postmen, doctors and traveling
preachers.
"They were the universal working and riding horses,"
Kathy explained. "The horse you would ride up and over
the top of mountains comfortably all day long." |
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Rocky Mountain Horses were smooth, sane and displayed stamina
to get the job done, day in and day out. Unlike owners of
elite Thoroughbreds in Kentucky at the time, families owning
Rocky Mountain Horses were typically not wealthy and didn't
spend a lot of money on their horses' upkeep. The result?
Only the hardiest of the horses survived. Harsh winters divided
the weak Rocky Mountain Horses from the tough ones, which
represent the breed today.
Today, more than 12,000 Rocky Mountain Horses have been registered
with the breed's registry, the Rocky Mountain Horse Association
(RMHA).
According to RMHA:
"The Rocky Mountain Horse Association's rendition of
the history of the breed states there was a gaited colt brought
from the Rocky Mountain region of the United States to the
foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Kentucky
around 1890. He was referred to as "the Rocky Mountain
Horse" by the local Kentucky people because of the area
of the country from which he had come. He is the horse credited
for the start of the Rocky Mountain Horse breed. Little is
known about this foundation stallion, but oral history indicated
he was chocolate-colored with flaxen mane and tail, and he
possessed a superior gait. The stallion was bred to the local
Appalachian saddle mares in a relatively small geographical
area and the basic characteristics of a strong genetic line
continued. This prized line of horses increased in numbers
as years went by, and these are the horses known today as
Rocky Mountain Horses."
Today, each Rocky Mountain Horse must be examined by a certified
RHM authority before being considered as breeding stock. DNA
testing is used to verify bloodlines. The association registration
policies include a white rule, ensuring no white above the
knee or hock, and other specifications. Although chocolate
is a popular coat color, the array of possibilities adds another
dimension to the breed.
"The public is sometimes attracted to the chocolate with
flaxen mane and tail because it's so unique," said Kathy,
who is the chairperson of the RMHA Genetics Committee. "But
they come in all shades."
Most American breed associations allow the breeding of any
horses that are registered, without prior certification requirements.
Their requirements for registration of their horses are defined
by one of two conditions; either by heritage (the parent stock
are fully registered, e.g. Arabian), or by characteristics
such as color or gait (the breed standards are met, e.g. Palomino,
Paint). The Rocky Mountain Horse meets both conditions.
Prior certification is required for any Rocky Mountain Horse
over the age of three to compete in RMHA shows. The reason?
The goal of the RMHA is to select show ring champions according
to which horse best meets or represents the standards of the
breed.
To be
certified, a Rocky Mountain Horse must be at least 23 months
old and pass inspection by three official RMHA Examiners
for:
(1.)Correct gait under saddle, with a graceful way of going
(2.)Conformation and color that meets the breed standards
(3.)Possessing good temperament
(4.)Verification of parentage by an appropriate laboratory
testing method
(5.)Stallions must have both testicles below the external
(inguinal) ring
(6.)The only exception to the minimum height requirement
of 14.2 hands is for mares that are under 3 years old at
the time of certification, and are from two certified to
breed parents. These mares can be certified at a minimum
of 14 hands.
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Must
trail Ride
All those qualifications are well and good, but to Kathy Parrish,
the main reason to have a horse is for mutual enjoyment. If
you can't head out on the trails on a Sunday afternoon, what's
the use?
"When I bring my horses home, I want them to be able
to be a horse," Kathy said. "We go on trail rides.
My feeling is, any horse I own has to be a trail mount for
me."
Disposition is key for all the horses at Kathy's Mountain
View Farm in Clermont.
"You can have a really ugly horse, but if he's wonderfully
sweet, he's special," she said. "A beautiful horse
with a horrible disposition is just a horse with a horrible
disposition, in my opinion."
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Maye
Carter and Kathy Parrish spend quality time with Seminole,
their International Champion Rocky Mountain Horse Stallion. |
According to Kathy and Maye, Rocky Mountain Horses tend to
be extremely level-headed.
"For most of them, if something startles them, their
response is not to split and run," Kathy said. "They
don't have a big flight response. They tend to not be afraid
of things."
The
Naming of Seminole
Mountain View's Seminole was born with the name, "J.D.
Sambo."
"I wanted to give him a new name when he was 2,"
Kathy said. "So we started to think about what is special
to Florida. I thought well, the Seminole Indians. So we
called him Seminole."
Interestingly, the stallion thrives on Seminole Feed. Years
ago, Kathy learned of Seminole Feed products when she was
conditioning a broodmare, and she's been a steady customer
ever since. All the Mountain View horses thrive on Seminole
Blue Ribbon 12+, supplemented with a bit of ground flax
seed and beet pulp. Seminole grass balancer mineral is provided
free-choice, along with ample supplies of coastal hay.
Mountain View's Seminole bred six mares in 2005. As of this
printing, the foal from Seminole's first foal crop, a 2005
filly, a chocolate filly with flaxen mane and tail, is being
offered for sale. Her name is MVH Sara. (Visit www.mountainviewfarm.net
for more information.)
Kathy plans to selectively book Seminole to a limited number
of mares in the future.
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| Double-Identity
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If
you met Kathy Parrish at the mall on a spontaneous Saturday
afternoon, you'd find her to be a warm, friendly lady.
Someone who would make a great neighbor. A lady with
good judgment and high scruples. You could chit-chat
with Kathy about the weather, or about your animals,
and she would swap stories about her Rocky Mountain
Horses.
She would seem just as normal as anyone else at the
mall. But her life is actually like something out of
a James Bond 007 movie.
Kathy, you see, is a lead software engineer for Lockheed
Martin - i.e., she develops computer software for weapons
systems. Lockheed Martin, a private company with many
government defense contracts, designs things like the
Hubble Space Telescope, rockets, missiles and space
systems. (And other things we're not allowed to ask
a lot of questions about.)
At Lockheed Martin, Kathy's job is, well, classified.
She can explain a few of her projects, but she's tight-lipped
about the details. Her patriotic work with the company
for nearly 20 years has brought about career accomplishments
that also prove positive for America's defense.
Kathy also operates Mountain Horse Productions, a Web
design and hosting service. She is a chairman of the
Rocky Mountain Horse Genetics Committee, and she is
a member of the group's nominating committee. Kathy
was the founding president of the Florida Rocky Mountain
Horse Association and currently serves as treasurer.
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| See
them Yourself |
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Class A Rocky Mountain Horse Shows will be held February
13-14 at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center, Florida State
Fair, in Tampa, Florida. Visit www.rmhorse.com
or www.mountainviewfarm.net
for more information about Rocky Mountain Horses. |
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Freelance
writer photographer Summer Best is an avid equestriane
and owner of SunHorse Publishing & Promotions
in Ocala, Florida
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