Arena Tracks by Penny Schlagel: April

In a former life, I lived and worked in a breeding facility with an “old mare pen” that I lavished with extra grain and the best shelter I could find on acres with few improvements.  In the midst of the pen was a very kind, very earnest, very confused little mare named April.  April touched my heart so I checked her backstory.  Star N April was a daughter of Bully Bullion who won a round of the BFA Derby in 1995 with owner/trainer Kelly Yates.  She went on to win big open barrel races with new owner Carol Crowder, amassing LTE of over $25k in 1990’s dollars.  Then, at the age of 17, she was a little tired and had a little age on her, so was sold as a broodmare.  However, no one consulted April.  April was tiny and bewildered as to why she wasn’t standing in a stall with belly-deep shavings and a bucket full of every supplement known to man.  She also wasn’t so crazy about losing her girlish figure. It was all…disorienting.

That spring, April foaled, giving the world a beautiful sorrel filly we named May.  Yup.  Creativity in the stratosphere on that name.  May was tiny and April, still confused, was a nervous mother.  It was just in her DNA to do her very best at whatever task was before her.  For whatever reason, April didn’t settle that year.  Now, it was 2010 and April was an open, 20 year old broodmare.  

While May frolicked at home, I attended the Larry Larson Photography Clinic.  The clinic put in my path a couple folks that became lifelong friends: Kathy Donegan and Amy Davis.  Amy and I bonded over the fact we both had the same camera, but neither of us had read the manual.  We were green when it came to camera function but conspired to hide it well.  We laughed a lot and just generally connected.  Amy was a single mom from North Dakota, having moved there from Colorado.  She wanted to start an equine photography business as a side hustle.  I thought she was fantastic.

In January 2011, I consigned a horse to the Black Hills Stock Show.  Out of the crowd comes Amy and her daughter, Waylyn.  They were looking for a barrel horse for Waylyn.  While what I had consigned wasn’t what they were looking for, he was kind and steady and 8 year old Waylyn had a great time riding him around and showing him off for me.  She even rode him in the ring with an awareness of how to present a horse that you typically see in much older trainers.  Waylyn was a special kid, that was for sure.  On the way home it occurred to me that April might work for Waylyn as a barrel horse.  I called Amy and they made plans to visit in a couple of weeks.

If ever I’ve seen love at first sight, it was Waylyn and April.  Waylyn bounced into the barn, took the reins and hoisted her tiny body onto April’s tiny body and they went to trotting around the arena.  Within 15 minutes it was obvious it was a great fit.  Waylyn had a nice soft hand and April was joyful.  She was doing what she was meant to do and the confusion had lifted.  That night Amy asked Waylyn what she thought.  Waylyn thought they should buy her, having no idea just how talented April was.  Waylyn wanted to buy April simply because she loved her.

April went home with the Davis girls and Waylyn took to riding her all over: trail rides, around the section and through the shelter belt.  April was steady and listened to Waylyn every step of the way.  Upon entering barrel races Waylyn started by holding April back.  After a couple runs, the 8 year old told her mom,”I think I’m just going to let her run”.  The pair never stopped running.  All of that running turned into winning, with Waylyn and April making the local papers with their “laser sharp turns” nearly every week.  One mom even told Amy that it was a bummer when they pulled up to a Rough Rider Rodeo and saw Waylyn’s ponytail bouncing around the warm up pen because they knew there would be one less piece of the pie for the rest of them.  I asked Waylyn if she was ever frightened of April’s speed and snappy turns.  Turns out she wasn’t.  April knew what she was doing and enjoyed her job, making sure not to leave Waylyn behind and working around the fact that the kid was inevitably in her way.  April also loved little Waylyn and would stop on a dime if that girl pulled on the reins. The two friends won buckles and trophies and made their mark across the North Dakota youth rodeo scene for 2 years.  Those two years brought more than awards; they brought friendships and connections, most of which are strong to this day.

April passed in the Davis family pasture after an incident with an esophageal obstruction.  Waylyn helped to rehab her best friend, even going so far as to pick green grass and using Amy’s blender to make a mash so April could still enjoy it.  One weekend, while the Davis girls were away, they got heartbreaking news.  Waylyn said she felt that April, wise and kind as she was, waited for her to be gone so she wouldn’t be the one to find her.  That’s what friends do: they protect one another from the tough times and guard one another’s hearts.

I have a soft spot in my heart for youth horses and April solidified that appreciation.  What April gave to Waylyn is what other youth horses provide to their young jockeys.  April gave Waylyn confidence in not only her riding, but in her relationships.  She lit a fire for horses that continues to this day.  Waylyn went on to other horses – Cinco and Farrah and Ace – and is now a Second Year Vet Student at Kansas State University.  Her mentor is the veterinarian that treated April at the end of her days, Dr. Peterson.  Waylyn will intern at a large racetrack this summer and hopes to go into Equine Orthopedics as her speciality.

Star N April was a stellar barrel horse in both aged and open events, but her greatest accomplishment was lighting the fire for barrel racing, rodeos and horses in general in an 8 year old girl. In doing that, April’s legacy lives on and always will.  The buckles and titles are just window dressing after that.