Deb Drenton Hi, my name is Debbie Drenten. I am sure lots of you have seen the red dodge truck with aluminum trailer hauling one of the greatest horses ever: Hondo Lane. I am married to Don, one of the greatest horsey husbands and worlds greatest Glass-Ed test caller around.
I am taking a step into never never land showing first level this year. Hondo can do it, but I don't know about the big bump on his back. I have had horses since I graduated from high school, ummmmmmmmmm a few years ago. I got a job on co-op my senior year and bought a beautiful Appaloosa/Arab mare. I went home and told my mom she was so beautiful she looked like she ran through a mud puddle and dried that way. Her name was Happy and happy she made me and was my whole life for a long time. She was greenbroke and I a green rider., needless to say if I had a $100 for every time she dumped me and let me walk home I would be a millionaire !!! I even once told my mom after riding "Happy dumped me today but actually it was kinda fun", pretty bad when falling off starts being fun. But my great mare taught me to love and ride. I bred her to Arab stallion and got beautiful filly which I was going to sell, but couldn't, so now I was the owner of two horses.
Don was a city kid that knew nothing about horses until he met me and than he found out what putting up hay was and spending the day at the barn scooping poop. He enjoyed it so much he bought a buckskin mare. He learned that really pretty wasn't a good reason to buy a horse, Needless to say we ended up selling her after she found out she could rear up and fall over backwards with riders on back. Don and I got married on my sister’s farm in Gobles, Mi using some friend’s horses in the wedding and, of course, me riding down the isle on my beautiful mare, Happy, with mom and dad walking on each side of me. I spent alot of great hours on Happy and shed many tears on her shoulders. Happy contacted eye problems, alot of Apps get moon blindness and went blind. She did fine out in pasture with other horses and I still rode her even on trails after going blind and she did great. After being friends for 35 years, she left me at 39 years old . Don and I moved to South Carolina for about nine years and took three horses down with us. While down there, I bred Shenandoah to a Hanoverian stallion. I watched Hondo be born, which was so cool. Hard to believe he is out of my 14.2 hand part Arab mare. He was almost as big as Shenandoah when he was born. Shen also went blind with moon blindness. I am not like many other horse owners and know for fact that blind horses can live and still perform, if owners make a little more effort being with them and giving them a chance. I know, I had two.
We also bred another App/ TB cross mare to same stallion and got Velvets Golden Fawn. She is one month older than Hondo. I showed her in walk trot class at Glass-Ed when Hondo foundered, and won year end Championships on her while she was filling in for Hondo.
Hondo was two years old when we moved back to Michigan and we hired a huge show van from Kentucky to haul five horses back to Michigan. Hondo was walking up ramp into trailer and spooked and fell off the ramp. Well after that little scare he decided he wasn't going. Even though we had all the other horses loaded up and waiting to go. To make long story short, it took us four hours and five people to finally get him loaded!!! I was so close to selling my dream horse to a good friend in South Carolina. He was quite a wild man in his younger years. Some of you will remember him dragging Don down Mystic Marsh driveway holding on to only saddle stirrup. lol And many remember him running over people. And at one time I had to have two halters on him when tied to horse trailer while tacking him up, as he'd pull back and break one, so had to have second one on him for a safety net.
Hondo is now twelve years old and settled down and ready to get to work. We have been showing Glass-Ed for five, maybe six years. I will never forget my first show, I had what I didn't know at time was an illegal bit and was in warm up and guess who jumped all over me? Margaret Spencer. lol How ironic I have now turned to Margaret to help MEEEEEE learn to ride better. Hondo can do it. It’s me that is having problems. We have really enjoyed showing and meeting and making friends being a Glass-Ed member and look forward to the shows and year end award banquets every year. I am very proud of my boy, I have taken him from day one and growing with Hondo and learning to be one together. Don teases me and is very proud of me, but calls me a spoiled brat when I come home from year end banquets with high point and High percent championships each year. But it’s been a long road and, hopefully Hondo and I can travel it alot farther.
Oh before I go, I must say I am very proud of Don riding Fawn over at Equine Line, at the Benefit show for Margaret. Fawn is not an easy horse to ride! Who, like my first horse would rather dump you as soon as look at you. And Don has experienced that at a clinic Mary had a couple years ago.
Hope to see you all at the show. Don, Deb and Hondo Lane
