Jess Goodbye to All, or as they call is her in the barn Tiny, is a 15 year Old Quarter Horse Mare. If you saw Kaila’s other horses, you will probably wonder if I didn’t mix up their names, because Tiny is not the tiniest of the horses, that would be Scotty the Mini. Tiny was Kaila’s barrel racing and pole bending horse for six years, and she is now retired. Now her job is to just have fun and baby site Kaila’s other two horses Scotty & Monalisa. I am certain after meeting Tiny, that the shenanigans of Kaila’s two younger horses are not amusing to her. Kaila has even taken Tiny out to a couple of hunter shows just to play around the year, but compared to her barrel and pole days, her life is pretty calm.
Kaila describes Tiny as, “A no-nonsense kind of horse. After starting her life on the racetrack and then being a performance horse until I partially retired her at the end of 2017, I think that’s where she draws it from. She doesn’t want too much affection or her face being touched, she will nicker at you when you come into the barn or meet you at the pasture gate, but after you’ve said your hellos, she wants her space. She’s the alpha mare in a herd setting and her stall wall has kick marks all over it if any horse dares to get close or look at her while she’s eating.”
“The first time I ever met her was during a lesson with my then next-door neighbor Jennifer Sharp in 2011. I was having trouble with my horse when she offered me to ride the one she was on, which then lead to a lifelong partnership.”
“After buying her in 2012, it took us a couple years and very many ugly barrel runs before things started to come together. With higher confidence In 2014, I entered the AQHA Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo barrel race, but when I realized I was running against 50 other people in my age group in very deep ground, I figured I was just added prize money at that point. After our run, I knew I had clocked relatively well but since I was one of the last to go and with no idea where I was placing so far, I decided to just go back to the stalls and unsaddle my horse instead of waiting around for the results. Shortly thereafter my parents came briskly walking around the corner with a posse of incredibly happy looking people. I quickly acknowledged in a slightly disappointed tone that I was okay with how the run went, but “meh”. My mom stopped me instantly as everyone starts shouting “YOU WON!!!!!! What do you mean MEH?!”. I think I nearly hit my knees in disbelief. That was one of the most exciting memories I have with that horse, and she did more for me in her career than any horse has in my life. That win later took us to the AQHYA world show, where she placed 15th out of over 100 entries in the first round, qualifying us to the finals in which she placed 3rd, and then ended up 10th in the world average. She took me places I could have never imagined and I can only hope that horse knows how much I love her. Although I have over 30 buckles sitting on my shelf, the only one I’ve worn since 2014 is that one with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo logo on it.”
Kaila loves this horse more than life, and she has many accomplishments as well, “She paid for herself in what checks she won me running barrels and poles, she won me my first all-around saddle, thousands and thousands of dollars worth of tack, plaques, statue trophies, buckles, and respect from fellow competitors which of many offered to buy her from me throughout the years.”
“She doesn’t owe me a dime, so she will live out the rest of her life under my care- where I know she’s safe and sound.” – Kaila
Don’t forget to check out Kaila’s other horses’ Scotty & Monalisa on the blog!
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