The Story of First Bidder

The story of my 9 yo geld. "First Bidder" by Dash Ta Fame is one worth writing. As it is an incredibly unique one. While this horse has yet to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo or win any type of World Title, what he has done as a green horse is pretty much unheard of in our sport. In a very short time of probably 8 mos running the pattern he has already outrun some of the best horses in the country & won $15,000 hauling locally.

What you may not know is First Bidder now known as Jose crossed my path once before I actually ended up with him. He was consigned & I first viewed him @ the Heritage Place Horse Sale in OKC in the 2005 Fall Mixed Sale. Of course being by Dash Ta Fame I decided to take a look @ him. He was undoubtly the most unruly horse @ the sale, bolting throught the stall, dragging his handler & almost clearing the exercise ring. With that behavior I chose to stay clear of "First Bidder" Never did I think we would meet again roughly a year later.

In Aug. of 2006 Kim Thomas called me about several cheaper sale horses she was wanting to move & one was a Dash Ta Fame with a high speed index. The owner was wanting to sell out because she had been injured. I rode the horse there who was just race track broke & shot her an offer which they readily took. I loaded the horse & headed back to my ranch in Purcell, Ok. but all the while was thinking I had seen this horse before. Being in the business, I don't normally forget the horses I have seen. Good, bad or indifferent. It slowly dawned on me that this was the horse that was @ the sale & it also hit me, I forgot to ask an ever important question when I bought the horse. "Was this the horse that hurt the owner?..."

When I first got Jose, I noticed his owners listed towards the end on his papers were all mexican. Jose was a match racing horse in Tx & Okla for quite awhile since his official track records end in 2001 with earn. of $39,000 & a high speed index of 110. This horse has had 8 or 9 owners then a few more than that. He went through the sale @ Heritage then he went through the sale @ Clovus, Nm. after that. This horse had been shuffled around so many times it was amazing to think I would ever run into him twice.

I saddled him & rode him the day I got him home from Kim's. And that was when he would confirm my fears of being that same crazy horse I had seen @ the sale. He walked around on his hind feet, bucked, spooked & I thought @ a point would probably end up hurting me. He was 16H of uncontrollable animal. I told myself a few more days like this & I am done with this horse.

Allthough, Ilike to think I have strong perserverance, there was something that kept me going on with this horse. A conversation I once had with Vicki Solomnson when I was @ the futurity in Neb. Although she probably can't recall the conversation, I never forgot it. We had just met & I was picking her brain on the Dash Ta Fame breeding. I had noticed the day before her string was a little unruly itself. She told me "these horses are not mean, they are just high on life & play hard". And that phrase alone kept me saddling Jose everyday. Everyday I told myself "He is not out to kill me, he is simply playing" & everyday he was better than the last. So much better he went to the barrel pattern in a very short time. He was so smart he could find them & he was so athletic & soft he could just turn them. Really the riding him around was the real problem with him & to this day he still may buck or strike @ another horse that is too close.

Michelle Noterman, helps me ride everyday & everyday she would tell me go faster on him. I thought she was nuts for pushing him but he could literally do anything we threw @ him. With only 30 days barrel horse training @ his first race @ Guthrie, Ok. he was in the 2D @ a 300 hd. show. The Central 4D Finals I was hoping to run him in the 2D again, he ran in the 1D top 8 every round. The World Barrel Racing Finals, he ran 12th out of 2450 horses which was his first race to ever run without an exhibition & only 4 mos into training. He is a super horse there is no mistaking it & although I have been blessed to train some really good ones. Jose is my great one that found his way to someone that will never take for granted where he came from & who he is today.

~~Kendal Owen
First Bidder's credentials

9/1/2006 FIRST RACE ENTERED Lazy E Guthrie 6 tenths off
9/15/2006 Central 4D Finals Jackpot, 7th out of 275
9/16/2006 Central 4D Finals Jackpot, 8th out of 248
9/17/2006 Central 4D Finals Jackpot, 4th out of 248
9/29/2006 Bar Nothin Barrel Bash 11th 2D
Bar Nothin Barrel Bash WPRA DT 10th
10/1/2006 Bar Nothin Barrel Bash WPRA DT 6th
10/7/2006 VF Farms 7th 2D
10/8/2006 VF Farms, 5th 2D
10/19/2006 ABRA National Finals, 1st 1D
10/20/2006 ABRA National Finals, 1D 350 hd
10/22/2006 ABRA National Finals 4th Short Go
10/28/2006 Shawnee Hearland Tour 2D
10/26/2006 Mustang Okla 1st 1D
11/9/2006 World Barrel Racing, 12th 1D 2450 hd
11/9/2006 World Barrel Racine 4th 1D Incentive
1/28/2007 BBR World Finals 6th 1D go 1
1/28/2007 BBR World Finals 9th 1D
1/28/2007 BBR World Finals 1D Incentive
1/28/2007 BBR World Finals Short Go 1D-19th
1/28/2007 BBR World Finals Incentive
2/11/2007 Central 4D 7th 1D 273 hd.
2/24/2007 Waco D&G Race 2
2/25/2007 Waco D&G Race 3
3/3/2007 Heartland Tour Ada, Ok. 3rd-1D 300 hd.
3/10/2007 Claremore Central 4D 1st over Hotshot
3/18/2007 Lone Star Arena 6th 1D 700 hd.
3/31/2007 Stillwater Heartland 7th-1D
4/1/2007 SSRA Tulsa 1D-4th
4/6/2007 Hamilton, Tx.
4/20/2007 89ers Days Rodeo, Guthrie 1st both goes
5/12/2007 Lindsey Rodeo 1st by 4 tenths
5/19/2007 Claremore 2nd 1D

(Layed up for Tooth Abcess/Surgery 2 mos.)

7/6/07 Won Chickasha, Okla. Rodeo

(shoeing catastrophe 1 mo.)

8/10/07 Summer Shootout 8th out of 748 hd 1st Go

8/12/07 Summer Shootout 6th 1D Finals

8/24/07 MEGA, Jackson, MS 7th 1D

MEGA Jackson, Ms. Finals 13th 1D

9/1/07 6th 1D Heartland Tour, Lazy E Guthrie, Okl. 17.2 standard pattern

9/2/07 2nd 1D Lazy E Heartland Tour 17.1 Standard pattern

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