By Tommy Brannon
And you think you travel a long way to show your horses!
There is a common practice at many horse shows for the announcer to ask the participants who has traveled the farthest to attend the show. Most of the time the person who gets that prize has come from a few hundred miles away, and on occasion, someone has come from across several states.
One horse enthusiast showing in AQHA shows in the Mid-South this summer, however, has everyone’s travel distance beaten. Paula Nelson is a school teacher in Guam, way on the other side of the International Date Line. She teaches art in the school system for U.S. military families on Guam and has stationed herself in Russellville, Arkansas while on summer break. Paula is working with her trainer Jeff Honey in Greenbrier ,Arkansas.
Paula has been using Jeff as her trainer since 2010 and he has helped her find her last three horses. Paula recently purchased her five-year-old bay mare Never on Impulse (Lilly Bell) from Jeff and is showing her in Green Western Pleasure. She says that her plans are to show Lilly Bell in the Novice Amateur Western Pleasure division next year.
In 2007 Paula purchased her first horse and has now had five horses – all mares. She said, “I will keep on until I find a keeper.” Lilly Bell may be the one. “I like mares that have good conformation, and are feminine looking.” Thinking long term, she said that when she retires she would like to start a breeding operation in the mid-south.
And you think you travel a long way to show your horses!
There is a common practice at many horse shows for the announcer to ask the participants who has traveled the farthest to attend the show. Most of the time the person who gets that prize has come from a few hundred miles away, and on occasion, someone has come from across several states.
One horse enthusiast showing in AQHA shows in the Mid-South this summer, however, has everyone’s travel distance beaten. Paula Nelson is a school teacher in Guam, way on the other side of the International Date Line. She teaches art in the school system for U.S. military families on Guam and has stationed herself in Russellville, Arkansas while on summer break. Paula is working with her trainer Jeff Honey in Greenbrier ,Arkansas.
Paula has been using Jeff as her trainer since 2010 and he has helped her find her last three horses. Paula recently purchased her five-year-old bay mare Never on Impulse (Lilly Bell) from Jeff and is showing her in Green Western Pleasure. She says that her plans are to show Lilly Bell in the Novice Amateur Western Pleasure division next year.
In 2007 Paula purchased her first horse and has now had five horses – all mares. She said, “I will keep on until I find a keeper.” Lilly Bell may be the one. “I like mares that have good conformation, and are feminine looking.” Thinking long term, she said that when she retires she would like to start a breeding operation in the mid-south.
