No Horsing Around

Saddled atop her horse, Ike, Brooke McMillian, 9, traversed the Michael Traylor Arena in a clover-leaf pattern, speeding by a row of barrels before stopping at the front gate.

A scorekeeper called time - 19 seconds, just shy of McMillian's dream scenario.

"I was trying to get a 17, but two digits off - I'm proud of that," said McMillian.

Out of the saddle, McMillian wiped the sweat from her face and pulled Ike close for a congratulatory hug.

Just off in the distance, McMillian's baby sister, Hayleigh, 7, sat in a hot pink saddle atop Babe, McMillian's training horse.

She'd ridden Babe as a child, starting right about when she could sit up by herself.

"He's a broke horse, real calm and set back, not always trying to go," McMillian said. "He's 26 or 28 years old in people years; about 49 in horse years."

Babe may have showed McMillian the ropes, but Ike is built for speed, just the way she likes it.

A member of the 4-H Horse Club, McMillian participated in last Wednesday's 4-H Horsemanship School to improve her scores in the barrels and poles - two popular speed events.

"I've learned you have to be able to trust your horse and move with him to have a good time and a good score," said McMillian. "If I wasn't going with him, I'd either fall off or hit a barrel."

In her second year in 4-H, Desiree Outlaw, 10, wasn't looking for a perfect score in the barrels or poles.

Her goal, she said, was "trying to stay on a horse," after a rocky start last year.

The Horsemanship School taught McMillian, Outlaw and 16 other participants, aged 8-18, the fundamentals of horse racing, care and maintenance.

Held six five-hour days over a two week period, the school was led by horse racing professionals who imparted the secrets of the sport.

Last Wednesday, Wendy Temple of Blountstown emceed the event as the students performed on the field.

A professional barrel racer, Temple earned her pro card this year, after many years attending similar 4-H activities as a child.

In his twentieth year as the county's extension director, Roy Lee Carter marveled at the students' patience and willingness to learn from riding mentors.

Carter believes kids raised to care for horses become responsible adults, more willing to accept life's challenges.

"That's a carry over," said Carter. "Getting up and going to a job every day shouldn't be that hard."

At the camp, Carter's 15-year-old grandson Quentin rode Sunshine, a 22-year-old horse ridden by his father, Roy Lee, Jr.

"He was a hot shot back in the day," laughed Carter, noting that Sunshine has since lost a bit of his splendor.

All those participating in the Horsemanship camp are members of the 4-H Horse Club, which meets the second Monday of every month at the arena.

4-H stages horse shows every second Saturday for 10 months out of a year, August and September excluded because of the hot weather.

Riders who place in district shows are eligible to participate in the state competition. At the district show in Marianna this April, six riders qualified.

Though McMillian is only nine, Carter sees her potential to one day become a state champion.

As for sister Hayleigh, she needs a little more training and a slightly faster horse.

As the timekeeper clocked Hayleigh's score at over half a minute, McMillian evaluated her little sister's performance.

"It's not her fault," McMillian said definitively. "She was going with the horse, but he's just old."

County extension director Roy Lee Carter extends his thanks to those who made this year's 4-H Gulf County Horsemanship School a success: program director Debbie Elia, program assistant Louise Jones, volunteers Sherry Davidson, Kelly Smith, Julie Wester, Anita Outlaw, Emily Cutchins, Jean McMillian and Russell McMillian.