Stock Horseman Rides Hard to Stay No. 1

Chub’s Fancy Miss can whirl on her legs like a ballerina doing a pirouette.

She can walk backward as gracefully as a gymnast performing on the balance beam.

And while running at full speed, she can suddenly plant her legs and come to a sliding, dirt-churning stop.

Chub’s Fancy Miss can not only do all these things, she can do them better than most other 6-year-olds in the country. But what’s even more amazing is that her instructor is only 20.

Chub’s Fancy Miss is a quarter horse, and Rob Chown of Bonsall is the young man who trains and rides her. Last year, the two of them won the stock horse event at the Del Mar National Horse Show.

Speed and Precision

They’re aiming to repeat their success at this year’s show, a two-part affair that began Tuesday and runs through Sunday and May 6-10 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Winning the stock horse event at Del Mar is “one of the biggest honors in the stock horse world,” said Robert Drennan, manager of the show’s Western division.

Unless you follow horse shows closely, you might not know much about the stock horse event. It doesn’t get as much publicity as, say, the hunter-and-jumper competition, in which riders dress up like so many English country squires and coax their horses over fences and ponds.

But horse people will tell you that the stock horse event is one of the most exciting of all.

“It can make your hair stand on end,” said Lou Roper, a horse trainer from Rancho Bernardo who has competed in stock horse events. “The horse and rider have to work at a high rate of speed” and still make precision movements.

“It’s one of the most athletic events for horses in any kind of show,” agreed Chown. “These are equine athletes . . . and we ask them to work hard.”

The event draws its name from horses that work with stock animals, particularly cattle. Chown noted that the maneuvers required in the show ring--walking backward, spinning quickly in tight circles and going from a full gallop to a sliding stop--are similar to those required of a working horse on a cattle ranch. In fact, the event is said to have originated when ranchers began arguing over whose horse was best.

Competitors are judged on the quality of their maneuvers and the speed at which they are performed. The event is not timed, but “speed makes the maneuvers tougher and more dynamic,” Chown said. Riders must rein their horses with only one hand, and must not touch them with their free hand.

Although Arabians sometimes make good stock horses, 90% of all stock horses come from the quarter-horse breed, according to Chown.

“Not every horse can do these maneuvers,” he pointed out. “It requires a small, agile horse. To put it in people terms, what you want is a real gymnast--a Mary Lou Retton.”

Versatile Breed

Quarter horses are a versatile, muscular breed developed in the United States from Spanish and English horses that were originally mated in the Colonial days. Their speed, intelligence and good disposition made them favorites of the people who settled the West in the 19th Century.

These days, though, the horses’ skills are now more highly prized in the ring than they are in the pasture. Some animals serve double duty by working on ranches as well as competing in horse shows, but most are bred and trained specifically to perform in the shows. Chown said an average stock horse sells for around $5,000, while a winning mare can bring as much as $30,000.

The wiry, plain-spoken Chown grew up riding quarter horses on his parents’ 40-acre spread near Bonsall. He entered his first riding competition at the age of 3 and began competing in rodeos when he was only 7.

Since 1981, he has specialized in training and riding quarter horses for stock horse-style events. Chown estimated that he travels 100,000 miles a year to enter 30 major competitions around the country.

If that sounds extravagant, consider the prize money to be won--an average of $6,000 to $10,000 per show. Chown won the stock horse world championship in 1982 and has won more than $80,000 in prize money in the last two years.

“It’s unusual for someone his age to be so good at this event,” Roper said. Learning how to train and ride a stock horse well is a skill that usually takes years to develop, he noted.

“Chown is one of the best I’ve ever seen,” Roper continued. “It’s amazing, the smoothness and the precision he has in the ring.”

Chown noted that his parents have been developing a champion line of quarter horses for 15 years. “So I grew up doing this . . . and I was lucky to be able to ride a high caliber of horses at an early age,” he said.

“But I definitely believe in the work ethic, too. It takes about a year to train one of these horses right, and you have to ride ‘em five days a week when you’re getting ready to show ‘em.

“I train my horses to do all the maneuvers perfectly first--then we work on speed. It’s sort of an employer-employee relationship. I don’t try to be their best friend. I want ‘em to like me and respect me, but they’ve got to understand that there’s no arguing.”

As in many riding events, the feel that horse and rider have for each other is of utmost importance. A good stock horse can perceive how fast its rider wants it to go simply by sensing small changes in the way the rider holds the reins.

Sliding Stops

The most difficult--and eye-catching--part of the competition is the sliding stop the horse makes after galloping at full speed across the ring. The stop is similar to a maneuver required for roping cattle, and they tax a horse’s ability to the utmost. The animals “have to learn how to use different parts of their bodies in different ways,” Chown explained. “If they’re not in real good physical condition, they can get hurt.

“Training stock horses is one of the most challenging parts of the horse industry, and it’s a real thrill to get one that’s just right.”

The Del Mar National Horse Show will also feature a “challenge of the breeds,” in which horses of various breeds will compete in five events designed to test all facets of horsemanship, including jumping, trail riding and cart pulling.

Big Red Loretta, a mule that has placed highly in the challenge of the breeds at Del Mar for the last few years, won’t be competing this year; she moved from El Cajon to Arizona along with her owner. But actor William Shatner is expected to compete in the challenge of the breeds on his American saddlebred, T.J.

For a lot of spectators, though, the stock horse competition will be the highlight of the show.

“It’s an event that really gets your blood pumping,” Roper said. “And Chown is the one to beat.”