Sadie Rose

riding Kokopelli Dancer AKA "Stinky"

I started riding at the age of 4, but my dad said “horse” was the first word out of my mouth. I have had a love affair with horses since I can remember being alive. My first riding was done on a huge ranch owned by friends of our family. I learned from the ground up that horses were a lot of fun and a lot of work. But that did not deter me. I wanted to own my horse more than breathing. I finally wore my parents down and officially owned my first horse at the age of 10. My friends and I mimicked whatever TV show, movie or book we had just watched or read. We were characters from “Rawhide”, National Velvet and The Black Stallion.
I joined a youth horse group and learned to care for a horse, handle small emergency health issues, equestrian safety and show riding. As a teenager I was interested in barrel racing and competed in that sport. I was fortunate to grow up in Bonita, California, and area that was once extremely rural. My friends and I roamed the hills on our horses from sunup to sundown in the summers. I never stopped riding even in college and I’ve been lucky to have always been able to have my horse or horses where I lived. My daughter has been riding with me since she was a bump and has had her own horse since the age of 4 as well.
As an adult I am a serious horse camper and really enjoy checking out new horse camping locals around the state of California. I have gotten involved with team sorting and penning and enjoy doing that with my Missouri Fox Trotter. I also use my Fox Trotter as my Pat Parelli Natural Horsemanship project, and proudly, we are Level 2. I love the philosophy of this program that preserves the dignity of the horse and shows him so much respect. I have been riding parades since 1988, averaging approximately 10 parades a year, sometimes more. I have ridden in 2 Rose Parades with the Winchester Widows, in 2002 and 2004. Last year, 2010, I rode the Rose Parade again with the Victorian Roses Ladies Riding Society. Riding those Rose Parades was one of the most memorable and exciting moments of my life. I decided I had to do at least one more. In my other life that doesn’t involve horses, I am a retired teacher of 31 years, and currently tutor on a local Indian Reservation. So many of the skills and lessons I have learned from my time with horses I can apply to my teaching and both horses and children have enriched my life immeasurably.

Kokopelli Dancer was born on April 20, 1995, in Vernal, Utah. As a stallion, his owner had huge expectations for him. He became the 1998 Utah Grand Champion for Missouri Fox Trotters. He is registered as a sorrel and white tobiano in the National Pinto Registry, he is also registered with the American Fox Trotting Breed Association, and he is registered with the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association. He even had his own business card for his stud services. But his most important accolade is he is my best friend. He earned his barn name of "Stinky" because he truly is a little stinker. His curiosity knows no limit. He will pick up the remote and open and shut the truck while I helplessly stand by and laugh. He will throw the portable phone if he can get a hold of it. He can open gates and untie his friends tied up with him at the tie rail. He may even take them for a walk. We have had so many adventures from riding the 2004 Rose Parade, to team penning and sorting, to riding trails some equestrians and horses would never attempt. He is so reliable on trail that both he and I were chosen to lead trail rides for 3 years for our local trail club, The Pine Valley Mountain Riders. He is excited that people watching the Rose Parade 2011 will not only enjoy watching his beautiful, smooth gaits, but his color and proud demeanor impress everyone watching him move. He has not been a stallion since 2002, but he is still a proud and beautiful mount. And like I said, he is also my best friend.