Where does one start when trying to describe the life of a great horse?
Not everyone gets blessed enough to have a great horse. I know that greatness is definitely subjective, but if you are lucky enough to get one in your life that saved you, shaped you, or just made your life significantly better in some way, you had a great one.
One of the greatest horses I have ever had the pleasure to ride was Jons Chub Ole Man, more affectionately known as “Seven”. Many people knew him and several friends rode him. He may not have been someone else’s definition of great but for me he was one of the greatest.
We acquired “Chubs” as a green broke 2 year old when I was 11. My mom purchased him for herself as a barrel horse prospect. I could ride him as a 2 year old in a halter when we got him. I actually don’t remember a time he wasn’t broke. When we got him home, we decided that while it was fitting for such an easy keeper, “Chubs” was not a name we could live with. Mom said that there was professional barrel racer who had a good horse named, Seven. We liked it and it stuck.
He was a very smart, almost human smart at times. He could very clearly express what he did and did not like. He loved treats after a ride or an event. He also liked to receive treats after another horse at the trailer had done an event. If you forgot, he would gently remind you with a laser focused stare, or head flip. If you did not notice that, he would paw and dig as big of a hole as was necessary until you figured it out. Every horse on our place can thank Seven for that reward system he put into place and they all still enjoy today. He loved having his face rubbed, mostly after the bridle came off, but really anytime you wanted to scratch around his eyes, he would be into it until he progressed to rubbing his whole head up and down your body to get every itch scratched. It was not uncommon to almost be knocked off your feet.
He did not like parades, and was a complete nut if you tried to get him through one. While he knew all of the gaming events, he refused to do any of them faster than a jog. If you tried, he would intentionally hit barrels and poles and do it accurately with your knee or shin. He could be very jealous and once watched me ride off on my young barrel horse, before riding him. I returned to him staring intently, sweating, and standing next to a gigantic hole. When I got on him to rope, he was acted like an idiot, jigging around and spooking at everything. It’s the only time in his life he ever came out of the rope box and stopped just before I threw and caused me to miss. He completely leveled out after that. Walked out of the arena, back to normal and was perfect in his next event. It was just his way to show his displeasure and get even. I recognized this and respectfully always rode him first after that.
Seven changed me from an ok goat tyer to a really good goat tyer. From the first time I stepped off of him, I started winning. Tying in personal bests immediately. He gave me so much confidence. He was naturally so good as a goat horse, always watching the goat, staying straight until I stepped off and moving out if a goat ever ran in of front him. I knew he would never cross the rope. (Except once and it was because he didn’t want to run through a mud puddle). We won several goat tying buckles and saddles in our career. We won the State in high school rodeo in 2002, went to Nationals, won a round there and went into the short go 4th (my goat got up in the short round) Won 3 Northwest Region College saddles, went all 4 years to the College National Finals Rodeo and was the number one goat tyer in the nation my senior year before going to the finals. I had a great run but it was all because of Seven.
Becoming a rope horse was a little more labor intensive. I started roping on him, having never really trained him to do so. He just kind of went where I told him, but he needed some formal training. We sent him to Danna Stovner for this. She had him a couple months and shared honestly with us, that she could keep him another month but she wasn’t sure he was going to make it as a breakaway horse. He didn’t love Danna because she made him work and work hard. And up to that point, being a baby and having the goat horse gig, he felt that was good enough. We brought him home and he pouted for several weeks. I spent the winter going to roping practice, with the plan of getting him a little more along and selling him in the spring. But by spring, him and I had come to an agreement and we were hitting our stride. Seven would give me the same run every time. While he was not a big stopper (having his signature quartered stop) he rarely ever broke the barrier. We weren’t always the fastest, but we placed often. In high school and college rodeo, that was the game and we were good at it. We placed at state in high school and went to nationals, we won 2 NW region college rodeo breakaway saddles and went 3 years to the CNFR.
After college, we dabbled in amateur rodeo, but it really wasn’t our set up. I was pregnant with Laramie anyways, so I slowed down. When I was 9 months pregnant, I decided to ride to the neighbors where everyone was roping. I threw on a bareback pad and got on. Seven would not go any faster than a trot and even that was difficult to get him to do. He knew I was different and was not going to let me bully him into doing something he was not comfortable doing, which was shaking up an unborn baby. After Laramie was born, he was my most trusted horse to ride with her. When she could ride on her own, he was the one to babysit. He even willingly packed her through the barrels despite that not really being his thing. He eventually got to come out of retirement and go back to breakaway and goat tying when Laramie started Jr. High rodeo. He made his last goat run for her at the age of 28.
Since then, he has been retired, living out his days in the home pasture at Ferdinand. He has been fortunate enough to spend the last several winters in Clarkston, where the weather isn’t as harsh. Which leads us to today. Seven has been turned out into Heaven’s pastures. He was 32 years old this year, 30 of which were spent with us. I could not have asked for a better horse to be placed in my life. And I hope that everyone gets to have a horse like him in their's. He was a great one and he will be missed. 🐴❤️
