Iron Eagles Legacy

2000 TWHBEA Adult Supreme Versatility Champion

I first set my eyes on IRON EAGLES LEGACY in September 1994, when he was a couple of weeks old and running with a band of mares and foals at his breeding home, Susan Breed’s Skywalkers Ranch, in Granbury, TX.  It was love at first sight.  His chest and his knees caught my attention first.  In this picture taken at 3 months old, he is the one on the left.  Wide chest, big knees – he grew into these later on, but at that moment, he garnered the nickname of “Brick,” short for Brick House.  I had to have him!  I signed a contract that day for him, and took possession of him less than three months later, at weaning time.   

From the moment that he arrived at Valley View Farms three months later, I was impressed with his docile temperament.  Where most weanlings and yearlings don’t stand still when tied, he was always content to stand still, and not weave and squirm.  When I broke him, he was most cooperative.  Up to this point, however, I was very alarmed that I had NEVER seen him gait at liberty, not even for an instant.  I was informed by the breeder that he WOULD gait, that I should “keep the faith.”  After the training basics, we went out into the pasture.  I asked him to move up a notch.  He attempted to trot, which is all he had ever done.  I was determined that he would never be allowed to trot under saddle, even if it meant all we ever did the rest of his life was dog-walk and canter!  I encouraged him to swing, while at the same time discouraging the trotty movements, so that after a few attempts, he responded with a gait.  It took a little bit of work, but we established that gaiting was the order of the day – and of his life!  While on a trail ride in the fall when he was 2 ½ years old, we attempted a canter, and I was delighted to be rewarded with a slow, rolling, clean-cut canter (no cross firing) on the proper lead I asked.  

We were casually well into earning our versatility points in 1998 when my very dear friend JoAnna Stinson, of Nacogdoches, TX, asked me to go to the TWHBEA Versatility Show in Murfreesboro, TN, with her.  To me, it was too hot, the drive was too long, and it seemed like too much work just to do it, but my husband said that I should go, especially for JoAnna.  Brick wasn’t really ready for anything, so I just put him in a few classes to keep us “occupied.”  We even attempted the basic reining classes that were held that weekend (the TWHBEA Versatility Show, FOSH/PWHAT Summer Jamboree, and the International).  I was aware of how ill prepared we were, but I was not blind to notice some spectacular reining entries during that weekend.  I asked one of the exhibitors how she got the sliding stops without the mouth gaping. 

That was the beginning of our new “career” in reining.  I called, wrote, and read for information on how to learn the reining maneuvers properly.  The first thing I had to do was ditch the curb bit.  That was tough for me, who had a stereotyped curb-bit mentality.    Brick learned that his sometimes-misdirected overexhuberance resulted in small, quick circles.  Spooking resulted in the same.  Before long, he was responding well to the snaffle bit, so we started working on the reining maneuvers.  It has taken 2 years, and we still have a lot to learn.  In our quest for the SVC, I have learned almost as much as Brick has.  Besides the obvious of learning the snaffle bit for training, we have learned serious use of leg aids and body position.

Our final point in our quest for the highly coveted TWHBEA Adult Supreme Versatility Championship (SVC) came in October 2000, in Houston in a reining class, which he won.  What does the future hold for IRON EAGLES LEGACY?  For the immediate present, he will get to enjoy trail rides, ponying the four-legged “babies,” plus a well-deserved rest.  After that, it will be back to learning more of the difficult disciplines that are encouraged in the TWHBEA Versatility Program.        

By Bonnie Smith  

Printed in VOICE of the Tennessee Walking Horse, June, 2001