About the Founder
My name is Nicole Miller. I show a Solid Paint Bred Gelding and I understand the challenges that owners of Solid Paint Bred horses face today. My goal is to accept the challenge and promote these horses and get them recognized.
How I got started
I got started showing Paint horses a few years ago. I never would have known about the Paint horses’ “solid counterpart.” When I was looking for Paint horses to buy, I would automatically cross the Solid Paint Bred Horses out of my list because I wanted to be in the “in” crowd. I look at it like an opportunity to get my foot in the door with the American Paint Horse Association. Quite a few people frowned upon people who had Solid Paint Bred horses and I took note of that. I noticed that there were classes for these horses, but no one entered. I took note of that as well.
It wasn’t until I was told that my Paint mare at the time wouldn’t be good enough to compete with the “top-of-the line” horses that I was showing against.
The highest that I ever achieved with her at a Paint show was 5th out of 15 horses in Novice Youth Hunter Under Saddle. I thought that it was a big accomplishment at the time, considering that I placed above several well known people. I was told that if I kept showing her and trying to work against her confirmation that she would develop problems in her hocks and stifles. I didn’t want to know that I was hurting her and know that it was my fault that I caused her pain, so I sold her.
For several months I looked on the Internet at horses and just didn’t find anything that I thought was “the one.” Some of them sounded perfect, but as I got to talking to the owners, problems emerged and I crossed them off of my list. Either the horse was too far way or had some sort of training problem that someone had caused.
My gift
Contending with Ya, or “Hershey”, came into my life when he was brought to the barn that I was at to be weaned. I knew the man who owner Hershey and his mother very well and I knew that he was a reputable horse person. I was told not to mess with him because he was unpredictable. As he stayed there, I fell in love with him.
Our bond started with me bringing him back and forth from his pasture to the barn. One day, I noticed him shedding heavily and I wanted to help him out. I grabbed a curry comb and went into his stall. After scratching and brushing on him for about an hour, he was following me around, wanting more.
I continued to work with him and taught him to pick up his feet, lounge a little, and how to respect someone while they were doing various tasks with him in his stall. Hershey took everything in stride like a champ.
I was asked if I wanted to buy him. People were trying to talk me out of it because he didn’t have color, saying that it was going to be a big mistake. Now, I’m the kind of person who really can’t take “No” for an answer- plus, I had always wanted to start a horse from the ground up. I bought him, with high hopes of making him into the best horse possible.
I worked on fitting him up for the North Carolina Cardinal Classic Breeders’ Futurity. I played the radio while I was working him, and practiced on setting him up and teaching him a little bit of showmanship. He took everything like he had done it in a past life.
When I took him to his first show, I expected him to be a handful, but surprisingly, he was a natural and acted like an old pro. Hershey was one of the very few in his class that let the judges check his teeth and trotted off. He was the only one to stand square the whole time he was in the class. His competition was practically bouncing off the walls. I even recieved comments from the judges themselves on how "he was the best mannered horse out there."
Although we took 4th in the Futurity, I thought he was a winner. I would much rather have a great time with my horse than money. Although we placed 4th, he did get $200.00 as well as our 4th ribbon and four 1st place ribbons. He also got High-Point in Youth Solid Paint Bred Geldings 18 & Under.
The Journey Continues
The more involved I became with showing him, the more people I had telling me that it was a waste of time and money to buy this horse. I would just look at them as say, “It really wasn’t because he was the one I wanted.” I was allowed to use the money that I received from selling my Paint mare to buy whatever horse I wanted and I chose an unproved Solid Paint Bred gelding.
Well, he has definitely proved himself. I kept showing him and never had a bit of trouble out of him at the shows. I taught him how to do showmanship and I am training him to do Yearling Lounge Line. He is also working on obstacles for Yearling In-Hand Trail.
Up until now, he has won sixteen 1st place ribbons, three 2nd place ribbons, and one 4th place ribbon. I don’t recall him ever being placed below 2nd place, except for the Futurities.
He is now an expert on showmanship and is also an exceptional lounge line horse. Whenever we go to shows, people mistake him for being older than a yearling and compliment me on how well trained he is when I tell them his age. I am honored to have such a great horse and I wouldn’t trade a spot of an ounce of training that I have done.
He is now being ridden at 2 1/2-years-old and is doing wonderful. He is nice and calm about this and is willing to try everything until he figures out what I am asking of him. After much consideration, we have decided not to take him to the Futurities as a 2-year-old because it is not fair to him [mentally or physically]. We are taking his training nice and slow so that one day-maybe- he can go to the American Paint Horse World Show.
When he is finished training, I hope to be able to show him in Western Pleasure, Horsemanship, Showmanship, Hunter Under Saddle, some jumping and even up to 2nd level dressage.
I have high hopes for him and I know that he will make an exceptional all-around preformance horse.
We will be kicking off our show year for the 2011 show season next year, so look for us at some of the shows and come and show with us!
My Goal
My goal is to help people that have these horses, who were just like me, or maybe even had a different start with the American Paint Horse Association. I realize the problems that these horses are facing currently with the American Paint Horse Association and I want to change that for the better. My goal is to make a market for these horses so that they aren’t “kicked to the curb” by breeders and trainers. I would like to see people start coming to these Paint shows and making the American Paint Horse Association, as well as other people, realize that these horses aren’t the “black sheep.”
It might take a while, but I am determined to make this happen for the better. I want to show the American Paint Horse Association that these are Paint horses as well and they should be treated as such. I am going to try to make the Eastern Solid Paint Bred Council as successful as possible and I am not going to give up until something is accomplished. I would definitely call this the “No Spot: No Problem” Campaign.
If you would like to help out, feel free to contact me!
