Karen bought her first horse when she was 35 years old, a late bloomer you might say. His name was Demi and he was a 12 year old Thoroughbred ex-race horse. Needless to say he was more horse than she could handle for her first foray into horse ownership. After a couple of years of persevering with Demi, Karen sold him back to his original owner.
At least 10 years later, in 2010, Karen bought her second horse, Honeycomb Jay (AKA Jay), an Australian Stock Horse, from breeder Des Chappel of Woodford, QLD. Jay was a rising 3 year old and hand only been broken in 6 months earlier. I hear you, a green horse and a green rider don't mix well! But Karen felt so comfortable with this horse, the first time she rode him she was able to canter around a paddock all by herself with no fear what so ever, so she bought him. Suffice to say the next three years were a roller coaster ride for Karen and Jay. Many times Karen wanted to sell Jay to the knackery, many times Karen's husband or neighbour would have to come and help her and Jay get over a bridge, past a guidepost, or through a gateway, many times Karen stopped ridding Jay because she was just too scared.
Karen had lessons from a number of different riding instructors on and off over those three years, but it was a barrel racing school at Gunalda in 2013 that was the turning point for Karen and Jay. After a three day weekend of barrel racing lessons Karen and Jay finally developed a bond, and a mutual respect for each other. A bond that has seen them qualify for the NBHA World Championships in Perry, Georgia, USA.
