Scruffy, Sandra's great rescue project, welcomes you to Sandra's Horsey Page. Scruffy's our junior horse, but he's the boss now. When younger, he liked to chase the senior boys, Star & Buddy, around with a stick.
Sandra says, "I had to wait until I was almost 40 to get my first horse, an 18-year-old quarterhorse gelding named Osage Star Champ. (Old Star). Star's age (33) finally caught up with him in July and he's buried on his favorite hillside below the barn. He was a black bay with a white star, and a graduate of the (defunct) Central Missouri State University Equestrian program - he was there long enough that he probably qualified as a graduate assistant. Star was bred at the Apperson ranch near Welch, Oklahoma.
The next year, we got Buddy (Bar Buddy Leo), who was 14 (and died in 2004 at age 32), so Bill & I could ride together. Buddy was a chestnut with a blaze and 4 white feet, and was also a CMSU graduate. He was bred in the Ozarks and was the joker of our equine family - great at untying knots, but his favorite trick was to plod along on a trail ride until he crossed a creek, then climb out bucking! When that Scruffy has been elevated to Boss Horse, Buddy used all his smarts to keep Scruffy confused.
In 1990, we added yearling Scruffy, who was one of 9 horses trying to make a living on 20 Ozarkian acres about 3 miles from our place - he was so weak from starvation and worms that we had to sling him from the ceiling (we'll get up a picture sometime) until he could stand on his own. Scruffy supposedly has a racing quarterhorse pedigree but was never registered.
Scruffy now lives by himself in an 1880s barn, and is no longer allowed to share the 50 acres of pasture (plus woods & creeks) with deer & wild turkey. He still gets and Yum-yum for dinner every evening - He's mostly a "pasture ornament" and doesn't have to work, so he thinks he's in horse heaven.
Ahab became an official member of the family on August 10th, 1997 and died on November 25, 2001. Ahab was a Jordanian Arab with a heck of a story (see the article in the June 1996 issue of Arabian Express Magazine for the details).
Missouri Rodeos Sorry, we haven't been able to obtain the schedule since 1997. However, Missouri Rodeo Cowboys Association (MRCA) is the governing body for many of the rodeos throughout the state, including the State Finals at the State Fair in August. Other rodeos are sponsored by several other associations whose links we do not have.
Janet's Horsin' Around on the Web Page has great rodeo links.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association is the home of the top rodeo nationwide association, where the top cowboys are.
Horseweb is another thorough site.
Equestrian Elaborations has links sorted by type - you can even find horse tours in Australia here!
Sorry, we seem to have lost the links for some of the other sites.