We live near Augusta, Georgia on a small farm—nothing fancy at all. We have owned Appaloosas since 1972. Our first App was Welcome’s Fourmile Chick. She was the grandam of one of our two stallions, Captain Zip Ahoy. She was a special horse and the beginning of our love of the Appaloosa Horse. She was versatile, smart and seemed to be able to do most anything we asked. During the early years we mainly showed in the local and regional shows. That is when we could. Rick is a retired Army officer and we moved around the country and overseas. We retired here in the '80s—with Chick and a few others. During all the military years we kept our Appaloosas—sometimes the most difficult part of our moving!
 

After retiring here we added another special horse to our farm—Country Captain. He is a son of the great pleasure horse, Zipposcountryboy. We fell in love after seeing him at only a few weeks old.
 

We have found that the cross of these bloodlines has given us an all around versatile horse with a lot of heart. We turned to Jim and Sandy Jirkovsky of J/S Training to show our horses. And they have just astounded us with the successful National and World show record for our two stallions. More importantly, they not only train our horse, but over the last 14 years, have  become two of our closest friends. We trust their judgment and professionalism in all aspects - they will always do what is best for the horse and owner. The support and friendship we have garnered through Jim and Sandy and the support and fun times we have had with the wonderful folks from both the Nebraska Appaloosa Horse Club and the Palmetto Appaloosa Horse Club is beyond value.

Another special person who has been there thru all the highs and lows with both Captain and “Rick” is Jeff Jirkovsky. He has been a special friend. In 2006 Jeff showed “Rick” in the non-pro cattle events earning the 2006 Non-Pro cattle horse award as well as adding points for the Nutrena Award. Thanks for all your do Jeff—and now Melanie.

We have had some great riders in our cattle events—Paul Tierney, Russell Funk and this year the addition of Paul’s son Jesse. Thanks to all of them for their great rides and throws. These guys are the ultimate professionals.