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Horse of the Month: by Rebecca Sparenberg |
Shirlee Busbee sat at her slightly worn kitchen table leafing through her new copy of the 1994 edition of the Encyclopedia of the Horse. Suddenly her fingers froze on the crisp page. The encyclopedia was brimming with color pictures and tasty tidbits about flashy Warmbloods, draft horses that made mountains look small and hot-blooded Thoroughbreds and Arabs that could give NASCAR a run for their money; but Shirlee didn’t really care for any of them. Instead her eyes where fastened to the photo of a 13.2 hand pony. He was a stunning black pinto with graceful sloping shoulders, a short back, strong haunches and big brown eyes that spoke to Shirlee’s soul. She read the title: American Shetland Pony. Shirlee and her husband, Howard, had raised several grade ponies for pleasure, but nothing compared to this stunning creature.
They started with one mare, Sandman Cody’s Cinnamon N.T.A., and built a dynasty of tiny, four-hoofed champions. Within years Cinnamon’s first foal, Cinnamon’s Cayenne Label, sired by the champion halter stallion, Scotch Label, had several championships under her proverbial belt and was well on her way to the Hall of Fame as a halter horse. They bred three other mares to Scotch Label, but it seemed impossible that any could surpass the high bar set The Burbees were terribly mistaken. The best was yet to come, and his name was Step-N-Stone’s Kahlua-N-Cream. Sweet from Start to Finish Dianne Jarvis can distinctly remember the first time she saw Kahlua-N-Cream, affectionately known as Luah, frolicking with a group of other 2-year-old colts at the Busbee’s farm in Northern California’s Covelo. An unfortunate neck injury had knocked Dianne out of the saddle, but horse was in her blood and even a major injury couldn’t keep her away. “I couldn’t just give them up,” explains Dianne. “I have been in horses all my life and I have done everything—dressage, jumpers, you name it. I was interested in ponies and driving, but minis were just too small. But Shetlands, well they look just like
little horses.” “It was a good trade for the Busbees because they knew I was planning to show him, and that would help promote their farm. But explaining what I had done to my husband was a different matter. I had to tell my husband, ‘Look what I got you!’ Just to get the barn doors open,” says Dianne, with a smile in her voice. “On his papers, the owners are listed as myself, my husband Steve, and our good friend Arlene Niegel.” Dianne knew Kahlua had the natural charisma and flash movement to be a knockout in the show ring, but she wanted to give him ample time to develop and come into his own before making his showing début. She waited to until 2004 before entering him in the Shetland show at the Santa Cruz County Fair. With his head held proud, his knees snapping high and his hooves fluttering across the sand, Kahlua pranced into the show ring like he owned the place; and from that moment on, he did. Little Package, Lots of Punch With the help of Dianne’s mentor and show partner, Holly Bowers, the pair were more than ready and Kahlua’s first show was a smashing success. There were two judges and both awarded Luah the tri-color in the Classic Senior Stallion division. It was his first championship, but it wouldn’t be his last. In 2005, the pair went to the Area Seven Championships in Redbluff and once again dominated—they claimed the blue in the Senior Classic Stallion division. After that Dianne decided it was time for Luah to test his stuff against the big kids. The pair made their way across country to participate in the 2005 American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC) National Championship Congress Show in Gifford, IL. Dianne expected Kahlua to do well, but his performance exceeded even her wildest expectations. He took home the blue in both the Classic Model Stallion Class and the Three & Four-Year-Old Classic Stallion Class, and was awarded the title of Senior Champion Classic Stallion. Kahlua’s performance at the 2005 Congress earned him the recognition as a halter horse in the ASPC Hall of Fame. In 2006 Dianne and Kahlua made the big jump from the Classic division to the more competitive Modern Pleasure division. Kahlua proved that a true star shines in every sky. At his first show in 2006, the Oregon Gold Show, he took home three tri-colors in his new division. Then at the 2006 Nationals and the 2006 World Show at the Ohio State Fairground he claimed the titles of Modern Senior Model Champion and Grand Champion. The highlight of his showing career, thus far, also happened when Kahlua was named the 2006 Pony of the Year for Modern Pleasure Halter. “He just has that indefinable ‘something’ that makes him really special,” says Johnny Robb, Director of Marketing for the ASPC. Johnny is a longtime friend of Dianne’s and has watched the pair move up the ranks. “There is just something in the way that Kahlua carries himself that just makes you want to stop and watch him go. Heads are always turning when he enters the ring.” The pair took 2007 off and Kahlua’s first crop of foals hit that spring. Just to show that things all come back around his first foal was out of Shirlee and Howard’s mare. Just as flashy as her father, Step-N-Stone Dazzle-N-Amber is a lovely golden buckskin filly. In fact, four out of six of his current get are buckskins. For now Kahlua is enjoying the lush life of a breeding stallion, but Dianne is looking forward to heading back to the show ring soon. She wanted to give Luah time to grow-up and mature a bit more before starting him with a buggy. “Luah has done anything and everything I have ever asked of him. And we haven’t even started driving yet!” Dianne says she can only think of one word to describe Kahlua, “phenomenal!”
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