Meet Terra, a 9-year-old, 13 hand Mustang mare and her trainer, Kailey Deknikker of Western Working Horse, LLC. #ShowdownTeamTerra is competing in the Showcase Division of the 2023 Dakota Showdown Horse Trainer Challenge
Terra is a quiet and easy going mare who would be well suited for just about anyone. Since she's smaller, her ideal adopter will be either a small adult or family with handy kids. She would also make a flashy driving horse with training. For a small horse, she tends to be a leader in pasture but is a fair and wise mare. She is a flashy girl, who looks like a small Morgan, and is firmly medium pony size but has a horse brain - the best of both worlds!
She's been well handled since her rescue at two years old, and has been brave and willing in training. She is well started, leads, ties, loads into a trailer and rides quietly, is good for vets and farrier. She's a great all around horse who has the potential to go far - whether she's a trail horse for the smaller members of your family, a 4H horse for your pre-teens, or even a cute pony hunter on the big circuit.
Kailey Deknikker is a young, up and coming trainer currently working under the guidance of Claude Roebuck at Western Working Horse near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She's an accomplished rider and enjoys barrel racing among other equine sports, and her small stature makes her ideal for a horse like Terra who is smaller but has great potential.
From Her Trainer
Terra is a nice little mare and has been started right. She's progressing rapidly and going to make someone a nice partner!
Terra is a quiet and easy going mare who would be well suited for just about anyone. Since she's smaller, her ideal adopter will be either a small adult or family with handy kids. She would also make a flashy driving horse with training. For a small horse, she tends to
Terra first came to Gentle Spirit Horses Rescue in the winter of 2016, due to a huge neglect impoundment near Eagle Butte, South Dakota at the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros. She was a tiny two year old with a filly at her side - just a baby herself but raising a baby. She's been well handled since she was two, participated in the original So You Think You Can Train youth trainer challenge as a three year old with a teenage trainer, and was adopted into a great home. Unfortunately, she returned to GSH the fall of 2022 due to the sale of her adopter's farm. She was unable to progress in saddle training due to her small size and the lack of small enough volunteers to help, so we are thrilled she had the opportunity to participate in the Showdown!
The Dakota Showdown horses will be available for adoption under the Gentle Spirit Horses Rescue contract (or Little Hooves Miniature Horse Rescue contract for ponies KC, Diamond Dave, Belle and Tinkerbelle) to approved adopters through an online bidding process on August 12-13, 2023. The starting bid is $1200. Appointments to meet the horses you are interested in on August 12 are greatly encouraged.