Faster horses
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2 years later, Dually is back at the pay window:
Granite Falls, Minn.-It's a scenario pro barrel racers can only imagine in their darkest nightmares. Waking up in their living quarters trailer at a rodeo, walking out the door only to find that their horse is missing. Worse yet, when the horse is finally found, he has been severely injured from terrible abuse.This is exactly what Wendy Halweg went through on July 5, 2009 at a rodeo in Fort Pierre, S.D. Her great barrel horse, Cheap Dasher or Dually, had been stolen but even worse was the abuse that Dually suffered at the hands of his abductors. The 13-year-old gelding had severe rope burns around his hooves and ankles, some so severe they burned through the tendon sheath, completely exposing the tendon. Another injury caused five tears in the suspensory tendon of his left front leg.
"It was amazing to me, when we put him in front of the vet, Dr. Tornberg, he said it was the worst rope burns he had ever seen in 30 years of practice," she recalls. "It freaked me out."
Just a couple of weeks prior to the incident, Dually and Halweg had set an arena record en route to win the Crazy Horse Stampede. Days before, they won Rough Rider Days in Dickinson, N.D. The duo were well on their way to a first ever Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo qualification.
"I never went very hard to the pro rodeos," says Halweg, whose job as an account executive with a communications company in Mitchell, S.D., keeps her very busy. "That year, 2009, I decided to try for the circuit finals; I made it my goal that year."
Halweg bought the gelding as a 3-year-old, after purchasing his sire, Charley Dash. Her family was looking for some colts that were ready to be ridden so they could see how Charley Dash's offspring would work out. Halweg trained Dually, running him at a few futurities close to home before moving the horse into rodeos. He claimed the NBHA State Finals Championships along with the South Dakota Rodeo Association Finals title during his career.
While Halweg would salvage the year aboard a borrowed horse owned by friend, 11-year-old Shelby Vinson-she won second at the Range Days Rodeo in Rapid City to qualify to her first BCFR-Dually did not get to make the trip with her.
Following recovery of Dually after he was stolen, months and months of rehabilitation followed. The horse spent nearly a month at the veterinary clinic.
"I was scared to take him home," Halweg admits, saying the exposed tendon had her worried that the conditions at her home were not sanitary enough. Dually did go home on August 5, 2009 and a long road awaited both he and Halweg. "I took the challenge."
"I wrapped his legs three times a day and hand walked him about three-quarters of a mile, three times a day," she says. Though progress was slow, Dually began to show signs of improvement. Halweg even bought a treadmill for the horse's recovery.
"It was amazing the number of people who offered their support," Halweg says. "The good people come out when something bad happens. It was a crazy deal - I had people emailing me, 'try this,' and 'this worked for me on a tendon injury.' I tried everything."
While Halweg never anticipated being able to compete with Dually in the rodeo arena again, she knew the horse had a big heart. His recovery continued and one day, Halweg decided to try him at the rodeos again.
"It's an emotional thing. The biggest thing was I did not want to hurt him, to have him come out of the arena after a run limping," she says. She entered Dually at Sturgis two weeks ago and admits to a severe case of nerves before her run in slack.
"It was kinda scary, lots of jitters. I didn't push him," she says of the run. During the warm up, Dually got frisky with Halweg, showing some of the first signs of the horse she knew before the abuse. "He started frogging with me. I had told my dad, the first day he bucks with me, I will know he is better."
The run in Sturgis netted a seventh place finish and a check worth $282. Encouraged, Halweg went to Clear Lake only to find a muddy arena from rain. Choosing to run her back up horse, Bogie Webbs BA Famous Zena, Halweg said she knew she will have to be choosy in her runs for Dually from now on. Next up was the co-approved rodeo in Granite Falls, Minn., the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo.
"He was feeling good and the ground was dry and good. I decided, 'let's try it,'" she says. The result was a winning time of 14.05, better than Great Lakes Circuit Finals Champion Bobbie Jo Bohlman by almost a tenth, and a big check worth $1,303. The check moves the cowgirl from 21st all the way to 11th in the Badlands Circuit in just two rodeos.
For Halweg it's all positive for the coming months as well. She is engaged and planning a move to Rapid City and she will continue to rodeo in her circuit during the summer, picking and choosing her runs for Dually and working on getting together with Zena.
"We are hoping for the circuit finals this year but definitely taking it day by day," she says, noting that Zena should be able to relieve the pressure on Dually during the grind of the season by taking some of the runs.
"I'm pretty tickled at this point. I never thought it would happen."
As for Dually's abuser, 22-year-old Flint Dahl recently pled guilty to inhumane treatment of an animal and was sentenced to spend five days in jail each Independence Day for the next three years as well as paying restitution to Halweg.
"I'm just so blessed by how this has turned out and the people who have supported me along the way," Halweg says.
For more information on Dually, visit www.justicefordually.com. For more information on the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo, visit them on-line at www.granitefallsprcarodeo.com.
(this article came from cuttinupradio.com)
Granite Falls, Minn.-It's a scenario pro barrel racers can only imagine in their darkest nightmares. Waking up in their living quarters trailer at a rodeo, walking out the door only to find that their horse is missing. Worse yet, when the horse is finally found, he has been severely injured from terrible abuse.This is exactly what Wendy Halweg went through on July 5, 2009 at a rodeo in Fort Pierre, S.D. Her great barrel horse, Cheap Dasher or Dually, had been stolen but even worse was the abuse that Dually suffered at the hands of his abductors. The 13-year-old gelding had severe rope burns around his hooves and ankles, some so severe they burned through the tendon sheath, completely exposing the tendon. Another injury caused five tears in the suspensory tendon of his left front leg.
"It was amazing to me, when we put him in front of the vet, Dr. Tornberg, he said it was the worst rope burns he had ever seen in 30 years of practice," she recalls. "It freaked me out."
Just a couple of weeks prior to the incident, Dually and Halweg had set an arena record en route to win the Crazy Horse Stampede. Days before, they won Rough Rider Days in Dickinson, N.D. The duo were well on their way to a first ever Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo qualification.
"I never went very hard to the pro rodeos," says Halweg, whose job as an account executive with a communications company in Mitchell, S.D., keeps her very busy. "That year, 2009, I decided to try for the circuit finals; I made it my goal that year."
Halweg bought the gelding as a 3-year-old, after purchasing his sire, Charley Dash. Her family was looking for some colts that were ready to be ridden so they could see how Charley Dash's offspring would work out. Halweg trained Dually, running him at a few futurities close to home before moving the horse into rodeos. He claimed the NBHA State Finals Championships along with the South Dakota Rodeo Association Finals title during his career.
While Halweg would salvage the year aboard a borrowed horse owned by friend, 11-year-old Shelby Vinson-she won second at the Range Days Rodeo in Rapid City to qualify to her first BCFR-Dually did not get to make the trip with her.
Following recovery of Dually after he was stolen, months and months of rehabilitation followed. The horse spent nearly a month at the veterinary clinic.
"I was scared to take him home," Halweg admits, saying the exposed tendon had her worried that the conditions at her home were not sanitary enough. Dually did go home on August 5, 2009 and a long road awaited both he and Halweg. "I took the challenge."
"I wrapped his legs three times a day and hand walked him about three-quarters of a mile, three times a day," she says. Though progress was slow, Dually began to show signs of improvement. Halweg even bought a treadmill for the horse's recovery.
"It was amazing the number of people who offered their support," Halweg says. "The good people come out when something bad happens. It was a crazy deal - I had people emailing me, 'try this,' and 'this worked for me on a tendon injury.' I tried everything."
While Halweg never anticipated being able to compete with Dually in the rodeo arena again, she knew the horse had a big heart. His recovery continued and one day, Halweg decided to try him at the rodeos again.
"It's an emotional thing. The biggest thing was I did not want to hurt him, to have him come out of the arena after a run limping," she says. She entered Dually at Sturgis two weeks ago and admits to a severe case of nerves before her run in slack.
"It was kinda scary, lots of jitters. I didn't push him," she says of the run. During the warm up, Dually got frisky with Halweg, showing some of the first signs of the horse she knew before the abuse. "He started frogging with me. I had told my dad, the first day he bucks with me, I will know he is better."
The run in Sturgis netted a seventh place finish and a check worth $282. Encouraged, Halweg went to Clear Lake only to find a muddy arena from rain. Choosing to run her back up horse, Bogie Webbs BA Famous Zena, Halweg said she knew she will have to be choosy in her runs for Dually from now on. Next up was the co-approved rodeo in Granite Falls, Minn., the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo.
"He was feeling good and the ground was dry and good. I decided, 'let's try it,'" she says. The result was a winning time of 14.05, better than Great Lakes Circuit Finals Champion Bobbie Jo Bohlman by almost a tenth, and a big check worth $1,303. The check moves the cowgirl from 21st all the way to 11th in the Badlands Circuit in just two rodeos.
For Halweg it's all positive for the coming months as well. She is engaged and planning a move to Rapid City and she will continue to rodeo in her circuit during the summer, picking and choosing her runs for Dually and working on getting together with Zena.
"We are hoping for the circuit finals this year but definitely taking it day by day," she says, noting that Zena should be able to relieve the pressure on Dually during the grind of the season by taking some of the runs.
"I'm pretty tickled at this point. I never thought it would happen."
As for Dually's abuser, 22-year-old Flint Dahl recently pled guilty to inhumane treatment of an animal and was sentenced to spend five days in jail each Independence Day for the next three years as well as paying restitution to Halweg.
"I'm just so blessed by how this has turned out and the people who have supported me along the way," Halweg says.
For more information on Dually, visit www.justicefordually.com. For more information on the Western Fest Stampede Rodeo, visit them on-line at www.granitefallsprcarodeo.com.
(this article came from cuttinupradio.com)
She's been ridin him for a while now...but babies him somethin awful. LOL (Cuz she loves him so much) But last night at the arena...he just flat did not want to slow lope the pattern. She'd trotted him thru several times and he was fine. But when the slow lope came along...he wasn't havin any part of it. I told her to quit babyin him...and let him run. Don't push....just let him pick his speed. decent size arena....and he ran an 18.8. Not fast....but he worked the barrels like he knew what he was doin. Now just gotta finish gettin him legged up.