Crisanda Inc. Performance Horses™

~ Let There Be Rock ~
"Rock"
4/15/09

Above is my daughter's new AQHA roan gelding, "Let There Be Rock", the 2010 Nile Futurity winner.

Rock #1

Rock #2

Here's a little "inside scoop" on Let There Be Rock.

I wanted to do something special for my daughter Amanda this year for Christmas. She has a heart of gold and has always helped me out with the workload here. She wanted pearls for Christmas. I told her they were to expensive....lol.

So mid October she invited me to attend the Nile (a huge yearly livestock exhibition show and sale)...I knew what she was up to, but under estimated my complete lack of self control...big mistake! I of course should have known I wouldn't be able to contain myself in the presence of such beautiful animals! I immediately began checking out all the nice horses and go completely off track when I eye spy the handsome Palomino "Kickin' Some Can". As hard as she tried Amanda couldn't seem to get me back on track after I saw him. Amanda and Leslie (her horse back riding friend) kept saying no....you don't need him (Rio), he's a barrel horse, and you don't ride, and she kept telling me "no mom"....She gave up trying after she knew I wasn't leaving without him. As you can see I didn't listen.....Lol! I knew he (Rio) was coming home with me that day and I wasn't leaving without him. That decision cost me a bundle.

So after I bought him Amanda kind of gave up and figured I had just spent her horse money (actually my horse money...lol) and that we were done. She kind of got bummed out after that but she kept telling me "it's ok mom really....I'll work with him (Rio/palomino) figuring that she now had a barrel racing horse that I "made" her buy. Then the morning goes on and she sees a pretty filly in the futurity. She was a very pretty filly, quiet and calm, very well trained and who ended up taking second in the futurity. So thinking "what could a baby cost" (wrong!) I bought her the filly (another several thousand dollars gone...geesh). Amanda was over the moon thinking she had her a nice filly for halter next year.

Ok, thinking we're done I start for home to access the $$ damage. Then I see Rock. He was a knockout!! I had to stop and ask his breeder Doug about him. I find out he's a full older brother to the filly I had just bought. I had to run tell Amanda about him. She loved Rock and thought he was awesome, but she wouldnt even "go there" in her mind because horses of his caliber were going for high dollar in the sale ring, and she knew Rock would be up there because he was so well trained, pretty and already a futurity winner. I figured he go high, but I kept saying to her if you want him I'll buy him for you...she kept saying "no mom!!" He'll go to high (and believe me he did), but I said well let's stick around and see what he does go for. The horse before him sells for $21,000.00. I about faint. This is not going to happen because the average for nice ranch geldings was $10,000.00 and Rock was knockout and a stud.

The best part of the entire sale was Amanda and Leslie (her friend) were sitting in front of me on the bleachers. Not until the bidding started did I know I would actually bid on him, but I reasoned with myself that if the bidding starts at a decent price I would at least try. So Amanda and Leslie are sitting there watching him in the ring and don't even realize my scheme. Not wanting to get her hopes up I say nothing or that I was even considering bidding on him. His bidding starts and because my number was down beside me, and in my sale catalog they just assume I'm not bidding. I had talked to the auctioneer marker before hand telling him that if the price was right I would be bidding on this horse and would only be slightly nodding my head. He got the hint. Wink.

When Rock came up for bidding I never moved, I never flinched. His sale price moved up quickly with each fancy step he took, and then just hung there for what seemed like the longest time on my high bid...(thousands of dollars gone I'm thinking...lol)...they had to sort out the on line bidding and phone bidding that was going on at the same time. I held my breath....then the auctioneer worked the bid one last time and said I'm done, I'm done, "going going gone! Sold to the high bid in the corner!"...(me)..lol! Amanda and Leslie still don't realize that it was me that bought the horse. They just figured it went to someone up in the higher arena seats in the corner.

By this time I knew Amanda had already let Rock "go" in her mind and heart so when Rock's bidding far exceeded (by thousands) what I told her I would spend on him Amanda and her friend just figured he was gone. But I guess in my heart I wanted her to have him because she's such a good kid, and I think I really knew that day I wasn't leaving without him. I paid dearly for that decision believe me! LOL!

When the auctioneer marker asked for my bid number he looked directly at Amanda and Leslie. It was priceless. He couldn't have done it better if I had asked him too! LOL! They of course didn't have a clue, their mouths dropped wide open as if to say "what the hell is he talking about, we didnt buy this horse!" and they looked at each other like they had seen a ghost. Their faces and necks flushed deep red and they just had this deer in the headlights glaze go over their faces! LOL!

Unable to really process or comprehend what was going on in an instant they simultaneously, like finely choreographed dancers, whipped their heads around and stared at me with a look as if to say "what the hell just happened? What is going on?" Their faces were blank, shocked and stunned. Amanda was so stunned her eyes were kind of dazed and her mind must have been racing to figure out what just happened. Leslie (her friend) was just about as stunned. Their faces and necks were flushed to the color of red roses....I mean beat red!! They didn't know what to say or think I'm sure by the look of their faces.....When I said to Amanda "I guess he's yours" "Let There Be Rock"...Amanda said she nearly fainted sitting down! I think Leslie was just as light headed. Lol. Even the breeder who was riding Rock in the ring said he was watching their reactions as the bid closed and he thought their reactions were priceless and it was so great she got the horse. They certainly were both speechless...It was priceless. I hope it was as special for her as it was for me.

Believe me pearls at their finest would have been cheaper! LOL! God keep me away from the Nile and next time remind me to buy pearls!! I think I said that already right? LOL!

Rock On!

Rock joins our other lovely performance horses here at Crisanda. Take a peek at him in the video clips above!

~~~~~~