The prison horse up for bid was large and stout - not what most would consider barrel-racing material. But Lana Jason thought his bay coloring was pretty, even if he was a “16-hand tank.”
“I don’t like a little horse,” the 19-year-old explained. Besides, her dad - a horse trainer for the Arkansas Department of Correction - had recommended that she get this horse. She trusted his opinion.
So last fall, Jason and her mother headed from their home near Calico Rock to the Saline County Fairgrounds, where the Department of Correction holds an annual horse auction.
The pair arrived right after the bay had bucked off the inmate riding him. “So Mom was the only one bidding on him,” Jason recalled, laughing.
Her new horse was named Tsunami, but Jason - a regular on the rodeocircuit - renamed him Cash.
“I bet he’ll run barrels,” her dad announced over the microphone as the newly purchased horse was led from the ring.
Jason wasn’t so sure. But after taking Cash out for the first time, she was impressed by his strength.
“Most barrel horses are fine-boned, lean and can run, but they can’t handle deep ground,” she said. “They don’t have the power and muscle to pull out of it.”
But Cash did.
The first time Jason ever ran the horse in a barrel pattern, he caught on quickly.
“He just took to it really, really well. I can show it to him once or twice, and he remembers it.”
As the months went by, Cash continued to trim seconds from his time.
“He started barrels in December. By January, he was hitting 17 [seconds]. By April, he ran a 15.7. He won that night,” Jason said.
Jason and Cash are now sitting in second place in the Rand Rodeo Co.’s Arkansas Family Rodeo finals, which will take place in November.
“He’s running against horses that have been in for five years,” Jason said proudly.
The two also are part of the Chicks and Spurs Drill Team.
“People will ask, ‘Where’d you get your horse?’ They almost don’t believe me when I tell them he came from the prison system,” Jason said. “He doesn’t have the multimillion-[dollar]barrel sires behind him. He’s just a horse.”
Jason and her family also will be at this year’s prison auction, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at theSaline County Fairgrounds. Those who want to view and ride the animals beforehand may do so from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday. Or they can arrive at 8 a.m. on the day of the sale for a preview.
The auction, now in its third year, is a way for the state’s prison farms to trim their herds while ensuring that the horses go to good homes.
“These retired animals would be great for trail- and pleasure-riding,” Correction Department spokesman Shea Wilson said. “They have served ADC well.”
About 35 retired horses, colts and mules will be auctioned off. Last year’s event featured the same number of animals and raised $27,000 for the prison system’s Agriculture Division.
A brochure featuring the horses up for sale can be found at adc.arkansas.gov/Documents/HorseBrochure2013.pdf
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 15 on 09/29/2013