Roo Star, a 1999 stallion by Gallo Del Cielo, and his crew accepting the $25,000 award from Featherlite.
It was an intense seven days for Roo Star during FedEx Open Week at the 2008 AQHA World Championship Show. He competed in five events – performance halter stallions (with AQHA Pro Horseman Gene Parker), senior heading and heeling (with AQHA Pro Horseman Brad Lund) and in senior reining and senior working cow horse (with Ron Emmons). All the hard work and dedication paid off, as “Roo,” who is owned by Melissa Ann Miller of Belton, Texas, was named the 2008 Superhorse. Though senior heading was the only class that Roo earned a world championship in, he was able to accumulate 46 points throughout the week – enough to climb to the top of the other 52 horses vying for the honor. The Journal visited with Brad and Melissa – and Roo – in the aisles of Barn 8 to hear more about this magnificent horse and the road to being named the 2008 Superhorse.
Q: Congratulations to you both! Melissa, tell us about Roo Star. Melissa: Roo Star is just ... he’s it. He just has that “it” factor. He’s great-minded and has more heart than any horse I’ve ever been around. I am just honored to be associated with him in any aspect, much less his owner. I am so proud of him, I can’t stand it. He’s just an incredible individual.
Q: Brad, this is your third time riding a horse to Superhorse status, did you think you were going to do it a third time? Brad: No, not really. I’ve just been real fortunate these last three or four years to fall into the right horse. These things just kind of happen. It’s a great deal.
Q: Melissa, how were you feeling while you were watching Brad ride throughout the week? Melissa: A lot of nerves. I had crepe-soled boots when I started, and they are not crepe-soled anymore. They’re gone. It was just nerve-racking. Brad, he’s the man. He knew what he was doing, and he handled it. All the credit goes to Brad, and I can’t say enough about Brad and Amy and their clients and Ron Emmons (of Ione, California). Work around the horse always came first. No matter what our goal was, Roo’s health and his well-being were always put first. That was very important to me. The prize is secondary; his best interests were at heart. That was the important thing, and they did a great job.
Q: What is it about him that makes Roo so special? Brad: Ron Emmons – he started this horse and did all major training on him, and he was very broke when I got him. He hadn’t done a lot of the roping. But I think a lot of credit goes to Ron. He’s the one who broke him and started him – and started him out in his career right. Of course, I think the best part about Roo is, you know, he’s just so good-minded. He doesn’t try to cheat, try to second-guess what’s going on – he is the same every time. He’s a true show horse. He really is. He’s got some presence in the arena. I think that’s the best part about him; he just wants to please me. I think that’s the best thing about him.
Q: Brad, what has this week been like for you, knowing that you’ve been a contender for Superhorse with Roo? Brad: This was a long two weeks for me and our crew around here. You know, we just try to do the best we can. We rent a place off grounds so we can go and school our horses and feel that we’re prepared for whatever happens. I think that’s a big thing for our program is every day we get out and go work our horses, still preparing. He was in the reining, cow horse, and we got a rope on him – it’s just having a place to go and feel that we’re prepared is what I think is the best for me mentally, let alone the horse. The horse actually probably would have been all right anyway. But it just helps us out.
Q: What’s next for Roo? Melissa: Brad will probably take Roo to the (National Reined Cow Horse Association) World’s Greatest (Horseman) competition. He’s probably retired then. Brad: He’s going to go home and rest. We’ll swim him in the underwater treadmill a little bit. He’ll have 30 days off, at least. We’ll put him in the underwater treadmill, but he won’t get rode till after Christmas, I’m sure. He deserves a little break.
WINNER STATS
Horse name: Roo Star Pedigree: 1999 bay stallion by Gallo Del Cielo x Anna Paulena by Doc O'Lena Exhibitors: Brad Lund, La Cygne, Kansas; Gene Parker, Orrum, North Carolina; Ron Emmons, Ione, California Owner: Melissa Ann Miller, Belton, Texas Trainer: Brad Lund, La Cygne, Kansas Breeder: Frank and Robin Merrill, Purcell, Oklahoma
Awards: Voucher valued at $25,000 for any Featherlite product, WeatherBeeta embroidered fusion contour western blanket, original Lisa Perry bronze
