Color Breed
Appaloosa Named in “We’d Love to Own” in Horse & Rider
By
Feb 14, 2008, 11:30

Appaloosa gelding, Pistol Step K, will make his debut as a national Appaloosa “spokeshorse” in the “We’d Love to Own” section of the April issue of Horse & Rider.

Pistol Step K, also known as “Joe”, will seen by approximately 180,000 readers, who’ll learn about his background and all the traits that make him special. The featured photo, taken by Jim Bortvedt, shows Joe ridden bareback by Sarah Hanna of St. Helens, Ore.

The 1993 blanketed dun gelding, by Royal Pistol K and out of Precious Lady D, by Pok-A-Dun, is also featured in the Appaloosa Horse Club’s (ApHC’s) “Breed of Choice” advertisement campaign.
Joe is owned by Tracy Rampone of McMinnville, Ore., and was bred by Dr. Joseph Kirkland of Huntsville, Texas.

Joe earned his keep as a show horse by earning more than 400 ApHC points. At the 2007 World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show, Jamie Hanna earned the reserve national title in novice hunt equitation, 18 & under aboard Joe. The Georgia-bred Appaloosa has also earned ROMs (Register of Merits) in senior reining and senior western riding, as well as Youth ROMs in hunter under saddle, trail and western riding.

Tim and Lori Larsen of St. Helens, Ore. are former owners and current trainers of the stunning Appaloosa.

Lori describes Joe as “one of the coolest horses I’ve ever had—one of the few who comes to play the game every day, without fail.”

Joe has been a member of the Larsens’ Silver Oaks Farm barn for a dozen years, ever since the couple saw him in an Appaloosa reining futurity at the World Championship Appaloosa Show and brought him home to become a youth mount.

The ApHC is pleased and proud to have Pistol Step K chosen as one of only 12 horses a year to star in Horse & Rider’s “We’d Love to Own” feature. Joe joins fellow Appaloosa, Fairly Flashy, who was featured in the January 2008 issue.

For more information about Appaloosas, visit www.appaloosa.com or call 208-882-5578.

The Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) was established in 1938, with a mission of preserving, promoting and enhancing the Appaloosa breed. The ApHC has since registered more than 670,000 Appaloosas, which are known for their distinctive color, intelligence and even temperament. True to their reputation as an extremely versatile breed, Appaloosas can be found in nearly every discipline, including racing, endurance riding or serving as reliable family horses. The international breed registry is headquartered in Moscow, Idaho; the heart of the Palouse region, the Appaloosa breed’s namesake and point of origin.

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