Mini Mag Mar 16 2021

“I got to see a lot of top horses and horsemen traveling with photographer Alfred Janssen,” Riemann said. “Leading breeders Howard Pitzer, Matlock Rose and other top horsemen helped me a lot too. “Billy Allen trained and showed a number of horses for me and we owned some horses in partnership,” Riemann added. One major change in the industry has been in the show ring. “I had the opportunity to manage lots of shows at Salina,” O’Neil said. “In the early days many horses would often be entered in every class halter, pleasure, reining, barrel racing and roping. Sometimes there’d be 15 or so horses in a class and we’d be done in early afternoon. “Today with open classes there are the youth and amateur classes which are subdivided into novice divisions,” he continued. “Horses are much more specialized and only compete in one event. A show will often run all day and well into the night.” Riemann echoed O’Neil, “In earlier days, ranchers used their horses all week and brought them to shows on the weekend. Now there are trainers who work with many of the horses in specific events. It’s much more professional. “Many Quarter Horses today are not all-around horses like the objective when the breed organization was formed,” Riemann insisted. Exhibitors nowadays typically have outlandish equipment with silver and expensive fitted extravagant outfits, the horsemen agreed. “My amateur riders have become more interested in the ranch classes to get away from that show trend,” Gratny said. “They are taking top cutting and reining horses and developing them to be more versatile horses,” Gratny added. “They’re going back to the foundation for more relaxed enjoyment with their horses.” While high dollar futurities attracted increased horse investments, that trend is changing. “There are still some futurities,” Gratny said. “But we want to work slower to develop more solid horses for long-term use.” Standing stallions for public service and also personal use were important income for Riemann and Gratny, but that has changed. “Shipped semen for artificial insemination has reduced demand for our stallion services. It has hurt us,” Gratny said.