Wildwood Whisperin Wins Canadian Supreme

October 2000 - On October 1, 2000, our own “Whisper” claimed the Canadian Supreme Futurity Championship at Red Deer, Alberta.  That’s exactly how it was supposed to be. I have planned this for a long time - four years, to be exact!
      “This will be my Millennium Futurity horse,” I said, when I chose the stallion for Wildwood Tamarac in 1996. “It will have to be a good one, ‘cause it’s going all the way!”
     And so I bred her to Chics In The Male, who did not yet have foals on the ground.
     On April 25, 1997, a pretty sorrel filly greeted me when I looked into the stall at 6:00 AM. She had all the right things – a good eye, straight legs and a wonderful hip. I almost immediately named her Whisper, but my second choice, “Whisperin” is the name AQHA gave her when she was registered in the fall. Wildwood Whisperin………..we’d be hearing more of that name.
     Whisper cruised through her first 20 months. She developed into a smooth moving mare with obvious reining ability. In January of 1999, I took her education to the next level – riding. She demonstrated all her athletic ability for us in the first few days, but eventually she settled down to work. If she was fresh, though, it was always a good idea to lunge!
     I rode Whisper all through the winter, spring, summer and into the fall. I knew right away, she was a huge stopper. I delayed putting sliders on her and when I did, I was looking for all the deeper ground in the arena, so as not to scare her. It became apparent, however, that she was so comfortable with her stop that she didn’t scare easily. I loved it!
     In October, we packed her and took her to the mountains. Don and I rode her two sisters, Destiny and Kokanee. It turned out be quite an adventure for Whisper –packed, tied to trees, hobbled, and snow we didn’t count on. She was a real trooper though. She walked across the bridge, through the creeks and anywhere we wanted to go. I consider trail riding to be a desirable part of the reiner’s education.
     But with this 3 year old, I did something I had never done before. I sent her out to finish. In January 2000, I hauled her to Shawna Sapergia for the remainder of her training. In January, also we started making payments to the NRHA Futurity.
     Whisper’s first show was Okanagan Summer Slide, where she finished fourth. I kept her home for five weeks after that show and we reconnected and rode in the mountains a few times. When she went back to Shawna, the Canadian Supreme was a month away. I guess she was ready.
     Whisper collected a Canadian Supreme buckle, a Alberta Breeders Group buckle and a generous paycheck for her efforts at Red Deer. As well as the CS Championship, Whisper tied for reserve in the Open Futurity. We are proud of her. Next stop – Oklahoma!