The Story of Khash PGA

Th e

S t o r y

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Khash

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A C o n v e r s at i o n w i t h B o b a n d B e c k y L o c k e

by Denise Hearst · photos by Christina Rousseau

Trainer Bob Locke has ridden his share of western horses over the years … but none quite like this one: Khash PGA (*Khadraj NA x RA Kela), a young stallion he foaled out in 2007. The leggy bay with the hooky neck and soft, true gaits, is owned by Bob and Becky. Together, they operate Southern Cross Performance Horses in Scottsdale, Arizona, where Khash enjoys pride of place.

We caught up with Bob and Becky, and asked them to tell us about their beautiful athlete.

What were your thoughts about Khash as a foal?

Now that he’s matured, how does he embody your ideal of the western horse?

“I’m a dreamer at heart, so it wasn’t hard to dream about what he might become,” says Bob. “Then again, I think I could say that about every foal I’ve ever seen. As a mature horse, Khash embodies all the traits of a great western horse. He’s big, he’s pretty, and he’s an athlete. The best things about Khash are his mind and heart. Hopefully some of the pictures in the ranch spread will show you what I mean. This horse is the real deal.”

Adds Becky: “Khash has been Bob’s horse from birth. Khash’s dam was already really tired from laboring, so Bob helped her get him out and he removed the sac from Khash’s nose. Bob had started Khash under saddle, but in June of 2010, he got a DUI and had to sell Khash to pay for his attorney.” “I was heartbroken over this,” says Bob. “ But I had no other choice. Throughout that painful chapter, I gave my life to God in a prison cell. It was the beginning of a new life for me … one that I thank Him for every day. I’ve learned to put God first and Becky second — everything else seems to line out as it should. So in 2011, when I found out that Khash was at Brett Becker’s and was on the market, I talked with Becky about Khash and she bought him sight unseen.” Adds Becky, “Bob wouldn’t even

allow himself to believe that Khash was going to be back in his life; he had thought he was gone forever. He didn’t actually believe it until he saw him get off the trailer. You should have seen the reunion between those two. It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. He was all legs and his head looked too big for his body. I recall Bob saying later, ‘He’ll grow into those legs and that head. The Khadraj colts sometimes are late maturing.’

Boy did he. He now stands a true 15.1 hands and is one of the most magnificent stallions I’ve ever seen.”

Becky, please tell us about your ride on Khash at the 2011 U.S. National Championships in Tulsa and how he transitioned to western.

“Bob decided that Khash needed to do hunter with me first.

He needed to go forward, soften and get strong before slowing down for western. I really didn’t want to do this, especially after seeing the connection that Bob and Khash share. I had bought Khash specifically for Bob to show western, but he convinced me it was the best thing for him. We spent the long, hot summer working Khash hunter and took him to his first show, the Southern California Performance Futurity and Maturity in Santa Barbara in early September (my most favorite show to go to every year!). We won the Open Hunter

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The stallion Khash PGA (*Khadraj NA x RA Kela) won 2011 U.S. National Champion Hunter Pleasure Maturity AAOTR with Becky Locke, above, and returned to the showring in Scottsdale four months later with Bob Locke to win Champion Western Pleasure Junior Horse, left.

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National Champion, I was over the top. It was a very emotional time for all of us. All of this is such a testimony to the heart, mind, and work ethic of this special horse. And that’s just the beginning of the story … three and a half months later, Bob and Khash jogged into a very strong and competitive field of 25 junior western horses at Scottsdale and emerged the Scottsdale Champion Western Pleasure Junior Horse.”

You once said that you start all of your western horses as hunters. Why? “To me the gaits and frame of a true hunter horse are the most natural for a majority of Arabians,” says Bob. “I believe a horse should learn to go forward from behind the saddle to its face and soften while continuing forward. The shifting of a horse’s weight to their hind end should be one of the last things you ask for. By starting my colts as a hunter they learn to go forward and develop a full range of motion long before we start to slow their feet down.”

Tell us about Khash’s 2012 Scottsdale Champion Western Pleasure Junior Horse goes — what pleased you most?

“Scottsdale was Khash’s third horse show of his life and the first time being shown western so I was pretty darn happy with him,” says Bob. “He stayed with me through both classes and the final. The Western Pleasure Junior Horse Stallion class was outside in Wendell the first Saturday of the show and he was pretty good, but not great; so I turned to longtime friends, Brett Becker and Greg Harris, for Maturity Championship and the Amateur Hunter Maturity Championship. Then onto Tulsa in October. Khash was absolutely flawless in our cut class. Then the night of the Championship was rather interesting. Some of the classes of the evening were scratched, which left only two classes — the first was the Half-Arabian Western Pleasure AAOTR Maturity and the second was the purebred Hunter Pleasure AAOTR Maturity. I was in both. Leslie Doran Sommer was in the same predicament. We asked for the longest gate hold they could give us. We were told that we would have approximately 20 minutes. To make matters worse, a terrible thunder/rainstorm came in right as we were coming over from the Quick Trip barn. I went into my western class and during the class the lights went out and stayed out for a while. I went Top Ten in the western class which was great (my first Top Ten in western ever), but that meant I had even less time to get changed from western to hunter, let alone have any warm-up! Jim Lowe was kind enough to let me change in his dressing room. Before I even had my boots on, I could hear Bob running and yelling, ‘Beck, the gate is open and the other horses are already in.’

I finished dressing as I ran to the ring, jumped on Khash, made a partial trot pass outside and went in the ring. I could barely breathe for fear that I was going to miss my class. I was so excited when they called us into the Top Ten and then when we were named the U.S. 4 ▪ KHASH PGA ▪ WORLD

“The four two-year-old colts in the bullpen had had very little handling until ten days before these pictures were taken. After they are accustomed to being saddled, I let them form a small herd in the bullpen. Khash and I started by pushing them around in the bullpen to settle them. Using a quiet, welltrained horse to work them helps them relax.

They start to take on the horse and rider’s demeanor. Example: If I was nervous and the horse I was on was jumpy or aggressive, they would get nervous and aggressive. As we settled them, I started to pony them from Khash. One at a time, then two at a time, then three at a time, until I have all of them ponying. Then we move to the arena and repeat the same process. I usually start colts one-onone. Having four two-year-old colts come in at the same time was a treat for me and Khash.”

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some help with him. By the finals a week later in the Equidome, he was great. I went in last, and as he jogged into a herd of over 25 horses, I remember thinking coming in last could be the dumbest thing I’ve ever done with this horse. As we came around the second corner of the Equidome, he dropped his air and let out a big sigh.

I remember smiling and thinking, ‘OK, Khash, let’s do this.’ And I guess we did.”

Adds Becky: “Khash is the epitome of what we all hope and dream to breed and possibly one day own. He has beauty, athleticism, a great mind, and impeccable work ethic. Bob and Khash are having a great time; they both enjoy doing what they do best. As you can see from some of the pictures, Khash is a unique individual. He truly is a blessing from God. “We’ve been asked to name our price for him, but as Bob said in a poem he wrote about Khash, ‘No ma’am, this colt ain’t for sale.’”

Khash has bred a number of mares this year. What types of mares and what bloodlines do you think will work with him?

“It’s hard to say what he’ll cross well with,” says Bob,“but, we’re leaning toward the old Polish performance lines. He himself is a Russian/Polish blend.”

How many mares of your own have you bred to him and of what bloodlines?

“Bill Porcher once told me, ‘Be careful what you raise, because someday you’re gonna have to ride it,’” says Bob. “With that in mind, Becky and I have bred four of our own mares to Khash. Two purebreds and two Half-Arabs. Rhapsody In Gold is by Twinfir Extra Gold and out of a JA Magnificat daughter, while Aphrodite FA is by Fame VF out of a *Padron daughter. Both these mares have already produced U.S. National Champions or National Reserve Champions in halter and performance. MTS Cristal is by Aicyng out of One Hundred Proof. She is a National Reserve Champion in both halter and country English pleasure. Sophistigaited Lady is by Alimah Justice and out of a Status Symbol daughter.”

What do you think of the type of horse that is winning in western classes today and is there anything you would like to see change?

“I think the western horses that are winning in the last few years are some pretty nice horses,” says Bob. “It seems we’re moving away from the overdone horses that look mechanical or intimidated.

The one thing that I would like to see changed is for judges to feel comfortable picking the horses with the most ‘potential’ and ‘quality’ in the futurity and junior horse divisions, not the most ‘finished’ horses. Isn’t that why these classes were designed?”

Tell us about the private treaty sale of futurity and maturity prospects you’re planning for Scottsdale 2013.

“The Southern Cross Futurity and Maturity Performance Sale has been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. We will offer six to eight quality horses that are well started and fairly priced. I would rather start colts than do anything. So to do what I love and get paid for it, well, I guess you’d call that a blessing.”

What’s the best western ride you ever saw?

“That would be Stan White Jr. on Mi Tiffany. She was a beautiful mare, a great mover and looked like a pleasure to ride.”

What’s the best lesson about horses or life that you’ve learned from your horses?

“With horses and life, when you start to think that you’ve got things figured out you don’t — you’re just beginning.”

What is the most important attribute a western horse should have?

“Athletic ability. By that, I mean joint flexion,” says Bob. “They should be able to flex all their joints smoothly and willingly. As Johnny Ryan would say, ‘They have to be elliptical.’”

What is the most important gait in a western class and why?

“To me, the lope is the most important gait,” says Bob. “Our pleasure classes derived from actual working western horses that could cover ground at a pace that would get you somewhere without exerting a lot of energy from the horse or rider.”

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Bob and Khash transition to the arena with the two-yearold colts after the bullpen.

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Becky Locke · 832.492.1481 · becky.southerncross@gmail.com Bob Locke · 480.818.7231 · boblocke.southerncross@gmail.com 11250 E. Arabian Park Drive · Scottsdale, Arizona 85259