BRENDA JOYCE INTERVIEW

BY TRACY WAGER

Q - You grew up in an apartment on the Upper East Side of Brooklyn New York, wishing to live on a ranch out west with horses. That dream came true – how does that make you feel?

A - It is amazing! I was a little girl living in an apartment playing with model horses. I loved horses from the start. Growing up on the East Coast I rode some English but it did not suit me. From an early age I wanted to go West.

Many of the leading men in my books have a horse. The main male characters were heroes, very masculine types and often they had their fabulous horse. The way I would write it, was to make sure the horses always had cool names and helped the leading man get the job done. They were always a partner to the lead character. After writing 52 books, I was exhausted, yet they wanted more, and more. I told my Publisher that I was going on a vacation, which did not go over very well because they wanted more books. They said it’s not possible. How long will you be gone? When will you be back? Where are you going? My answer was I have no idea, I just need a break. That happened many years ago, and I never did go back.

I feel so grateful for everything, never imaging that the dreams of a young girl would have become what they have today. Now, sharing these dreams and living them with a wonderful man, my husband Rick Christen (whom I met because of Reining) if so fulfilling as are the friendships with the great people I have met along the way and the ones I work with today. It has been amazing to say the least. I meet Rick, who is from Ohio originally, at the High Roller Show in Las Vegas! He had rode with Dan Huss forever. Rick asked me out, and that was just it! He is an unbelievable person to have in my life. We combined our passions which are basically the same thing – Reining and that is what started it all.

Q - You went all-in building the Five Bells Ranch resulting in a state-of-the-art facility from the 42 stall barn and more all on 22-acres. What is your favorite part of the ranch?

A - When I look out the window or walk outside of my house and see the mares and babies, especially when they are out on the grass pastures by the front gate! We put the new babies out there until they are older and can go out with the other mares with older babies. My house has a pretty good view, but walk out on the

porch - WOW! By far, that view is the best part of the experience. Building the ranch was an amazing dream that came true, and more amazing is my husband I did it together, it was our passion project. And now we live in a real-life dream.

Bob Hamilton designed and built it all. He did an amazing job.

Q - When you dreamed of having a ranch in the West, and it grew into this passion project - Why Reining?

A - Taking a break from writing, the desire was to do something Western that would hold my interest, something that was challenging to do that would really have to be worked at. Looking into different type of Western competitions some people shared with me that Reining was very hard. That it was complicated and challenging to do. That drove my interest as an athlete and the challenge was inspiring so I chose Reining! Not one to do anything that is not 100%, I knew it would take a strong commitment of time and energy, exactly what I was looking for.

Seven years ago, I started with Arabians. My first horse was so good to me, his name was Firestorm, which happened to be the title of my second book! So that was meant to be and I had to have him. I started riding and was terrible, but he really took care of me. After learning a lot from him, he was so kind and cared about me, I discovered he was shown by my trainer that he was a real Firestorm. He was really hot! It made me realize how he changed when I rode and showed him. It was amazing how he could turn it off and back on. He was so smart to know I was not good at this and needed his help, he was an amazing teacher. Then I decided it was time to take the leap of faith and step up into the real deal, the NRHA.

Rick Christen

In the NRHA the majority of horses are Quarter Horses, and that was a real game changer for me because they are so honest about doing their job. It was easier in some ways, to focus on my riding and showmanship when I transitioned up to the next level, because the horses were better suited to do it. The entire process has been hard work and continues to challenge me whenever I step it up. Reining continues to challenge you, and one never gets to the point where it’s easy. It may become easier as you grow and evolve into it, but it never loses the aspect of it being hard to do. I like that the challenge continues, especially with us now breeding more and the babies are doing well.

Q - You have two proven stallions; Star Spangled Wiz, and Wimpys High Bid. How are their babies turning out?

A - We breed 40% of our mares to our studs, the rest of our mares get bred to other top studs around the country. We breed to the hottest studs out there because people will be more interested in buying a Gunnatrashya before a Wimpys High Bid. Although I think a lot of that is going to change after this year’s Futurity. Super Marioo will start breeding next year when he is six and will continue to get shown. I think people know the story by now. But when I saw Cade McCutcheon showing Super Marioo in October of his threeyear-old year at the Best of the West here in Scottsdale, he caught my eye. And one thing about me is I do something all in, or I do not do it at all. So, I only do things that I do….and I want it to be an A-plus. That does not count my showing as a Non Pro because I am not that good yet. I really do not have a good personality to be a showman, I panic. In this type of program I have no problem because I always refer to the experts. I do not know half as much about horses as say Arno Honstetter or my husband and have no problem referring to them.

I was not happy with where my program was going in 2019 when I saw Cade and Super Marioo. I said, that’s it, I am getting on the Cade train, this kid is amazing! I want to buy that horse, and I want to keep it with him. He was for sale and I paid serious money for him and did not care, because I wanted a horse with Cade! I felt like that kid was going to be in the winner’s circle for the next 30 years. I did not think we were going to win the Futurity! I thought we had a shot at the Level 2, even when he had that big a score. People said to me, “You could win it.” I said, it’s too early, and then we won it! Now Cade is our number two trainer here. He has a three-year-old right now by our stallion Wimpys High Bid and he will have more. We just must decide, because we have a lot of really nice three-year-olds to pick from to send to him. Cade will always have a couple of horses of mine, always!

Q - Your decision to develop the Amateur Division at NRHA made it happen and in doing so you took on a lot of responsibility and investment of your time and the money required to get-it-done. What was the motivation to execute your plan?

A - We have a three-year commitment and I am wanting to see this grow exponentially. To help grow the sport, the NRHA needs to bring new people into Reining. The growth needs to come from the bottom up. What I see is that the group really supports the top, but growth needs to come from the ground up. I was really excited to be able to do this with the NRHA for the Derby. The first time we did this was in conjunction with Amanda Brumley which went very well and a real Amateur ran it. The NRHA Derby is a much bigger venue with many more entries and more publicity. One of the rules we did, was if someone has won over $100,000 in ALL categories combined they cannot enter. So, if you have won that much, but not in the Derbies, it does not matter you cannot enter. If you are Level 4, you cannot be in this Derby. I like all of the rules.

A NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR

Q - Where would you like to see the Amateur Division go moving forward?

A - What would be really nice, is let’s say the NRHA kept this going at the Derby every year. It would be nice if other shows started to put on an Amateur Derby every year too. They would not have to be like this in conjunction with the regular derbies. It would not have to be this big. But if it could become a norm in the industry that an Amateur Derby could be run in conjunction with the regular Non Pro derby classes. That would be really nice! That is not out of the realm of possibility. What I see is that the group really supports the top, but the growth will come from the ground up. This industry really needs help on the bottom more than it needs help at the top. First off, we need to grow and need new people that want to come in. We need to excite new people. Over half of the competitors are eligible for the Prime Time. What does that tell you? They are people just like me, who have gotten into it later in life. Maybe they always had the dream, but could not do it before? A lot of people when we came up with the Amateur Derby last year were really mad! I ignored them, they were not happy because they could not be in the Amateur Derby. Basically this is a Level 1 to 3 Derby. That’s all, it is not a Level 4. Those people are winning enough, they don’t need my money, somebody else needs my money I am putting up in the sponsorships.

Q - You are breeding some very fancy performance horses. The mare power you have in your stables is very impressive, around seventeen high-quality performance horses that are well-bred money earners in the show pen. How does it feel when you see the weanling and yearling horses you have breed in the pasture?

A - There is nothing, no comparison how having a horse coming from your mare, or your stud, or both doing well in the show pen feels compared to a horse that you purchased. No comparison! It’s an unbelievable feeling of love. The most important thing I have to say, is that we are working very hard to breed horses with very good minds because they are happier doing their job and are easier to train. I love dogs, I love horses, I love any animal but rattlesnakes! It kills me when the horses get into trouble because they do not want to do their jobs. I have loved and respected animals my entire life. When you have a horse like High Bid, he doesn’t care. He goes out and stops and turns no matter what! He is 12 now and a breeding stallion, but before that he always did his job. He is really easy to train on. Easy to get ready to show. Now when Arno gets on him (they are going to do the Freestyle at The Run for a Million) he does his job! That’s what you want. You want a horse that is going to go out there and happily do his job.

Q - How many foals a year are you producing, and how is that working out?

A - Even though my husband has a different last name, we are Story Book Stables together. So, combined we are putting down 16 to 20 babies per year. We are now very organized with our training program having Arno here. Our program is very cohesive now. We have three 3 year olds right now, one is with Cade, by our stallion Wimpys High Bid. They are all completely capable of being in the Top 5 or maybe even the Top 3 at the Futurity and one is capable of winning it. We did not have the intention of becoming this kind of large breeding operation five years ago, it sort of just happened. We are passionate about producing great minded horses that are great athletes. Minds are the key, because it is easier on the horse and we want a horse that wants to do his job. Then it makes life easier for everyone, the Non Pro, the Trainer, everyone.

My husband and I are both obsessed and passionate about the same thing. It’s like we joined forces and an avalanche began! We sell a few yearlings, but I prefer to sell horses as two-year-olds. We like to put a foundation on the horses before they go, because I like them to go off and have productive jobs for the rest of their lives. Its working out great, we are so pleased. There is a reason people are calling us every week looking for horses to buy and honestly I do not have enough horses to sell right now.

Q - In a short time you have made your mark on Reining and the horse world, what advice would you give to anyone interested in Reining or just starting out?

A - If you are just starting out, you need to do a little research about who you are going to ride with. You are really going to need someone that is going to help you as a Non Pro. Someone who is interested in their Non Pros. It has to be a great Non Pro program, not everyone has a good Non Pro program. Then you really need to invest in that first horse that is really going to pack you around. You really need that horse that is going to do everything and be very excited that you are doing so well. They are hard to find, that is why having the right trainer is first, it is their job to find you that horse. These horses are expensive. At the end of the day everyone can learn to go out and stop and turn, but showing is all mental. It is all a mental game. Because if you go out there and something goes wrong, and you get mad, or panic, it will not work. So that is the hardest part, learning to be a true showman.

Q - As an author of books you create a story with a beginning, middle and ending. Where do you wish to steer Story Book Stables moving forward and into the future? A - I would like us to be renown as a breeder of really good horses. For us to be a “go to” spot for anyone who is looking for a great horse, for that fantastic horse.

I would be really, really happy if an Amateur Derby, or an Amateur Division would become the norm. Not just at the big shows, but all over. It doesn’t have to have big money in it. I see no reason they cannot have an Amateur added to any derby, any class, at any size show. Or why not an Amateur division across the board in NRHA?