A Heather horsestory

I do not need an extra horse. Let me make that clear from the beginning. I was not looking for an extra horse, but an extra horse found me, and, of course, there's "horsestory" to go along with my new ownership of Scotch Heather, a yearling rose grey filly with four white stockings and a blaze (pictured below).

She will not stay that way; she'll eventually lose her coloring because that's what happens with any grey Arabian. For now, her coloring is a bit on the flashy side. Today, if all goes well, she'll leave home and move temporarily to the Spokane Equestrian Center where our dear family friend Monty will give her some kindergarten lessons and maybe a little beauty parlor attention.

In a few days we'll bring her home where she'll get used to an entirely new family and occupy stall three in the Lovestead barn.

Here's her story.

First, I'll backtrack. A couple of weeks ago both Bill and I noticed an article in the Spokesman-Review about a respected scoutmaster/businessman/horse lover named Dean Dinnison from Spokane who had died. Since Bill and I first met each other because of Bill's involvement in Boy Scouts, we both took note of the article but didn't comment.

Saturday night, my friend, Shirley Carter Jones, called and said, "You're the first person I thought of . . . ." She went on to mention that some Arabian horses belonging to a Dean Dinnison needed homes. She specifically mentioned the yearling rose grey with me in mind and wondered if I'd be interested in giving her a good home. She also mentioned Debbie Copenhaver as the contact person for the horses.

That name rang a bell. I had heard about her father, Deb Copenhaver, all the time I was growing up in Sandpoint. He had Quarter Horses, and he was a rodeo star. I didn't know until this weekend, however, that he was a BIG rodeo star who won World Champion Saddle Bronc rider back in the golden days of rodeo.

I also didn't know until this weekend that he was a close friend of Casey Tibbs, also a World Champion and probably one of the most famous rodeo stars ever. Well, as you can imagine, Casey is a big name in our Tibbs family. He was a distant cousin of my dad's. Harold met him once in San Francisco, and Harold always spoke highly of his buddy Deb Copenhaver.

I also vaguely knew that Deb's daughter Deborah was a sculptor, but I couldn't figure out the connection to Dean Dinnison. I've since learned that Dean, the scoutmaster, was Deborah, the sculpter's, stepfather. All of this, of course, made an interesting story to go along with the gift horse, Heather.

Actually, gift horses are not really gifts. Gift horses are like any other horse. They eat and they require care, and their continued upkeep costs money. Debbie was adamant to protect the interests of these horses that her stepfather had loved so much. She wanted to make sure they went to good homes.

When I talked to her yesterday, I said the little filly would have nothing fancy for living quarters---just a box stall, cleaned out every day; food, morning and night; pastures in the summer time, and a lot of love. She said that was music to her ears. So, we agreed that I would drive in to Spokane yesterday to check out the filly.

Heather has been well fed but not handled much. Her owner loved his horses, but he was 85, so Heather probably hasn't had a lot of schooling, just good food and companionship with her siblings, her mother, her father and her owner. She's not a fancy horse, but she's basically well put together and has potential.

Somehow, it's the stories around her that drove me to say, "Yes, I'll take her" after snapping a few photos and walking around the corrals with Debbie, who lives in Arizona and who has plenty to do to settle affairs associated with her stepfather's estate before returning home.

We had a great visit, especially since we grew up at the same time among old-time horse families and attended college at the same time at separate universities in the Palouse. We also knew a lot of the same horse people---revelations which brought Debbie to say that she could certainly feel at home back in this area again.

Debbie and her husband Fred Fellows, also a renowned Western artist, live in Tucson where they create their exquisite works of art and where she raises Quarter Horses and participates in team roping.

Her sculptures are included in Pres. Ronald Reagan's art collection. The Vietnam Memorial in Spokane is hers, as are the Bing Crosby and Bulldog sculptures at Gonzaga University, and a Korean War monument at the Washington State Capitol---just to name a few.

That brings us back to Heather's owner, Dean. A bronze statue of an older Boy Scout leading a younger scout will be installed in Spokane's River Front Park next spring. The bronze not only symbolizes the roles of volunteerism and leadership, but it will also memorialize the work that Dean Dinnison did, "molding little people into powerful men," as Debbie stated in the Spokesman article.

So, when this little horse of Dean's comes to live at the Lovestead, she'll symbolize a number of significant and positive influences in my life---the artists, the cowboys, the cowgirls and the scout leaders. Besides, it will be fun to watch her grow up, to continue writing her story and to see what directions she takes as a beloved member of our equine family.