Jaci Slater

 

As a child I cannot remember not loving horses and begging my parents to buy me a horse. We lived in town so the only horses I got were the kind that did not eat. When I was five we moved to a farming community in western Iowa and next door to a local Appaloosa breeders. They allowed me to sit on their Appaloosa gelding and the love affair began. I kept asking my parents for a horse and for my thirteen birthday I received an Appaloosa mare. I started my adventure with this wonderful breed and I have never turned back. Shortly after receiving my mare I started researching the history of the Appaloosa and the Nez Perce and made my first Indian Costume. I was involved with 4-H and the regional Appaloosa shows. After high school graduation, I even found a college where I could take my horse to school with me. I earned a degree in Equine Management from Northwest College in Powell Wyoming. I had lofty goals as a child growing up and that was to raise quality appaloosas and show at the National level. I feel like I have achieved most of my goals with one major goal left. In 2006 our gelding, Almighty Budd, which we breed, raised, trained and was shown by Joetta, my daughter, earned the Youth Supreme Champion Horse award. The next goal I would like to achieve is to be able to take the time to travel to the World show after so many years of qualifying horses but not being able to go.