Teen Equestrians See Their Future Riding on Hashknife Horses

Young bidders win big at Hashknife Colt Sale auction

By Bonnie Stevens, FBN

At 16 years old, Grace Copeland of Flagstaff knows what she wants. A year ago, she started to ride horses and fell in love with everything equestrian, from running barrels to cleaning stalls. Her goal is to have the whole experience of raising and training a horse. So, with $5,000 she earned from jobs like babysitting and dog walking, she arrived at the Babbitt Ranches Annual Hashknife Colt Sale with focused intention.

On that warm second Saturday morning in July at Spider Web Camp north of Flagstaff, the event began with Babbitt Ranches President and General Manager Billy Cordasco welcoming the crowd, interacting about celebrations of the last year and honoring the passing of friends and relatives using the ranch symbol of the “Yellow Rose.”

Then, Ranch Manager Clay Rodgers and Auctioneer Reed Flake stepped into the corral with a Western yin and yang of sorts. Rodgers, with all the methodical pace and thoughtfulness of a lifelong cowboy, informed a bleacher full of working ranchers, rodeo champions and knowledgeable spectators about the colts and their bloodlines as they each appeared with the mare. Flake, with all the excitement, humor and panache of a seasoned rodeo announcer, started the bidding and raised the energy in the stands.

In no time, spirited bidders were vying for new colts.

“I saw that filly and said, ‘That’s the one!’” said Grace, a high school girl with fiery determination.

Fearlessly, she entered the bidding battle with experienced horse buyers for a bay filly. She showed the crowd that she meant business and today, that young horse has a name, Cinnamon, as it gallops toward its new life with Grace.

“I came to Babbitt Ranches because I wanted a good all-around horse for riding trails, roping and barrels. This is definitely my dream,” she said. Continued on page 33