Page 185 - February 2016 Speedhorse

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Jamie Dickson finds time for her need for speed and her love of chrome by Alannah Castro, courtesy APHA and MyFlashyRide.com
Jamie Dickson of Manhattan, Kansas, has had a love affair with horses all her life. Grow- ing up in a family that shared her passion, Jamie competed in everything from Western pleasure to horsemanship, but she was always drawn to the speed needed for barrel racing and roping.
Jamie’s family focused on raising all-around horses that could succeed at horse shows, barrel races and ropings, but it was chance that led her to team up with her all-star mount Dia
S Ollie, a 1996 bay overo mare by Gringos Patches and out of San Peppys Squaw.
“My parents purchased ‘Di’ as a 4-year-old heeling horse for my mother. Unfortunately, my mother was in an accident that made it hard for her to rope, so Di sat for a few years until I was in need of a new barrel horse,” Jamie said. “Late into her 8-year-old year, I started patterning and training Di on the bar- rels. She was a natural, and we were competing and winning within just a few weeks. Di has been my main mount ever since.”
Jamie’s favorite thing about working with Di is the mare’s consistency.
“Di lays down a solid, consistent pattern every single time and requires little to no tun- ing. She’s known across the state for her ability to run from the back 40 to the first barrel and sit and turn,” Jamie said. “This little mare
has phenomenal turns; there have been times
I wonder how I manage to stay on her when she rolls back on the back side of a barrel. She has always been so much fun to run, and I get compliments on her runs wherever we go.”
Jamie and Di participate in APHA’s Paint Barrel Racing Incentive Program, and the horse- woman’s become a strong advocate for PBRIP.
“I’m so glad that APHA has created PBRIP so Paints can get the credit they deserve. Quar- ter Horses dominate the barrel racing industry, and I feel that oftentimes Paints get overlooked. Luckily, some APHA barrel racers, such as my good friend Lisa Mullinax, have recognized
this and worked diligently with APHA to get recognition for Paint Horse barrel competitors,” Jamie said. “PBRIP also helps Paint Horses ob- tain points they typically might not get, as well as sidepots at larger shows specifically designed to recognize Paint Horses. I truly am excited for this program and love that my mare has helped me be able to spread the word about PBRIP.”
Jamie’s position as a detective for the Riley County Police Department’s Repeat Of- fender unit in Manhattan, Kansas, keeps her busy, and though she is planning on retiring Di sometime soon, it doesn’t mean Jamie’s involvement with Paints or barrel racing is coming to an end. Jamie says she plans to breed Di and hopefully raise her next superstar out of the mare.
Jamie and Dia S Ollie at the 2013 BBR finals
“Di has given me so many good years that
I feel it’s time to retire her and get a colt out of
her. Di does have one colt by Streaking Ta Fame (QH) that is in training to hit the 5-year-old futu- rities and is owned by Jessica Schmidt,” Jamie said. “Di is definitely a little horse with a big heart that has given me so much; she has seen me through a lot these last 19 years, and I’m sad to step off her, but I have a few younger horses that have really stepped up their game and have proven to me it’s time to let them become my all stars.”
One of Jamie’s last runs aboard Dia S Ollie was at the Kansas state NBHA finals in Oct. 2015
Jamie and Dia S Ollie turn the third barrel and head home this past summer at Salina, Kansas
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