Page 12 - Equine Chronicle August Select 2020

ON THE COVER
Dakota King with Imagine Mea Hotrod and Especially Fancy
by Brittany Bevis
You may have spotted a new pair hanging around the APHA circuits lately, and although they might ap- pear to be sisters, the dynamic duo
is actually a mother-daughter team that has left their Hunter/Jumper roots behind to wholly embrace the American Paint Horse.
Dakota King and Deneen Brual King of
Sherwood, Oregon, may have started out
with high flying Hunters; but, for the past
two years, the ladies have been completely
captivated by the Western lifestyle, flashy
Paint Horses, and of course all that bling! A
self-described glamour girl, Dakota has
found the discipline of her dreams in Western Pleasure with her mare, Imagine Mea Hotrod, aka “Mea,” who was purchased last Christmas Eve. They currently compete in Novice Amateur Western Pleasure and Performance Halter Mares.
Although not one to abandon her English roots entirely, Dakota also shows Especially Fancy, aka “Spencer,” an All Time Fancy gelding, in Hunter Under Saddle. With both of her horses being World Cham- pions, Dakota is excited for what lies on the horizon, specifically the APHA World Show this fall.
“My mother grew up riding on the amateur and adult owners circuit on the East Coast, and her horse trainer gifted me with my first pony, a red roan named Tinker, when I was two years old,” Dakota says. “He was so darling and that’s what really started me off in the horse world. Then, I progressed into doing the Junior Hunters and Derbies.
“The thrill of going over a jump is amazing. It feels like you’re fly- ing. There is so much power under you every step of the way. It’s a feeling like no other and really indescribable. However, now that we have found APHA, we’re fully obsessed and never going back!”
Now that she has traded in her hunt boots and breeches for sparkly jackets and chaps, Dakota confesses that she’s completely a “Western Pleasure girl.”
“Oh, I love everything about it. I love the flashy clothing, for sure. That’s appealing to everyone, I think. I have an all gold ensemble that I wear. I also love my beautiful Miguel Aguilar saddle. But it’s also the slow movement that’s comfortable and rhythmic. It’s a feeling that’s so luxurious and much different than the big canter of a Hunter/Jumper. I plan to be in the Western Pleasure pen for a very long time.”
Guiding Dakota and her mother into this new world of Western riding is their trainer, Robin Binkard. Both Mea and Spencer stay in training year-round at the Oregon-based facility, while the King ladies’ new yearling stays at their own 25-acre farm that’s complete with pygmy goats; miniature horses, Goldie and Pebbles; and four dogs.
“At home, we also have a Quarter Horse that we ride on the trails named Catt Savvy. He’s really great. We also have our new project, a full brother to Imagine Mea Hotrod. He’s a gray, overo gelding named Hesa Smokin Sensation, and we’re hoping to show him this year in In Hand Trail and Longe Line. COVID-19 has foiled our plans some- what, but Scotty is turning out to be a true gentleman.”
At the age of 22, Dakota has graduated early from Wheaton College in Massachusetts with a double major in Sociology and Religion with a focus on Christian Studies. Now, she’s continuing her education by
pursuing a Masters of Science Communica- tion at Northwestern. But in the meantime, she’s ready to “show, show show!”
“We are ready to go. We have a full fall planned with the APHA World Show, Color Breed Congress, and Northwestern Paint Horse Championship. We’re really anxious to get back out there in the pen and develop that connection with our horses. Also, Mom is in the market for two horses- a beautiful
English Hunter and a Western Pleasure horse that she can show in Masters Novice Amateur Western Pleasure. We would love to find a double registered horse and are fully open to that possibility, but we do love the splash of Paint horses.”
Looking to the future, Da- kota dreams of one day winning an APHA World Championship. She once led the nation in her age division on the Hunter cir- cuit and would like to see that same parallel come to fruition on the Western side of things. “I’m
very competitive,” she says. “I was the varsity team captain for ladies golf, and I just love to be out there competing and showing.”
Dakota’s mother, Deneen, is very proud of her daughter’s ability to adapt to the unique challenges presented by a completely new disci- pline. “I feel very blessed,” Deneen says. “You always hope that your child likes the sport that you do and becomes successful at it. She’s done all of those things, so I guess it’s time for me to retire! But really, the family that rides together stays together. It’s a wonderful thing, and it’s magical to watch her ride and really start getting accustomed to this new event.”
If this inseparable pair isn’t riding their horses or traveling to a show, you can bet they’re busy concocting a plan for a new adventure, much like the tasty task they embarked upon four years ago.
“We have a chocolate company, called Bunny and Clyde, that we have started here on the farm,” Deneen says. “I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t love chocolate, but the majority of people love dark chocolate, and we’re milk chocolate almond lovers. They’re very hard to find and, when Dakota was traveling to horse shows, when she was little, we used to bring them along as snacks. She said that we could do so much better. Four years ago, we connected with a fabulous chef and experimented to come up with a recipe for dark and milk choco- late almonds. Because we ride horses, the packaging was very much influenced by that fact. The almonds are placed into burlap bags with a horsey motif that we feel lends to the quality of the all natural, arti- sanal chocolate.”
Whether they’re cultivating confectionary creations on their “gen- tleman’s farm,” touring the country hitting all the majors, or just en- joying time on their ranch with their beloved animals, it’s quite clear that the King ladies pour all of their love, drive, and dedication into everything they do.
10 - August/September, 2020