Stephanie Bain Gill of Erie, Michigan has been showing horses since she was old enough to walk in the show pen. Her mother had horses so it was a natural progression for her to fall in love with them as well. Little did she know, she would own a once-in-a-lifetime show mare and broodmare turned therapeutic riding horse, turned show horse again for Stephanie’s son and mother. These types of horses usually stay under the radar because they don’t win world championships, but they change the lives of everyone around them for the better.
Twenty year-old mare, Miss Me Zip (Jackie), has accumulated over five hundred points and earned many superiors before she was retired to have babies. One of her babies is Charlie Outlaw who is a double registered AQHA/APHA. He has AQHA Congress titles as well as APHA World Show awards. During her time as a broodmare, she also taught an autistic child how to ride. Last summer, the Gill family decided to bring her out of retirement for her mother and seven year-old son, Tate, to show.
“Jackie and her riding partners have stolen the show,” Stephanie tells GoHorseShow. “She stands 16.2 plus hands and when my 48 inch son takes her through a trail pattern or showmanship pattern on his own, there is nobody that can resist them.”
The now mother of three boys showed the Zippo Jack Bar mare in the 14-18 youth and amateur classes while her mother showed her in novice amateur and now in select amateur. Her son, Tate, shows Jackie in Small Fry events including leadline, walk only showmanship, trail, and horsemanship.
Stephanie says that Jackie has the personality of ten horses. “She makes ugly faces and pretends she never wants to do anything, but she actually loves her life. She loves to go to horse shows, wear her clothes, and she takes good care of kids,” she says laughing.
According to Stephanie, taking Jackie out of retirement was completely unplanned but it makes her smile because she is the perfect horse for the job.
“I thought she’d just have babies and hang out here forever, but she has taken on a whole new career. The autistic boy who started riding her is absolutely in love with her. He has Aspberger’s Syndrome on the Autism Spectrum Disorder. He takes things very literally, so his life is always an adventure,” she explains. On about his third ride, Stephanie told him he could be done for the day, so, as he stood there, he just dropped both reins straight to the ground and said, “Great!” (Pictured right: Jackie and Stephanie at the Congress)
“I was clear across from the riding pen when he did it,” Stephanie remembers. “Jackie just stood there and waited for me to come and fix the situation. Since then, he has ridden her on and off for about three years. He can now take her through all the trail obstacles, lope without any trouble, and has even done a flying lead change. He even makes his own decisions about whether to longe or not and can now saddle her by himself.”
Gill is also quite emotional when she talks about seeing her mother and son ride Jackie again.
“It’s something that you can’t ever dream will happen. Here is the horse that I did all the work on that I turned into a kid’s horse. Now, Jackie does Small Fry Trail while my assertive little seven year-old son, rides her around fearlessly. I can watch my son and mother show her on the same day. Because she is so big, my mom is out giving him advice about not going under her neck in the showmanship, and then, he is cheering her on as she wins the horsemanship. She is priceless, and I have been blessed to have such a special horse in my life.”
