“The Marine Corps has a saying, “The Horse, The Saddle, The Man.” Translated, it means to take care of your equipment, gear, and men before taking care of you. This is the motto I live by. I have spent countless hours caring for some of the most fragile creatures on the planet. Whether it was keeping my horses fed, cleaning stalls, giving injections, cleaning tack or the countless hours of practice, I learned responsibility.”
And this has been true for other people as well: “I had that sense of responsibility instilled in me with horses and it was very easy for me to adapt to the military lifestyle and take on higher degrees of responsibility.” These words, that horse lovers live by, come from a successful young man, Zane Pluhar a past American Quarter horse youth leader and president and a current Midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy in his junior year. He is currently active duty and upon graduation will be commissioned in the Navy or Marine Corps as an officer. Zane plans on service selecting Naval Special Warfare or Marine Infantry.
As an AQHYA director for region 7, I was assigned the task of writing an article. One thing I always love hearing about is how horses change people’s lives because I know they have changed mine. All these memories come from a successful young man who was greatly involved as a youth in AQHA.
Zane had a positive career as a youth and continued on to become a well rounded adult. He has always been surrounded by horses and his family has been involved with horses. He explained one of his first memories dealing with horses: “…it involves two of my favorite things in life- guns and horses. One morning before school, my dad, Darwin, spotted a coyote lurking around the barn. So like any good Texan, he pulled out the deer rifle and disposed of the unwanted newcomer with extreme prejudice. He was just patting himself on the back when he realized that our Shetland pony Muffin was bleeding from the hock. The round had passed through the coyote, ricocheted off the round pen, and lodged itself in the most innocent creature in the world. Muffin recovered but my dad hasn’t quite lived that one down.”
One thing that has kept him going has been family that is involved in horses. “In 2004, my father was involved in a very serious wreck while driving to a local AQHA show. All of our horses were injured to one extent or another. If my family hadn’t worked together so hard in the years that followed, I may have not been able to do the things I did in AQHA, be it the 2008 Youth World Cup or compete at world.”
When asked what his first AQHYA event he attended was he replied “…first time I competed in AQHYA. I believe it was 1999 and I showed my humongous 1984 bay gelding Dean George in an Aged Gelding class at the Double E Arena in Amarillo, TX. There were three entered and I won the class (despite my Roman Nosed horse). I remember thinking that I was hot stuff for being able to get points my first time out.”
Following such experiences, Zane became an influential part of the youth leadership team and had many great experiences from it. “I have millions of memories from spending time with my AQ friends. I got to attend many different conferences, horse shows, seminars, etc. with many different amazing people. I guess if you had to pin me down I’d say all-nighters on the last night of the YES Convention each year were great.”
But it wasn’t just fun and games, you learn a lot from being apart of an organization like ours. “Public Speaking and learning how to improvise under pressure are important. The ability to communicate is essential for leadership. I have seen many great people who were well intentioned fail miserably because they can’t convey their thoughts clearly and confidently. I had a great public speaking foundation from 4-H, but traveling as AQ president I often had surprise speeches, presentations, and forums spring up. AQ helped me to learn to convey my thoughts under pressure with no time for preparation and that has paid dividends to this day.”
But the story doesn’t just end with Zane. He has younger siblings that have continued on the same path as he has and that makes him proud. “My sister has surpassed most things I’ve ever been able to do in the horse world. I gained so much from the horse world, and I want my sister to be able to get more out of it than me… Recently, she had a great world show and it’s testament to her work ethic. My sister has put more work into her horses in a month than most youth do in a whole year. She’s out riding when it’s 5 below and blowing wind at 50 mph. She has truly earned anything that has ever come her way. Unlike my brother or me, she’ll be able to compete at the Varsity level in College. I can’t wait to watch my sister dominate at the college level and beyond.”
These are just a few of the many benefits of the AQHA membership and owning horses. The love of the animal is one thing—in addition, you learn life-long skills for college and careers. I know I as well as others would like to thank Zane for his service to our country.
