Chips & Lewis

I knew about Beaty Butte when the program first arose and began building up in Adel. My fiancé and his family live in New Pine Creek and I originally saw information on the facility in Jerry’s on a flyer. From there I followed them on social media. When I eventually started looking into purchasing/adopting, I simply called Jim and we talked about the horses they had available.    

The first thing that really caught my eye was the price tag. I grew up riding horses in San Francisco, and you can probably guess that literally nothing was less than $5000. When I heard that Beaty Butte’s typical adoption price was much lower, I was really excited. I was also really interested in mustangs as a breed. I took a lot of courses at Oregon State University that involved grazing and issues regarding feral horses. I knew that purchasing a mustang can not only help spread the word but also give facilities a chance to take more mustangs off the land and into captivity. Lastly my fiancé owns a ½ mustang, ½ quarter horse, and he works his butt off compared to all of the other horses on our ranch. Their work ethic, physical stability and sure-footedness were all aspects that I really liked about the breed.

I purchased both Chips n Dip (his old name was Jake) and Lewis in early August. I had been in contact with Jim and Ian for a few weeks prior to my interest in purchasing. Earlier in June, I also went and visited the facility and scouted out the younger/fresher mustangs, so I knew which ones I was interested in early on.

Both Chips and Lewis are primarily ranch horses. They are both going to be expected to rope, doctor, sort, and move cows. I originally purchased Lewis for my fiancé, so I won’t be utilizing him as my own. Since I grew up riding hunter/jumper and English horses, Chips may be a little bit more than a ranch horse. I plan on teaching him how  to be versatile such as jumping and possibly some very low level dressage work. Since I like to pleasure ride throughout the week, he will act as an all-a-rounder!

The qualities I like the most about them is that they are both very willing and excited to learn. I have yet to experience Chips refuse to try anything. He always searches for the right answer and has not given up on me yet! Chips also LOVES to move cows, he acts like a cow dog most of the time, and bites at them. I also really adore the connection that we have built. He knows me, and as we spend more time together, continues to trust me more. This really shows when he reacts well to new situations with confidence.

Lewis is more of my husband’s horse. From just watching him and talking to my fiancé, I know that Lewis is really independent and does not mind being away from the herd. He also has a really soft mouth and bridles up really nicely. Lewis tends to be a little bit more shy and reserved, but I can tell he is a sweetheart once you prove he can trust you. 

I know for a fact that I got my fiancé’s family interested in purchasing more mustangs. These two have already proven how awesome mustangs are and how vital they can be to a ranch setting. Chips hopefully will be in my life for a long time (being that he is only 3 years old) and I won’t need a new partner anytime soon. 

Rose McKereghan grew up riding hunter/jumper and had no ranch/cow horse experience until around 8 years ago when she met her fiancé. She had always been fascinated by it and has really enjoyed learning a new discipline. However, she stays true to her roots and continues to practice hunter/jumping.

She rode on the Oregon State IHSA equestrian team for three years, and did both western horsemanship and English equitation. IHSA is a catch riding show program, so she got to ride A LOT of horses over her career in IHSA. This gave her the tools to purchase a young/green mustang.