EC November/December, 2003

It’s a legacy of love, good horses and realized goals. It’s a lineage with ties so strong that a hurricane couldn’t dislodge the branches of the family tree. And, it is the kind of family most people wish they had been born into.

When former AQHA President Robert H. Kieckhefer passed away two years ago, he knew that his four children and ten grandsons were in good hands. Not only were they connected to each other like Superglue, but also to lifelong friends, many of whom came into their lives as a result of years in the show pen and rodeo arena.

Robert’s ancestors had come to America from Germany about 1835. His great-great-grandfather settled in Milwaukee and the family was based there for over a century. When Robert was growing up, one of his neighbors was a little girl named Virginia, who eventually took on the nickname of “Dudie.” As they grew, so did their friendship. They became childhood sweethearts, destined to be together, even though Robert’s family was soon to relocate. In an attempt to ease the problems of severe asthma, Robert left Milwaukee in 1937 and settled in Arizona. Two years later, Dudie likewise began calling Arizona her home, and Kieckhefer became her new last name.

Robert’s father had also moved to Arizona and had purchased a ranch 60 miles outside of Prescott. Robert and Dudie lived there until the birth of their first son, John. Then, the decision was made to move into the little town of Prescott, where only a downtown courthouse and the few buildings surrounding it made up the entire community. Even though they now spent more time on city streets than corral dirt, they still maintained an active role in the family’s ranching interests. This seemed to have predestined John to a life enjoying the three R’s – ranching, roping and rodeo. He eventually became the father of two boys and together, they have become a familiar site at events such as the National Finals Rodeo.

Nancy was the next child for Robert and Dudie. While she didn’t share the horse interests of her older brother, she gave her full emotional support to his endeavors. After she grew up and married, she became the mother of three boys who channeled their athletic ability onto the ice, becoming strong hockey competitors.

Then came Katherine. “Kathy” seemed to be born loving horses and started out as a youth to shine in the horse show arena. At a young age, she rode in gymkhana events and participated in 4-H. Her first real horse show, when she was eight years old, was the Prescott Horse Show, which her father had started in 1947. When Kathy rode in that first real event, her little sister, Susan, barely a toddler, wasn’t big enough to ride alone. But little did Kathy know what the future held for both of them. Kathy and Susie grew up to amass incredible show pen records, and are still piling up the wins. And between them, they have five sons who have also collected World Championships like most kids accumulate sports trading cards. Kathy Tobin has two boys. Her sister, Susie Johns, has three.

Dudie passed away when Susie’s oldest boy, Blake (now 20) was just 22 months old. Susie’s voice is quiet when she says, “She didn’t get to see any of my boys show.”

Robert was incredibly proud of his grandsons and tracked all of their horse show and athletic accomplishments. He was their “Opie,” a word given by German families to the grandfather. When the number of grandsons hit ten, Robert had enough for a baseball team. John, Nancy, Kathy and Susie had T-shirts made for all the boys with lettering that announced they were ‘Opie’s All Stars’.

Susie says her father was, “Getting up in years” when her boys were showing a great deal. Because of failing health, he wasn’t able to attend the shows, and never made it to the Congress or World. But, she says, “He always awaited every phone call, win or lose. And we showed him all of the kids’ videos from every time they showed.”

Until the end, he also knew how well his son and daughters were doing in the rodeo arena and show pen. Susie recalls his pride when she won the World in Amateur Trail in November of 2000. He passed away the following February.

This September, when Kathy competed at the AQHA Select World in Amarillo, she visited the Heritage Museum and stood next to a bronze bust of her father, which is there to honor his term as AQHA President during 1975 and 1976. When Kathy first saw the bronze, she recalls, “I burst into tears. It looks so much like him. It was just so exciting. I was so proud of him.”

She remembered how her father had started going to Texas in the 1940s to buy horses for the cowboys to use at the ranch. He became active in horse groups in Arizona, including the Arizona State Race Commission, and it grew from there. Kathy says, “He became an AQHA judge, got involved in AQHA’s race committee and ultimately, the executive committee.” Today, there is a memorial race in his name, and it’s always been clear that racehorses held a special place in his heart.

Beside Kathy as she walked through the halls of the Heritage Museum was her husband, Jerry, who she had first met in 1974 at the American Graduate School of International Management. “He’s from Boston,” Kathy says.

Jerry was not a horseman when she first met him. He went through a baptism by fire of sorts as he dove into the show pen world, first as a horse show husband, and later, as a horse show dad. It’s a baptism he’s obviously thankful for. He has watched his wife and sons achieve constant success in the show pen and he is their strongest supporter. But in the beginning, before the marriage, his mother had said, “Make sure she loves you more than the horses.” This still brings a smile to Kathy’s face.

“He’s been wonderful,” Kathy says. “And you know it’s hard when you’re showing,” she explains, speaking of the time and travel commitments and the demands of the sport. But she has always put family first. Jerry and Kathy exchanged vows in 1976. When they started their family, Kathy took 14 years off from the show pen. “It wasn’t until the boys got into school full time, in 1990, that I started showing again,” she says. The boys also became involved in horses, one more than the other.

Son Hayden, who is now 22, showed in Leadline as a youngster. Now a student at the University of San Diego, music is his passion.

Twenty-year-old Harrison is currently a student at Kathy’s alma mater, Arizona State University. His horse show involvement started with pleasure classes. “But he got pretty bored with that,” Kathy says, explaining that he prefers more action-packed riding. “He graduated into reining. In his last youth years, he made the finals in reining two years in a row.”

Even now, with both boys in college, Kathy gladly alters her riding and showing schedule around family needs. “I don’t show much during the summer, because of our oldest son no longer showing,” she explains. She usually takes most of the summer months off, “to do family things together.” Plus, she adds, the Phoenix heat is so oppressive in the summertime, she finds it hard to ride then.

Susie has also always worked to balance family and horse show demands, even though her situation is different. For almost ten years, she has done it as a single mom. Looking back beyond that time, she remembers, “I showed continuously up until 1980. I showed all through youth and went to the first Youth World they had in Amarillo. I was fortunate to have won the Yearling Filly class there.”

Susie eventually married into the Johns family. Her husband’s uncle was Rick Johns, who, like her father, was a past president of AQHA. People often asked her if she was Rick Johns’ daughter.

Marriage, then staying busy wrangling small children, kept her out of the show pen for several years. But then, around 1988, she had trouble remaining sidelined and started to compete again. “I couldn’t stand it any longer,” she says with a quiet laugh.

She often became nostalgic, thinking about when she showed in her earlier years and had kept halter horses with Greg and Mary Whalen. As a result, she had become a close friend of their daughter’s. In fact, she recalls, “I got a lot of Debbie’s old youth performance horses, which I showed late in my youth and into my amateur years. So, I go way back with Debbie. We showed together and I spent a lot of time showing in California.” She is incredibly thankful that Greg and Mary took her in during the summers that she showed with them.

When Debbie married Bob Kail, Susie was a member of the wedding party. It’s ironic how things have come full circle. About two years ago, Debbie announced to Susie, “We found this horse!” And, of course, he was a perfect pick for Susie’s son, Jeff, to show in Youth Geldings, and for Susie to lead in Amateur Geldings. Oddly enough, a point that must have had Susie’s brother smiling and ringing his hands, Tuff At Last, was a former rope horse. “He even has the white hairs – the saddle marks – on his back,” Susie says.

Susie purchased the horse at a time when Greg wanted to slow down a little and didn’t want to travel to the Youth World. So, Susie explains, “Debbie and Bob have kept Tuffy and it’s just been a wonderful relationship with them.”

Last year, Susie showed the horse to win the Limited Amateur Aged Gelding title at the Congress. And he was named Open Grand Champion Gelding. Susie is showing Tuffy at the World this year.

Also in 2002, at the Youth World, Jeffrey led Tuffy to a World Championship in Aged Geldings. They also brought home the Congress Grand Champion Youth Gelding award that year. Debbie and Bob Kail, standing next to Jeff in the win picture from the Youth World, are beaming. Susie says that, “Jeff repeated his win with Tuffy at this year’s Youth World, winning by a unanimous decision.”

Another full circle irony is with the trainers that Kathy, Susie, and their families ride with in Scottsdale, Jim and Deanna Searles. Years ago, Susie remembers, “I showed against Deanna. I was eleven years older than she was. She was just starting youth when I was finishing. Now, having Deanna and Jim as my trainers is really neat.” They have been “in the Searles’ barn” since 1990. Susie says, “Jim and Deanna have won numerous championships at the Congress aboard out horses. One of the highlights was when Jim was named Reserve World Champion last year in Senior Trail with Jet Set Spots.”

Not only have Searles helped with their horses, but they’ve also given tremendous emotional support to all concerned, especially to Susie’s boys. She is eternally grateful for what they’ve done. She remembers when they stepped in to help at a time when Susie was horribly distraught. Susie’s husband left right before Congress ten years ago. Jim and Deanna encouraged her to not skip the show – to go and get her mind off what had happened. She did. And, she says proudly, “That was the year Blake won the Small Fry Horsemanship. So, it’s amazing how things work out.” Throughout the years, with the absence of their father, Susie says, “Jim and Deanna have been there for my kids and supported them through really hard times.”

And, through those hard times, Susie’s boys “have stayed very supportive of one another,” she says, adding, “Blake came to the Youth World this year to watch Jeff. And Jeff helps drive Trevor to baseball practice.” Both boys sit on the sidelines and cheer on “Ver” at his baseball games.

Jeff, a blond 18 year-old, is a senior in high school in Phoenix. Blake, 20, is a sophomore at Arizona State University. Trevor, 15, is a freshman in high school. Both Blake and Trevor have brown hair and brown eyes. Susie says, “I always say that I have an Oreo cookie – a blond in the middle and the darker ones on each side.”

Blake showed Jet Set Spots all through his youth years and will now be competing in amateur classes – against his mother. Susie knows Blake will be tough competition. “He placed numerous times at the Youth World and Congress in youth trail classes,” she says. “Blake has now passed the reins over in the youth classes to his little brother, Trevor.”

Even though Trevor is busy showing Jet Set Spots, a horse that Susie had also ridden to one World Championship and two Reserve World Championships in Amateur trail, this active teen is also spending countless hours each week at the baseball diamond. “This is something he’s adored since he was six years old and aspired to become a baseball player,” Susie says, “He’s worked very hard. He puts baseball over the horses right how, and as a mother, I have to be supportive of him. We’re in a very competitive baseball area. The high school has been state champion the last four out of five years, so if Trevor makes the baseball team in January, it will be a dream come true.”

Susie’s sister, Nancy, also pitches in to take Trevor to baseball practice, if Susie has to be away. “She loves having her house full of kids,” Susie says. Nancy, Susie and Kathy live close enough that’s it’s convenient when they are asked to help one another out. “We all live in Phoenix,” Susie says. “In fact, Kathy and I used to live next door to each other, until her kids were off to college. For at least 15 years, our backyards connected.”

A connection has also followed through their lives. When Kathy showed at the Select World, Susie was on the sidelines. In fact, Kathy says there was an entire entourage of family and friends there, including people from “Jim and Deanna’s barn.” They all offered her tremendous support. And that encouragement, she says, seemed to be a trademark of this show. “Everyone cheered everybody on. It was really nice.” She said that her view of Select showing is that, at this age, exhibitors look at the sport as more of a hobby than a quest to earn money. And, she adds with a chuckle, “At this age, everybody is just grateful to be able to get out of bed and ride.” Some of the exhibitors, she said, had nicknamed the event Wrinkle World.

Select riders, Kathy feels, are far from over the hill. “Susie and I had a great aunt that jumped sidesaddle until she was in her early 80s and the family made her quit. But my goal isn’t to jump sidesaddle. It’s just to keep going,” Kathy says frankly.

Susie hasn’t yet reached the magic age to allow her to show Select, but when the time comes, she’ll be there.

But at this Select World, Kathy rode Flashy Attraction, also known as “Rider,” to reserve championships in Western Horsemanship and Western Riding, and a 13th slot out of 49 in Trail. She captured another reserve championship in Hunter Under Saddle with Just Burning Money. Speaking for herself and other exhibitors, she says, “We were excited that they gave the same beautiful buckles and trophies as they do at the open World. The jackets were also the same. Then, for the All-Around and Reserve Select Amateur, they gave beautiful saddles. They really went all out with the awards.”

Kathy’s equine award winners haven’t been with her all that long, and she feels great that even so, they have bonded so well. She recalls seeing Flash Attraction at a show in Del Mar, when his previous owner, Nancy Chapman, was having to show him on a Western Riding course set up on a narrow race track. “He was just a natural,” Kathy says. “and Nancy looked so good on him.” Kathy couldn’t stop thinking about the horse, then, “All of the sudden, I heard he was up for sale. I couldn’t believe my ears! I bought him without even riding him first.”

Their first show together was last year in Temecula. “It was almost the last weekend in July, so I had to qualify him in two weekends.” She says that everyone at Tim Whitney’s barn, including April and Casey Devitt, pitched in to help her get the points she needed. “I ended up 9th in Amateur Western Riding at the World show last year.”

Kathy gets a kick out of this gelding’s personality. “He’s really sweet, and he’s sort of a Dennis the Menace. He’s always looking for a handout. He thinks he deserves to have whatever you’re eating and gets upset if you don’t give him something.” His favorite treat consists of a few Jolly Rancher hard candies. “I think horses have to have that type of personality to be good. That’s what makes a great horse,” she says. Rider is also extremely trusting.

Her English horse, “Bernie,” is also the trusting type. “One of the first shows I took him to, after winning the Non-Pro 3 Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle Futurity at Congress, was the Arizona Sun Country Circuit. He’d just turned four. We were in the Amateur Hunter Under Saddle class. There was a concession booth right by the entrance gate. It sets up above the arena a little ways, on kind of a dirt berm. Just as we got there, they must have knocked down 50 pots and pans. It was the most horrendous sound. All Bernie did was jump sideways a few feet. I collected my wits and we went right on after that. He never got upset.”

Bernie has gone on to win the Congress in Amateur Hunter Under Saddle in 2000. He had a good shot at repeating it at the World that year, but one hour before the amateur class, Kathy recalls, “He came down with an allergic reaction to something. When we came to saddle him before the class, he had hives all over his body. His eyes were swollen completely closed and his nostrils were almost closed.” Kathy breathes a sigh of relief when she recalls how quickly they were able to get a vet to Bernie’s stall. Without that immediate medical care, “We would have lost him,” she says. Bernie recovered enough to compete later in the open part of the show. He was Reserve World Champion in Senior Hunter Under Saddle with Deanna Searles. For a fairly young horse, he has already established quite a history.

Kathy has another young horse that is establishing a history. She is looking forward to showing a 3 year-old stallion, Allocate Your Assets, by Protect Your Assets. “Al,” won the 2 Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle Futurity at the 2002 Congress, and the NSBA Gold and Silver Hunter Under Saddle 2 Year-Old Futurity with Brian Isbell in the saddle. He also won several other futurities in 2002. Susie has been watching the stallion’s progress and says, “Kathy is real excited for her and Deanna to start showing this fine young horse.”

Susie is also riding a young horse now, though he is two years senior to Bernie. But for years, Susie showed Jet Set Spots, the late teen gelding she has handed over to Trevor. Her young horse was 5th at the World in Junior Trail last year. Still, it’s almost like starting over. “He’s a six-year-old, compared to Jet Set Spots, who is 17. There’s a few years of seasoning difference there,” she says. Someone asked Susie recently, “Doesn’t it take three or four years to make a good trail horse?” Susie answered, “It takes twelve to make a great one.” She’ll be at the World again this year and even if the horse doesn’t get to the top of the class, she’s says, “I’m just happy getting to be there. I just love to show, and I love to ride.”

When Susie and Kathy rode as children, they weren’t, of course, mounted on the caliber of horses they have today. Kathy recalls the year 1964 when, she says, “My father bought me my first really nice Quarter Horse from a friend of his in Kansas, Bob Sutherland. Dad had judged the American Royal and saw this mare in a halter class there. I went and tried her out that summer and bought her. I showed her in western pleasure, halter and showmanship classes.”

Kathy remembers the early days of showmanship. “For a while, we all showed in chaps, because nobody knew what kind of class it was. It wasn’t a riding class and it wasn’t a halter class.”

Later, Kathy began riding with trainer Dwight Stewart, who she says, “Also did reining and trail. So, I purchased a horse from him named Diamond Content. I started showing in reining, trail and eventually, Western Riding, halter and showmanship.” Kathy recalls this mare as hot enough to require “miles of riding before a class,” so she wouldn’t try to run off when she was being judged. And, in the barn, the mare would only let Kathy, or one other lady, blanket her. Quirky yes, but broke and capable of winning.

During Kathy’s youth, she also rode with Al and Becky Dunning and Laurel Walker Denton.

Susie’s recollection of horses in the earlier years is brief. She laughs as she says, “Kathy got the good ones. It seemed like I always had the rankest horses. Oh yeah – I’ve been bucked off in the show arena.”

Sometimes, horses changed hands, usually from Kathy to Susie. One that will go down in their history books is Dun By Gold. “He had been a Congress champion several times,” Susie recalls. Kathy and Dun By Gold did well together for years, but there finally came a time when, Kathy says, “We got on each other’s nerves.” So, Susie says, “I scooped him up and placed numerous times in trail with him at the open World. And, he’s got to practically be named the all-time Walk-Trot champion at the Congress. He won the Small Fry Horsemanship with my son Blake – then my sons Jeff and Trevor won reserve championships with him in the Small Fry.” Each boy won a saddle with the horse.

Dun By Gold developed problems with arthritis at a relatively young age and is retired. Susie says, “He’s one that I will never part with.” She now calls him a “brood gelding” and admits with a chuckle, “I am sure that soon I will have a whole collection of brood geldings.”

Over all the years of showing, Kathy and Susie have never felt as though they had to compete against each other in any way. They just love sharing the same interest and hitting the road together. In fact, after they qualify each year, Susie says, “Then we just go to the fun shows that we really like, such as Del Mar and Santa Barbara.”

Susie and Kathy invite Jim Searles’ mother, Mary Lou, to stay with them, when Kathy’s husband doesn’t attend. The three “girls” share a room, and spend time going out for coffee and sharing news. The sisters, Susie explains, “Catch up on sisterly things. It is really fun.” They look forward to it, and also love adding Mary Lou to the fold. “She’s our coffee buddy and roommate,” Susie says. She and Kathy cherish all the wonderful friends they’ve acquired in their years of showing Quarter Horses. They wouldn’t, Susie says, “Trade it for anything.”

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