DON DEPUY:
Competitive rodeo: Broncs and bull riding.
Competitive reining, roping, and cutting competition.
Don won the Pacific Coast reining championship in 1976 with his grandfather, Don Colwell at the Cow Palace. Because they were challenged they agreed to compete in the reining competition without using the reins. Don won the competion without using reins or cueing.
Currently: PNER endurance rider. Don and Puddin have placed in the top 10 several times.
Currently: Owner of Klamath River Horse Training, Klamath Falls, Oregon
Currently: Presented horse training clinics for the High Desert Trail Riders and the Oregon Back Country Horseman and the Arabian Horse Society.
Currently: Promoting the original Polish Arabian warhorse line for www.highlandarabians.com Don is interested in promoting the Arabian as more than a show horse. He currently is training grade Arabian Humane Society rescue horses and turning them into athletes. In addition he is training highly bred Arabian horses for Robbin Stewart, owner of Highland Arabians.

APRIL DEPUY:
Worked as wrangler and horseback riding guide for:
Cascade Adventures, Sisters, Oregon
High Cascade Stasbles & Pack Station, Sisters, Oregon
Black Butte Ranch, Sisters, Oregon
Currently co-owner of Klamath River Horse Training, Klamath Falls, Oregon

PUDDIN DEPUY:

I am an endurance racing horse. The Pacific Northwest Endurance Conference veterinarians say that I am the fastest horse in the circuit. I was a Humane Society rescue horse who has become an exceptional athlete. I can almost fly like Pegasus. I am intelligent, gentle, alert, and they say that I am beautiful. I can do all kinds of fancy manuevers with guidance from my partner and owner, Don Depuy

Experience: Puddin is an amazing horse who is extremely well trained. One day on a training excursion, Puddin and her sidekick, Bobby the Australian Shepherd refused to mind Don. This was unusual, because both the horse and dog are very well trained.

Don decided to trust Puddin so he let her have free rein. She and the dog led him to a remote wooded area where an elk calf was struggling and stuck in a mud bog. This episode was similar to a Walt Disney Adventure. The ground was too muddy for Don to be able to sit on Puddin, rope the elk baby and pull it to safety.

He had to rely on Puddin`s ability to independently rescue the elk calf with just Don`s voice cues. Don roped the elk calf, tied (dallied) the rope to his saddle horn, hopped off Puddin and cued her to pull. She obeyed beautifully and pulled the squawling elk calf right out of the bog.

At that point the elk calf was hysterical and turned into a wild bawling baby. Don cued Puddin to hold steady which she did. It was quite a wrestling match, but Puddin held tight without spooking and Don was able to release the rope and free the calf. The elk calf then ran off bawling for it`s mother and telling Don, Puddin and Bobby off as he ran away. When the 3 of them came home I knew something was up. Puddin came prancing into the yard. The dog was excited and was whining. Puddin let me know that she was proud of herself by her very proud demeanor.
IPuddin can run at a lightning quick pace. She also has unbelievable heart, stamina and won`t quit on Don. Hunters were waiting outside our property limits to pick off the tame deer heard that resides in our rural community.

Don taught Puddin to run after and herd deer like they were cattle. She can actually run faster than deer. There was a very young buck who deserved to live longer than one year. Some hunters bragged to Don that they were going to shoot the deer as soon as he walked off or our property. Don felt this was an injustice since the buck was barely a year old so he had Puddin run through the forest. She flew like Pegasus and caught up with the herd. She allowed Don to rope the buck. Don hopped off and trimmed his little antlers so that he would resemble a doe and therefore get to live longer.