The Mane Point: A to Z horses - Captivating Capt Han Solo+ and Choke

What a stud!

“Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, farm boy,” said the original Han Solo, played by Harrison Ford in 1977’s “Star Wars” motion picture.

Well, no, it’s certainly not.

Take a look at this handsome stud, if you have any doubts about that.

Capt Han Solo+ is a 1995 purebred Arabian stallion, owned by novelist and equestrian Jennifer Walker of Folsom, California. (Walker is the author of the Green Meadow Series of equestrian books for preteens. See links at the end of this blog post for more information.)

Sired by Abu Rabba, this Sabino Chestnut beauty is a Ben Rabba grandson out of Huckleberry Bey daughter RR Bey Mystique.

Solo, as Walker calls him, sports four white socks and a blaze. Flashy and athletic, he was 2007 Reserve National Champion in Training Level and a Top Ten First Level in Dressage , taking top Sport Horse Stallion honors in Regions 1 and 2.

CHS Skywalker, one of his sons, went National Top Ten twice for Sport Horse In-Hand Geldings.

Capt Han Solo+ stands at stud at Panoshe Ranch in Sacramento, California.

Choke does anything but choke.

Wisconsin horse trainer T.J. Clibborn loves a challenge. The Australian-born cowboy has gentled numerous wild Mustangs, transforming them into pleasing mounts.

One of Clibborn’s all-time favorite horses is a Mustang mare called Choke.

In fact, this sweet horse, coming five in 2012, has one of America’s best-loved as well. Choke and TJ were finalists in the American Competitive Trail Horse Association’s “America’s Favorite Trail Horse” contest last year.

Actually, Choke wasn’t Clibborn’s first choice, when he went to bid for a wild mustang for his first Extreme Mustang Makeover Challenge about five years ago. But he fell in love with the bay immediately. On their first night together, Clibborn saved the mare’s life by dislodging shavings from her throat in the stall. The feral mare had ingested them and began choking.

Choke was aptly named.

Her actual name is Little Miss Finnegan, but everyone knows her as Choke.

The pair went on to finish fifth in the 2009 Mustang Challenge, held at the Midwest Horse Fair in Madison, Wisconsin. Two years later, they won the Ultimate Cowboy Challenge.

Clibborn and his wife, horse trainer Tracy Porter, continue to participate in Mustang training competitions, often displaying their successes in equestrian performances and horse expositions each year. And Choke always draws applause, particularly when she bows to the ground and welcomes her cowboy to curl up next to her.

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Image/s:

Captain Han Solo+ photos

From Jennifer Walker – Used by Permission.
Choke photos provided by T.J. Clibborn

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