I always had a dream, a goal and a desire to own a great moving, good minded, western pleasure stallion.  I bought two different stallions and even though they were nice horses, in my opinion they lacked that “special something” that I really wanted.  I then raised a really nice one, but I sold him also as he wasn’t the one for me.  I flew to Texas and looked at quite a few, and came home without a horse.  I then called Carol McWhirter and asked what she had. The Invester was getting old and she had a few really nice ones.  She told me about Invested Dimension and a full brother to Impulsions.  I was so excited as I flew to Nebraska.  The whole family went…Boyd (my husband), and Brook and Bree (my two daughters).  Bree was just a baby.  I remember it was December, it was cold and there was snow on the ground.  Carol let a group of colts in the arena together for me to look at.  There was about a dozen or more to choose from.  When the colts trotted into the arena, there was one that floated when he moved.  You couldn’t even hear him hit the ground.  His look was so striking!  He was a dark, cherry red, with a big white face, huge intelligent eyes, two white socks and charisma like I’d never seen before.  When he loped, I couldn’t look at any one else… he was breathtaking. My husband, who isn’t really a horse person, said “Wow, that one is the one”.  I tingled all over as I knew I had found my horse.  You know in life when you just know something or someone is special, or that “This is it”.  Well, this was it.  I remember my husband did a little truck shopping and we bought a Nebraska truck and a Nebraska horse came home to California.  Dimensions was a coming yearling and he got to come home and grow up here in California.

I started him as a two year old, and I went slowly with him as I wanted him to last.  Last he did!  As a 6 year old, after I was Reserve World Champion, we fluoroscoped him on all four legs just to see if he had any bone changes, or spurs, etc.  He was clean as a whistle, not one abnormality anywhere.  Front feet, hocks, everything… he was the soundest horse I ever showed, and he is still sound and healthy to this day!

Dimensions was a big, strong, mature 2 yr old and I realize now that I could have really pushed him to be a big time two year old.  But, I’m happy that I went slowly with him.  He was super good minded and easy to train.  For a stallion, he was amazing!!!  Many people think I must have been really tough on him to get him so solid, but I never even bitted him up.  I showed him his job and he did it.  He was so smart.  When he struck off into the lope, it was amazing.  I had never felt a lope that great.  Powerful, yet soft, smooth as glass and rhythmic.  My neighbor and friend, Todd Crawford (the great reining and cow horse trainer), would watch him and tell me “That horse could do the reining, pleasure, western riding, anything!!!”  He was so special.

The word got out on him and I started getting huge offers for him.  My husband and I talked and we decided to keep him and go on with him.  My next decision was, do I show him or get one of the “big dogs” to show him.  At that point in my career, I had won a lot on the West Coast, but had not won in the Midwest or back east. A lot of people told me that I needed a “big name” to show him in order to win.  Jerry Stanford told me that in his opinion, Dimensions was the best son of The Invester, but I needed a man on him to win.  I just didn’t know what to think.  I decided that I was the only one who had shown that horse and I was going to show him.  I started the year off right, winning the senior pleasure 2 out of 3 times shown at Sun Circuit.  I then started winning all over.  Dimensions was taking them by storm!!!  People loved him everywhere we would go.  I had a lot of people call him “Mr. AQHA”.  Neck up, level and steady, legs pure and movement good.  His little ears up and happy all the time.  After I was named the Reserve World Champion, Troy Compton, who had won, said to me “I know you were the crowd favorite.  They screamed for Dimensions”.

After the World I had huge offers on him, but once more we talked as a family and decided that it’s not all about money… we were going to keep that great horse and do our best by him.  I’m so thankful we did.  When I ride his colts, and they strike off into that same lope their daddy has, it gives me goose bumps.  His babies have that special something just like their dad.  He puts baby doll heads on them with beautiful flowing movement, and great minds.  We have quite a few with a lot of color, paints and palominos.  Dimensions is still a family man.  My kids ride and enjoy him, and he still has that same charisma as the day he was named, Reserve World Champion!