Gerhart, and her husband Jim Rod, a cutting horse trainer, were the breeders of Mulberry Canyon Moon (“Macy”), the Top Futurity Horse and Top Horse Overall, with earnings of $180,336. The talented gray mare, now 5, is named for the canyon in which the Gerharts live on the Adkins Ranch near Merkel, Texas.
“I miss barrel racing,” said Gerhart. “I refuse to give up raising a few barrel horses each year. It’s my way of staying in touch with it.”
Macy is by Marthas Six Moons out of De Streaker (“Crystal), a gray mare by Osage Streaker (TB), sire of Angie Meador’s National Finals Rodeo horse Hesa Classy Osage. Crystal, a 1985 model, is out of Go Stuff Too, by the Go Man Go stallion Four Forty King.
While attending Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, Gerhart, a New Jersey transplant, purchased Crystal as a 5-year-old from Suzanne Moseley. Crystal was trained by former National Finals Rodeo qualifier Marion Gramith.
“I rodeoed on her all through college,” said Gerhart. “I had a bunch of fun on her. After college, I just started breeding her. I haven’t really been to a barrel race since then.”
Gerhart’s time instead switched to helping her husband with the cutting horses and raising their two small children.
Crystal was bred to Snorty Lena, a cutting stallion owned by the Adkins ranch, a couple times, Frenchmans Guy, and her last foal was by Sticks An Stones, but the foal didn’t survive. Macy was the result of several attempts to get Crystal in foal to Marthas Six Moons.
Gerhart said that Macy always had that “something extra” to make her special.
“She was really sick when she was born and we didn’t know if she was going to make it,” Gerhart said. “She was a gritty baby and she would test you.”
Although she never thought it would happen, Gerhart sold Crystal last year to Danny Ray’s Victory Farms.
“I never had the heart to let her go until last year,” Gerhart said. “She was getting up there in years and we were having trouble getting her in foal. I figured he has the staff to get it done.”
Gerhart hopes that Ray is able to get some more foals out of Crystal. She laments that many of the mare’s colts didn’t get the chance to prove their worth in the arena like Macy did.
“We’ve just been so excited about (Macy),” exclaimed Gerhart. “We’re really proud of what she’s done.”
