Miss Gypsy Jackson
Miss Gypsy Jackson is all about smiling. The homebred mare and owner Cheyanne Carpenter had lots to celebrate int he PCCHA Futurity. • Photo by Molly Montag.

Miss Gypsy Jackson & Carpenter All Smiles After PCCHA Futurity

Miss Gypsy Jackson is a sweet and talented horse that loves people, but is tenacious in the cutting pen. You’d never guess the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association Futurity Amateur Champion had such a rough start in life.

The mare, known as “Baby Girl,” and owner Cheyanne Carpenter defeated eleven horse-and-rider pairs to rise to the top of the PCCHA Futurity Amateur with a composite of 427.5 (211/216.5). They finished 6 points ahead of Reserve Champions CD Can Dance (High Brow CD x Duals Dancer x Reys Dual Badger) and Karen Brody, of Santa Barbara, California.

Carpenter was ecstatic after the win. This year was the first time she’d shown a home bred horse, and also her first season back in the cutting pen in several years.

It’s also special because Baby Girl is the daughter of Carpenter’s old show horse, HA Gypsy Crackin, a 2006 daughter of Starlights Gypsy that Carpenter campaigned in aged events, weekend cuttings and the National High School Finals rodeo. The mare retired with more than $51,000 in earnings, and Carpenter was excited for the mare’s turn as a broodmare.

It didn’t go as smooth as Carpenter hoped, so the California horsewoman was thrilled in February, 2016, when her old show horse foaled a High Brow Jackson filly.

HA Gypsy Crackin was not so thrilled.

“The second [Baby Girl] hit the ground, her mom wanted nothing to do with her and tried to kill her,” Carpenter explained.

Miss Gypsy Jackson shows off some of her tricks while owner Cheyanne Carpenter tries to do an interview with Quarter Horse News.

Alert staff at 808 Ranch was on hand for the birth and monitoring the situation, Carpenter said, quickly stepping in to protect the foal before she was hurt.

In spite of the dramatic start, things got back on the right track for the filly after she was paired up with a Paint recipient mare, who instead became the future cutter’s new mother.

Carpenter describes the mare as a late bloomer, but she’s been picking up steam as this year’s futurity season has progressed.

In addition to their win in both the Holy Cow Performance Horses PCCHA Futurity and Futurity Intermediate in Las Vegas, Carpenter rode the mare to the Unlimited Amateur Championship at the Idaho Cutting Horse Association Futurity, Derby & Classic. 

Those checks, combined with the $13,000 trainer Monty Buntin grabbed for placing fourth in the PCCHA Futurity Open, pushed the mare’s lifetime winnings to roughly $25,000.

And, Baby Girl isn’t all business. The sorrel mare already has knows how to do tricks, and Carpenter plans to add more to her repertoire. 

“We know how to smile. We know how to bow,” she said of the mare, who readily ‘smiled’ for the camera. “We’re learning to lay down. That’s our next goal.”

Carpenter, of Lodi, California, is savoring the success with Miss Gypsy Jackson. The mare was her first foray into horse breeding, but not her only homebred. HA Gypsy Crackin gave birth to a Meteles Cat foal this year and, in spite of Carpenter’s initially worry, the broodmare accepted the second foal and raised it without a hitch. 

Although she still thought winning the PCCHA Futurity was “pretty dang crazy,” she looked forward to her 3-year-old mare’s future.

“It’s fun showing something that’s home-raised,” she said.

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