Celebrating The Creative Spirit Perpetual Bronze with Creative Spirit’s Lottery Ticket
Monday, February 13, 2017
by Chryse Veit
The Creative Spirit Perpetual Bronze was started in 1991 as a memorial to Creative Spirit’s Deliverance, a 1989 colt whom was lost to colic, hence, the requests for donations each year to the Deedie Wrigley Colic Research Fund.
The Creative Spirit Perpetual Bronze was designed by Chryse Veit and sculpted by Nancy Reikle in 1991. Reikle at one time was one of Douwe Blumberg’s mentors.
About the same time as Creative Spirit’s Deliverance was losing his battle with colic, Creative Spirit’s Lottery Ticket was just beginning his show career, winning the Weanling Colt class at the Minnesota Futurity with Tom Volz and Cary Bartz as handlers. “Forrester” was born at Volz Stables in Stillwater, MN, on March 24, 1990. He was a combination of Symbol’s Black Ivory, a lovely grey mare who was owned by Cary Bartz and later sold to Veit’s mother to become the perfect lawn ornament. Forrester was sired by Mt. Airies Seven-Fifty, who also sired Sunday Star, a successful show ring star at Volz Stables. The stud service was purchased from Dr. Suzanne Miller who had bought it through the Wisconsin Limited Breeders program but did not have the use for it as she had thought.
Nearly a year later Forrester arrived as a dark, almost bay colt who didn’t turn grey until he was two. In his show ring debut in the Futurity Colts class at Minnesota Futurity he started showing off the minute he hit the ring. Judge Barbara Cannon called for a second work out and when asked why she replied, I wanted to see him go again.” That was his first win.
Next stop was the Wisconsin Limited Breeders class, held at the time at the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds in Milwaukee. Forrester made the cut and finished as the reserve champion, winning nearly $8,000.
After that it was back home to Creative Spirit Stable in Amery, WI, where Melissa, Bennett, Bruce and Chris Larson (at the time) shoveled, watered, fed and fixed fence constantly. He grew up frolicking in their pasture and had fun being a baby. Longtime road horse exhibitor Al Moiser used to come by and yell, “Say there, I’ll give you $100 for him,” and then just laughed and laughed.
As a coming three-year-old a plump Forrester went back to Volz Stables to being his training. He started his under saddle career by going to the Des Moines Springfest to work and then to Milwaukee Spring where he was a star and won his first time out, prompting Jane Mueller to ask if he was going to Indiana for the ASR Sweepstakes. The Larson family hadn’t thought about it, although he was qualified. They spent the summer preparing for the Sweepstakes and the UPHA Classics Championships at Kansas City.
Forrester’s performance in the Sweepstakes was magnificent on the rail and during the lead part, knocked his handler over but Volz recovered and made a great lead. Ribbons were presented in reverse order and sure enough the grey horse was called out last. What a celebration it was! He finished the year with a strong third in the UPHA Park Pleasure Classics Championship at Kansas City.
The next year Forrester was leased to Jill Lowry. They won the class at the National Pleasure Show. The Larson’s daughter, Melissa, was the next jockey for Forrester, learning along the way and peaking with a great win at the Denver Stock Show. Tyler Volz and Allison Sara also had their time in the saddle with Forrester.
He returned to Minnesota in 2004 and eventually became the Maple Hill Stables mascot, introducing many a young rider to the American Saddlebred.
“We (Vaughn, Melissa, Greg and myself) are very privileged to be responsible to own him and care for him. In celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Creative Spirit Perpetual Bronze, we are honored to share this story of this 20-year-old horse who first went to the Minnesota Futurity Horse Show…Creative Spirit’s Lottery Ticket,” concluded Chryse Veit.
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