Hard work and high technology combine with showmanship on a farm between Kiester and Wells on Highway 22. Lad and Megan Benes bought the former mink farming operation four years ago and are well on their way to transforming it into a breeding operation for paint horses.

The Benes’ 11-year-old son, Laddie, competes in national and regional show competitions and last year won the National Pinto Show Championship in Tulsa, Okla. Laddie also won three reserve world titles in the last year.

Paint horse are considered a blood-lined animal whose coloration is outside the standards of thoroughbred or quarter horse show standards. They are often referred to as stock horses. Pinto horses are simply horses of unusual coloration of any breed. The division between paint and pinto horses is sometimes a little blurred, as animals from both categories can sometimes compete in the same shows, based on various gradients of coloration. Paint horses are a part of the western pleasure horse category.

Megan Benes is a lifelong horse lover who began showing horses at age 12. Her current focus is to help her son reach his goal of being the top under-13 youth champion in America within the next two years. It’s an expensive pastime with potentially high end rewards. Show clothes, travel, training and equine medical expenses can be daunting, but it’s labor of love for the Benes family.

Show horses can’t perform forever, and this year marks a change for Laddie Benes in his quest for more titles. The horse he rode to victory last year, Itsy Bitsy, is now 16 years old and in retirement. Laddie’s new mount will be QTS Scotch and Seven, better known to the family as Scotch, a 10-year-old mare.

Nineteen horses of various size, breed and age now reside on the Benes farm, which sports a large stable and training ring, with a tack room on one end holding the bridles, saddlery, and other accouterments of the show horse world. No stallions are present as all the breeding is done through artificial insemination, an expensive venture in itself. Each state has a futurity event, featuring young stallions with excellent bloodlines who may sire championship level offspring. Horse breeders such as the Benes family can purchase stud fee rights from the stallions owners. Fees can run as high as $2,700 for annual rights to horse semen from a championship level stallion. Collection and shipping fees add to the cost.

The mares at the Benes’ barn have excellent bloodlines, but they also have their share of imperfections. Slight flaws in coloration, carriage, or ongoing health issues may reduce the value of the mares for show purposes, but their long term value for breeding purposes remains unaffected. Slightly flawed mares are less expensive, but have value for the future of the Benes’ breeding operation.

The long-term goal for the Benes operation is to produce well-bred, quality horses, especially stallions, which can be of great value for high end breeding operations in the show horse world. A top stallion with good bloodlines and proven show competition ability can be worth as much as $75,000 or more. A similar mare can fetch a price of $50,000. The Benes operation is working toward that goal.

“We have a long way to go before we can reach the top level, but things look promising,” Megan Benes said.

Paint horses are frequently bred with quarter horses to gain more modern characteristics and widen the gene pool, but there are risks involved, Megan Benes said.

“There is no way to guarantee that the newborn foals will have the coloration characteristics of paint horses. If they are all one color they have no value for showing in competition.”

Medical issues often prove a stumbling block for show horses, especially on the long road trips to events in far flung locations, Benes said.

“We push these animals pretty hard. I don’t know why, but it seems the more valuable the horse, the more health problems they have.”

Last year the Benes’ took a horse on a show trip, only to have the ligaments in one of the animal’s legs lock up.

Horse training is done in other locations by professional trainers, involving even more miles on the road. While Megan Benes has spent 35 years of her life working with horses, she feels the need for professional training to reach a championship level of competition.

Miniature paint horses are also shown by the Benes’ son, Laddie. The smaller horses demonstrate a variety of trained skills in competition, including jumping in hand, which involves the horse’s handler guiding it through a series of obstacles similar to show jumping events. Bob, a six year old miniature handled by Laddie won the High Point mini-A competition in Minnesota last year, Laddie beating out all adult competitors. The horse and handler pair also won national championships in two events, youth showmanship at halter in both the Western and English categories.

It all results in a hectic but rewarding life style for the Faribault County family. Lad farms 300 acres of farmland and raises dairy heifers. Laddie is a student at St. Casimir’s School in Wells and loves to play football. Megan has immersed herself in her son’s competition career and the development of the breeding operation. Someday, she would like to go back to showing horses herself.

“I don’t know when it will happen, but I would love to ride in competition again,” she said.