06/12/2026
🚨We are excited to host Generation gap showmanship with a new twist this year- NO GAP! 🚨
You asked- We listened! Going forward we will rename this class to team showmanship- we are excited to include more teams and have some fun!
Every year, Darlene Morrison generously sponsors the Generation Gap Showmanship class in honor if the late Deluxe Little Lena
“Lena came into my life as a gangly yearling. She wasn’t for me but a client of my daughter’s.
I had fallen in love with her instantly— a true diamond in the rough.
To my surprise, the client didn’t think she would work for her, so I got the call to buy Lena. I was the happiest girl in town.
Carrie got her broke for me, and soon our career started. That was short-lived, only after getting to show her three times under saddle.
The news came from the vet’s biopsy that the bug bite on Lena’s back was in fact a very rare cancer. After many tests, Dr. Genovese consulted with Mississippi State University. We all decided to do chemo therapy.
10 incisions into her back and chemo bands were implanted right under where the saddle would sit.
We were hopeful, then the cancer came back, and we had to do surgery on her neck. Lena got weak and didn’t do too well but stayed the same sweet girl I loved so much.
In her recovery, we decided to make her a showmanship horse.
She picked it up quickly and loved it. I went on to win at Region Four Quarter Horse, Quarter Horse Congress, open shows, and Quarter Horse shows.
Lena loved the shows, always happy with her ears up and always made me look good.
Lena had many setbacks with the cancer, but we were always able to beat it.
The most important job Lena had was to be a babysitter, toddler teacher, and a friend to all children.
She started all my granddaughters in their riding, showing career.
Lena had more common sense than most people. Lena truly was a diamond that shined so bright to so many.
She is terribly missed by our entire family. No other horse will ever fill her horse shoes.
I would like to thank Dr. Emily Miller who worked tirelessly in Lena’s remission, even doing a trial from England in hopes of helping her.
I do the Generation Gap Showmanship every year in this sweet girl’s memory.
Thank you, Dusty Boots, for allowing Lena’s legacy to live on.”
Thank you, Darlene, for your dedication to our club! Your hard work does not go unnoticed.
