Challenge Painting #229 Kids and Mustangs: Little Willie and Maysa

Susan and Ryan Hanna's Little Willie and their daughter Maysa,

"Friends"
Little Willie and Maysa
5 by 7 Watercolor
By LindaLMartinArtist
ON HOLD

In Susan's words: As for the story of us...Ryan, my husband, and I both grew up in a ranch and rodeo family. I was a barrel racer. He's a steer wrestler. I haven't been competitive since I had our first child (Hayes, who's already 6! And we have Maysa, 3). Ryan spent a while on the ProRodeo Circuit and was really successful. Won our circuit twice and won the Dodge Nat'l Circuit Finals once. Now days, we ranch, and make and sell ranch horses. I'm also a teacher (preschool at the moment) for our public school district.

Last year Ryan entered his first EMM. Honestly, we probably got into it for all the wrong reasons...for the competition, for a challenge, and to get our name out to a different crowd. We had no clue that we would fall head-over-heels for mustangs and the circle of people involved with them. Our first mustang was Little Willie, EMM Colorado, last year. Little Willie was TINY, and really quite homely (until you got to know him!)!

Ryan is 6'6 and towered over this little horse! But he just may have had the BIGGEST heart of any horse we've come across. Ryan and Willie ended up in the Finals in Colorado...afterwards, (and keep in mind that Ryan has accomplished much in the rodeo and ranch horse comp. world) said that "THIS was the BIGGEST and most IMPORTANT thing he has done in his equine career...". We ALL cried when we said goodbye to Willie, but take a look where he was adopted to, http://www.thehideout.com/movie.htm

This is Little Willie and Maysa (then 2).  He LOVED kids! 
From day 1 he had such an interest and curiousity for our kids.

That's a little bit about us and our mustang experience. We have lots of "nice" horses. We have family that have a few great studs and are bred to run and perform...BUT, there is just something special about these mustangs. Something that is hard to put in words. Something that pulls on our heartstrings a little more. And the bonus is the wonderful people that we have crossed paths with in the experience!