While
waiting for the pre-game show to begin in the University of Texas Frank Erwin
Center, I found myself momentarily lost in a daydream. The cavernous amphitheater
was jam packed with rowdy football fans anxious to watch the first game of the
season for the Austin Wranglers, a new professional Arena Football team.
That day was to be the debut appearance of Hasan as the Wranglers’ team
spirit symbol. Hasan is a special kind of equine athlete whose wide reputation
gained him the opportunity to prove that he was as reliable in the strange indoor
environment as he has always been at horse shows.
My reverie was shattered when the crowd started shrieking and stomping their
feet. My eyes drifted upward, and there he was on the multiple screens of the
Jumbotron! My heart skipped a beat and tears came to my eyes as I found myself
in a crowd of thousands of wildly cheering fans. Hasan was shown galloping through
the trees, with hooves thundering to the growing intensity of the dramatic drum
roll. The music reached a frenzied pitch as Hasan approached closer and in slow
motion he paused to rear high as his rider, in classic western style, drew a
pistol and fired directly at the camera. Then out of a heavy veil of smoke drifting
from a huge inflatable football helmet he appeared in person at the end of the
playing field! The spotlights were on him and the pyrotechnics show exploded
around him as he galloped around the field. He paused and reared high over the
team logo at centerfield, and then continued on in a mesmerizing 
dance-like
“Passage” to the far end zone, where he executed a hind leg walk
and landed perfectly centered on a pedestal. He pivoted around, saluted the
audience and then stood motionless as a double procession of rumbling Harley-Davidson
motorcycles circled him and ferried in the cheerleaders. With more fireworks
booming and the song “Born to be Wild” blaring, Hasan presented
a stunning statuesque picture of equine perfection and poise. Of course Allen
Pogue, who raised Hasan, has been his trainer and constant companion for the
stallion’s entire 17 years was there to embolden and ride him through
the performance.
Hasan is a stallion like no other, the kind of horse that most folks only dream
about. He is the epitome of beauty, grace and a credit to his Arabian heritage.
A horse that can take your breath away, just as he was doing to over 12,000
spectators that day.
There had
been a rehearsal for the pre-game show, but there had been no pyrotechnics,
no smoke and no shrieking audience. The motorcycles, the loud music, the entry
through the giant inflatable Wranglers helmet all went perfectly. But at showtime
that afternoon, it only partially inflated just seconds before Hasan was due
to charge through to make his entrance. The show was being televised and so
there was no time for repairs and the tunnel-like entrance was completely filled
with an impenetrable wall of smoke. The director signaled for Allen and Hasan
to start through! Now imagine what Hasan was faced with… music so loud
it vibrated the concrete floor, 12,000 shrieking fans, a foreboding smoke-filled
low tunnel opening onto a darkened field with wildly ballyhooing spotlights.
As Allen nudged Hasan forward the horse dropped his head and entered the tunnel
with the fabric draping around his neck, dragging him back as he moved. Yet
Hasan emerged unshaken to begin his spotlighted routine. This was truly a test
under fire and he performed admirably!
Hasan did not begin his advanced training until he had entered mid-life, yet
he stands alone as one of the most uniquely talented horses in all of Texas,
and possibly in the world. He is a wonderful ambassador of the Arabian breed,
so fine in every way that while he has entertained many, his real life’s
work has been to inspire respect for his inner beauty from those who have had
the chance to meet him up close. Hasan has spent every day of his life in very
close proximity with Allen, which has afforded this unparalleled level of trust
and compliance. The two seem as one in spirit and in performance.
Hasan was acquired by Allen shortly after weaning and grew up in a rather conventional
manner. Saddle schooling began at around three years of age and Allen and Hasan
enjoyed years of camaraderie as they created and then rode a maze of trails
along Onion Creek in south Austin. As Hasan matured, Allen noticed that the
young stallion showed more than the usual Arabian intelligence and an inherent
willingness to first attempt and then conquer difficult challenges. Hasan’s
obvious intelligence motivated Allen to challenge himself to match the stallion’s
ability to learn, thus began his quest to become a world-class horse trainer.
Allen’s inquiring mind is never satisfied with the status quo, or what
he calls “dull normal”. So to make life with horses more interesting
he began to delve into the long held secrets of classical circus equitation
by acquiring every book available on the subject and by seeking out those very
few trainers available who had been down that path.
Hasan’s
education did not stop or even slow down after he had learned the basics of
the trick horse world. Allen was enthusiastic about Hasan’s vibrant, audacious
personality and so the two embarked on the long quest to master the “Airs
Above the Ground”. These technically difficult to teach and physically
demanding maneuvers are usually only seen presented by Lipizzaner or Andalusian
horses. Hasan is one of only a handful of Arabians ever to master these feats
of equine athleticism. In addition to the airs and gaits of the normal Haute
e’Cole, Hasan perfectly executes Piaffe and Levade while on a high pedestal
and his huge Courbettes over a ground pole are remarkable. Allen has taught
Hasan to execute the ancient battle move, the Lancade as a strike-off into the
Spanish walk. Hasan effortlessly performs Terre a Terre, a Baroque gait that
requires the horse to canter almost on the spot in two-time and to insert a
tidy Levade in between each stride, something almost never seen in this country.
In the year 2000, Allen decided to present Hasan and his daughters to the public.
This was done at the constant urging of one of Allen’s great friends,
Miss P. J. Oliver, a trick rider in her younger years and a well-respected third
generation racehorse trainer. The filly Alyah, whom P. J. had nicknamed “Smoochie”,
and Hasana joined their sire in Allen’s troupe of Liberty Arabians. The
act was soon named “Imagine A Horse” and began performing throughout
the state of Texas.
The Liberty act features these three beauties performing high speed sorting
routines, unusual tricks and High School gaits to lively rock and roll music.
Although many national opportunities have presented themselves, Allen chose
only those events less than a day’s travel from home so he would not have
to subject his beloved horses to the rigors of life on the road.
Word of Allen’s wonderfully effective and totally unique training methods
have traveled at the speed of the Internet and his work has received recognition
in national magazines and in several European countries. He hosts a global horse
training discussion group with almost 1,000 participants in places as far off
as Tazmania and yet he is as approachable as the guy next door.
You may visit his world on line at www.imagineahorse.com where you will find
pictures and stories of his horses, both young and old, doing things you probably
would not have “imagined” horses could do. Illustrated versions
of his Horse Gazette articles, training instructions, and unique horse training
equipment, which he has designed are also featured on the web site.
Allen has begun a Lusitano-Arabian breeding program, one of the very few in
America and has just completed our new barn, which will soon be filled with
baby horses. The barn sports a lively red, white and green color scheme and
if asked about it, he will offer his handsome grin and tell you that, “
Every day is like Christmas when you wake up with trick horses in your barn.”
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