Kathy Cagle fell in love with Custom Slider back in 2001, watching Sandy Bentien show him at Brookside. Kathy said wistfully, "Oooh, I really like that one." Her friend Delbert Tullos replied, "Well, I hear he's for sale, let's go talk to her." Within a few months the stallion's new owner was showing him in the Green As Grass classes. Kathy's trainer, Warwick Schiller, also showed him successfully, and in 2002 Robyn Schiller 'borrowed' him for her freestyle routine at the USET Finals in Gladstone, NJ.

On the way home from New Jersey, Warwick showed the horse at the Firecracker Classic in Virginia, and brought home two Morrison bronze trophies.

The Schillers were starting to think this horse was pretty cool and could have a shot at an NRHA world title. Kathy had been talking about breeding him because he has a great pedigree (Custom Crome x Corona Zellot) and is such a good-minded horse. She agreed that a world title would be a feather in his cap. She and her husband, Jake, talked it over and decided to go for it. Robyn and Slider hit the road in March of last year, starting with big wins at the Scottsdale Reining Classic in Arizona. The talented team picked up paychecks and prizes in numerous shows in California, Texas, and Oklahoma over the next four months. At the end of June 2003, Robyn Schiller and Custom Slider were leading the race for the Limited Open title and were second in the Intermediate Open. Because NRHA shows are scarce on the West Coast during the summer months, the Cagles and the Schillers recognized that they would have to hit a lot of shows "back East" to maintain the lead that Robyn had established. Robyn contacted a leading reining trainer in North Carolina, Francois Gauthier, for help. Francois generously assigned Nick Valentine to take Custom Slider on an extended road trip and, as Kathy says, "We could not have asked for a nicer young man to take the reins."

So that Nick would have his own transportation, Jake Cagle bought a dually, hooked up their trailer, and he and Kathy drove to North Carolina in a single weekend, non-stop. They left Gilroy about 4PM on a Friday and arrived in Raleigh, NC on Sunday evening. They crossed the USA in 50 1/2 hours. "We met Francois and Nick, visited with Slider, got a ride to the airport, and flew home," Kathy recalls. "It was such an adventure!"

Overall Slider traveled 45,000 miles in the trailer, showed 42 times (plus some schooling shows) and never took a lame step. Kathy says proudly, "He is such a good traveler."

Nick Valentine also had success in the show pen with Slider. Robyn Schiller sums it up nicely: "I got us in the lead, and Nick kept us there." At the end of the year Custom Slider had won the Limited Open World Championship, and the Intermediate Open Reserve World Championship. The two trainers who showed him shared in the glory: Robyn was awarded the Limited Open title, and the Intermediate Open reserve title went to Nick. Slider has now come full circle. After a hard year on the road, he has earned a rest and a lifestyle change. The eight-year old stallion is currently at the Boyle Ranch in Ione, where he will stand at stud. Kathy Cagle says that their quest for a world title "turned out to be the most exciting year of our lives." She knows they had a lot of good people and good luck on their side, for which they are very grateful. "Most of all," she adds, "I want to thank my husband, Jake, for letting me buy Slider and then for allowing all of this to unfold. None of it would have happened without his support and wholehearted involvement. Thank you, Jake."

Congratulations to the Cagles and the Schillers on this wonderful accomplishment!

—Betsy Edwards
article courtesy of West Coast Reiner