For Darla Leavell, finding her perfect show horse in Bet N On A Dream was like buying a wedding dress.

“When you know, you know,” she insists.

Darla, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, was on call all weekend at the regional hospital where she works when she got the call from her trainer, Josh Faulkner, who was at a horse show in St. Louis.

“He called and said the perfect mare for me was at the show and I had to come see her,” Darla recalled. “I got off work at 7 a.m., grabbed my checkbook, and drove there. Travis Duit brought her over to the stalls, and she dropped her head down and smelled my son’s hair. I knew she was the perfect personality for our family, and I prayed to God she rode as well as she acted. She loped around the make-up pen like an angel for me. I got out my checkbook and the deal was done within an hour.”

Bet N On A Dream (Jazzy) is a 2015 sorrel mare by Im A Platinum Dream out of Zippos Petite Lady. Duit rode Jazzy to a Reserve Championship in the 2017 Congress Masters Limited Open Western Pleasure class.

“She’s huge hocked and has an unbelievable amount of self-carriage and flow,” Faulkner said. “The way she’s built it’s just natural for her to hang her neck where it should be and she doesn’t want to go fast anywhere at any time. I thought she would fit Darla well because she has a ton of self-carriage and knew that would help Darla gain some confidence in the pen, being able to focus on showing instead of having to worry so much about keeping something going… plus Jazzy is super solid and loves her job.”

The plan this year is for Darla to show Jazzy in Novice Amateur Western Pleasure at some regional AQHA shows before heading off to the National Snaffle Bit Association’s World Championship Show in Tulsa this August.

“I got to show her in Tennessee once before the pandemic (shut down shows across the United States) and won the All-age Open Western Pleasure,” Faulkner said.

Darla showed Jazzy for the first time at the Tar Heel Summer Classic and earned a second, third and fourth place out of 20 in a tough Novice Amateur Western Pleasure class.

“Jazzy is a very kind, willing, athletic girl,” she said. “She feels solid and powerful and has so much lift. She just feels GOOD. She’s a joy to ride to the point that sometimes my face hurts from smiling so hard.”

At the NSBA World Show and the Quarter Horse Congress Darla will show in Novice Amateur Western Pleasure and the Limited Non-Pro Western Pleasure Maturity and Faulkner will show Jazzy in the Limited Open Western Pleasure Maturity. After that, they have their sights set on Darla showing in the Novice Amateur Western Pleasure at the AQHA World Show.

“The long-term plan is for Darla to show her for a year or two then maybe one of Shane and Darla’s boys will show her before they try and get a baby or two out of her,” Faulkner said. 

Darla and her husband, Shane, met as children growing up in northern Indiana. Both were involved with horses. Darla started riding lessons at a local boarding barn, where they did Saddle Seat on Arabians and National Show Horses. Shane showed Quarter Horses under the guidance of Rick Novak. They took a break to attend college and get their careers started. Nineteen years ago, after completing college, Shane and Darla married and moved to Louisville to pursue their careers. Darla is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Ball State University, in Indiana, in 2001 and a Master of Science degree in Nursing from Murray (Kentucky) State University in 2005.

“I provided anesthesia for a large academic medical center/ trauma hospital for almost a decade, then served America’s heroes at our local Veterans Affairs Hospital,” Darla said. “Now work closer to our farm at a regional medical center. I love my job.”

Shane graduated from Oklahoma Horseshoeing School in 1992 and Purdue University in 2000 with a degree in Agricultural Economics.

When they married, Shane was a farrier but slowly phased that business out to become a partner in R.L. Craig Company, Inc., a company that provides HVAC and ventilation equipment into the commercial, industrial and agricultural sector. In 2013, Darla and Shane’s childhood passion for horses led them to Simpsonville, Kentucky, where they started building Leavell Farms on 32 acres. Little by little the facility has expanded to include a 21-stall barn, a 80-by-150-foot indoor arena, a 125-by-225-foot outdoor arena, a five-horse euro-walker and four paddocks with run-in sheds.

The Leavells built an impressive breeding program with mare power like AQHA all-time leading producer Vitalism (the dam of Vital Signs Are Good), A Fancy Impulse, Moonlight Made Over and Zips Splash Of Gold, as its foundation. They bred Dancin In The Moonlite, Reserve Coughlin Limited Open 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure Champion; The Roan Show, top three in Longe Line at the Tom Powers Futurity; and Pageant Material, top 10 in the Congress Western Longe Line.

In 2018, the Leavells hired Josh Faulkner as head trainer and tasked him with marketing their horses and with getting 2-year-olds they raised started under saddle. He has a few outside clients and also coaches the Leavells’ two young sons, Alexander, 10, and Liam, 8, who are competing on I Like Itin The Light, a 2008 mare by RL Best Of Sudden out of I Likeit In The Dark. Alexander placed fourth with her in the Youth Walk-Trot Western Pleasure at the 2019 NSBA World Show.

“Josh has become as much a friend and family member as he is horse trainer,” Darla said. “He lets my kids ride every day. He’s exceptionally gifted with horse care, and is tuned in to every horse in the barn and their individual needs. Every horse is unique and is treated as such. He manages to teach the kids and me in a completely different way, but one we all understand. Our barn is one big family, horses and humans alike.”

The feeling is mutual for Faulkner.

“Darla is the kindest human being I’ve ever met,” he said. “After working for them for six months or so I fessed up and told her that I legit had thought she was being fake the first two or three months I was with them because she was so nice. She truly puts everyone else first and wants what’s best for everyone not just herself, so I’m excited that this mare is getting to be something for just her for now and the hard work she’s put in gaining confidence and becoming a better rider is going to pay off.”

In addition to Bet N On A Dream, Darla plans to show An Impulsive Thing, a 2017 bay gelding by Its A Southern Thing and out of A Fancy Impulse, that she and Shane raised, in Rookie and Novice Amateur Hunter Under Saddle classes this year.

“He was a Congress finalist in the 2-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle class last year,” Darla said. “And, if my kids don’t completely wear her out, I would like to show I Like Itin The Light in Horsemanship.”

But Darla is focused on doing the best she can this year with Bet N On A Dream.“Short term, I want to really create a team between myself and Bet N On A Dream. She’s already proven, with her Reserve Congress Championship, that she’s talented enough to be competitive in the big leagues in Western Pleasure, and I plan to be a rider who is worthy of her talent,” Darla said. “My long term showing goal is to have fun with my husband and kids and make this a family activity we can all enjoy for years to come.”