Meet THE TEAM!
Meet Joy Faske!
She is a senior this year and is ready for her last rodeo season as a youth to get started. This girl has some grit! Joy was born in China and got Polio when she was about 18 months old leaving her legs paralyzed. When Joy was adopted by the Faske family at 9 years old she was in a wheelchair. Joy’s family knew how therapeutic horses could be and it wasn’t long before Joy was on the back of a horse for the first time. That same day Joy told her mom, “When I am on a horse I have four good legs!” From that day forward, horses have been a big part of Joy’s life and she hasn’t let anything hold her back from chasing her dream.
Joy’s favorite horse and faithful companion is Shadow. She has been with Joy through thick and thin and taken care of her through some rough falls, always stopping immediately, careful to not take a single step until she knew Joy was safe. Joy’s determination shows every time she rides.
In 2018, Joy was awarded a buckle for “Cowgirl with the Most Heart” at ACYRA. Last summer she received a buckle at Rodeo Bible Camp for “Most Improved Barrel Racer.”
In December, Joy got a AQHA colt named Pico that she is now working with. It is Joy’s hope that she can train Pico to be just as loyal and mindful as Shadow. As a yearling he is already learning to respond to voice commands while working in the round pen.
Joy is involved in STYRA, ACYRA, and LCSPR. Joy is the Treasurer of the Washington County 4H Horse Club where she also participates in Horse Judging and Quiz Bowl. This year she is looking forward to competing in TYRRA (Texas Youth Ranch Rodeo Association) as a member of the F Squared team. She is also planning to attend Rodeo Bible Camp for her final year and train in Breakaway Roping.
Meet Sophia Faske!
This tiny girl comes with a big heart filled with love for horses. Sophia has been riding and competing independently since she was three years old, but her biggest year of growth was in 2017 when she was gifted a 24 year old gelding named Skye. Sophia and Skye were the perfect match. They were pretty much inseparable, but just a few days before Christmas in 2018, Skye had to be put down due to a severe case of colic. Sophia and the whole family were heartbroken.
We tried Sophia with Goldie and it worked, but was not ideal. Then we noticed Sophia spending a lot of time with an old buckskin gelding in the barn named Diesel. We knew Diesel loved little girls, but Gabriella had always been “his girl.” We decided to see how Diesel and Sophia did together and they have been partners ever since.
In February, Sophia was given a new project. Sweets is an AQHA 2 year old filly that just didn’t get the height on her to work for most people. Sophia is working on training her now and she is already showing a lot of potential. It is Sophia’s dream to show her in cutting.
Sophia loves all things “horse!” She enjoys barrel racing, pole bending, showing in stock horse classes, sorting, trail riding, roping and more, but her favorite events are penning and goat tying.
Sophia competes in STYRA, ACYRA, LCSPR, and TYRRA where she is on the Hearts & Hooves team in the junior division. She is also involved in Washington County 4H Horse Club where she does horse judging and quiz bowl.
Meet Gabriella Faske!
Meet Cherish Faske!
This little girl comes with a spirit of perseverance that cannot be matched. Her life started out pretty rough and just as she was preparing to enter her forever family with the Faske’s, life threw her another curve ball. The Faske’s lost a son in a car accident just two weeks before Cherish came home. The timing was not the best, but they knew that with God at their side, they would learn to grieve the loss of their son and still love their new 6 year old daughter at the same time. Then just three weeks after her arrival, tragedy struck again when Cherish had a horse accident that almost took her life. She was whisked off by Life Flight and spent the night in surgery. That lead to an extended stay in ICU and a long recovery, but through lots of prayer, this little fighter made a comeback and she has been riding ever since!
Cherish’s favorite horse is Molly, who has been so good to her and has helped her overcome her fears after her accident. They make a great team and Cherish uses Molly for all sorts of events from barrel racing, to roping, to stock horse pleasure, to trail, and so on. Molly is a faithful companion to Cherish. Cherish competes in ACRYA, STYRA, Rusty Spurs, LCSPR, and TYRRA, where she has ridden on both the Stampede Riders and Shootin’ Stars, both of which placed high in the finals. Cherish is also involved in Washington County 4H Horse Club, where she competes on the horse judging team and quiz bowl team, and has seen a lot of success in both.
Meet Caleb Faske!
Rope, rope, and rope some more………that’s Caleb’s motto at 8 years old! Caleb has been riding independently since he was four years old. His favorite horse is a red roan Paint named Ruby. The two of them make quite a pair and Caleb gets lots of time in the saddle. Ruby is getting older and this year we decided to breed her for a 2021 foal. Caleb looked at the ultrasound of the baby and immediately exclaimed, “That’s my next roping horse!”
Caleb really enjoys all equine events, but his favorite by far is roping, followed by sorting. Caleb competes in ACYRA, STYRA, Rusty Spurs, RSOA, LCSPR, and TYRRA where he is a member of the Hearts & Hooves team. Caleb is also involved in Washington County 4H Horse Club where he is on the Junior Horse Judging Team and Equine Quiz Bowl Team.
Meet Jonah Faske!
Jonah has been a part of the Faske family since he was almost two years old. The Faske’s first heard about Jonah when they were asked to host him on a medical mission, but he was too weak to travel so it wasn’t possible. The Colombian government then offered to provide Jonah a transplant in Colombia if an adoptive family was found and he didn’t have to return to his orphanage. That’s when the Faske’s entered Jonah’s life permanently and he’s been a Faske ever since.
Jonah has dreamed of being a cowboy ever since he could walk. He looked up to his older brothers and loved to watch them rope and ride. It wasn’t long before Jonah was following in their footsteps and living out his dream. Jonah’s favorite horse is a roan mare named Gabby. Jonah is active in many rodeo associations, but the event he looks most forward to each year is Rodeo Bible Camp. Jonah has been attending every year since 2017, when he won a breast collar for most improved heeler in team roping. He has been hooked ever since and cannot wait for Rodeo Bible Camp each year!
Meet Bethany Faske!
Bethany first visited the Faske family when she came on a summer host program in 2015. From the moment they met her at the airport, they knew she was their daughter. That led to a year long process to adopt her, and at 9 years old she finally had a forever family and became a Faske.
The first three years Bethany was home were filled with multiple surgeries. Bethany was born with a super rare birth defect where she had a bilateral cleft that went through her mouth, nose, and both eyes. She now has a prosthetic in one eye, but still has vision in the other eye. Having one eye changes a lot, including depth perception, but that hasn’t held Bethany back from much! This girl is AMBITIOUS! She pushes herself at everything and has confidence that will take her far in life. She loves learning all disciplines of riding and is anxiously awaiting starting her first colt all on her own.
At the ranch, Bethany is the kiddo that tackles working the more difficult horses. She is pretty fearless, but still uses her mind to make good choices when working horses. Bethany competes in STYRA, ACYRA, LCSPR, Rusty Spurs, RSOA, and her favorite, TYRRA, where she rides on both Vida Nueva Ranch and F Squared teams. Bethany really enjoys cattle related events and loves sorting and cutting.
Meet Lillian Faske!
Meet Jonathan Faske!
Meet Olivia Faske!