Former UF veterinary intensive care unit patient is barrel racing champion

Eleven years ago, a registered quarter horse named Dyna’s Plain Special spent three days in the University of Florida’s equine neonatal intensive care unit — born prematurely and so sick she was unable to stand.

Today, she flies.

In December, Dee Dee, as her breeder Linda Jones calls her, raced to victory in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, becoming the first mare to win the world title in 40 years.

“This horse is so fast,” said Jones of Bowling Green, Fla. “Her heart is so big and she has so much ‘try.’ After she won, I just had to call Dr. (Rob) MacKay at UF to tell him that the little baby that could not get up is now the world champion barrel horse.”

During her first days of life in the foal unit, the filly was treated with penicillin and other drugs while her nursing habits were carefully monitored. In addition, she received physical therapy on her front legs to strengthen them. Before she was sent home with the Joneses, Dee Dee was standing, walking, drinking water and taking her mother’s milk.

The college’s equine neonatal intensive care unit opened in the early 1980s, then the only such facility in the world. Today there are still only a handful of veterinary hospitals that offer intensive care services for foals.

“We started our neonatal intensive care unit in 1985, modeling it after Florida’s program,” said Mary Paradis, D.V.M., an associate professor of large animal medicine at Tufts University’s School of Veterinary Medicine.

Last year, approximately 120 foals from all over Florida were admitted to UF’s equine neonatal intensive care unit for treatment of problems ranging from angular limb deformities (bent legs) to breathing disorders associated with prematurity to severe life-threatening bacterial infections.

“Horses born prematurely are at greater risk than other species, so in many cases the availability of care can mean the difference between life and death,” said Rob MacKay, B.V.Sc., Ph.D. “In many cases, we are unable to follow our cases beyond the initial period after hospitalization, so it is tremendously gratifying to have a client go out of her way to tell us a happy story about a horse that not only survived but went on to become a top performer.”

Jones tells Dee Dee’s story as if she were recounting the life of one of her own children. First there was the filly’s initial health scare. Then there was Dee Dee’s recovery and the racing that started in 1996 when Dee Dee turned 4 and a friend of the Jones family, Kim Thomas, began competing with her in barrel racing events — and winning. Toward the end of that year, Thomas caught the eye of barrel-racing aficionado Tracy Johnston during an event in Oklahoma. Johnston’s boss, Jud Little, an oilman from Ardmore, Okla., had taken an interest in the sport and was looking to buy Johnston a new ride. “On New Year’s Day of 1997, Jud told me, ‘It’s a done deal,’” Jones said. “I began to cry because I was losing my baby, who would not come home. Kim cried, because she was losing her mount. And Tracy cried because she felt sorry for us! That poor man had three women crying on the phone with him.”

In the years that followed, Little kept in close touch with the Joneses. A new rider, Janae Ward, whose mother and grandmother both performed in national barrel racing championships, began competing with Dee Dee in August. In a few short months, Janae and Dee Dee had advanced from 26th in the world to 14th, having amassed more than $43,884 in earnings and the opportunity to compete in the finals. “Jud called me up. ‘This is your travel agent,’ he said.” “The place was totally sold out, but he’d gone on the Internet and gotten us tickets,” Jones laughed.

Jones then asked her husband Gary to cut some mane from Dee Dee’s dam Dyna Snow and her sire Special Feelins, who reside at the Joneses’ farm, to place in a silver locket. The couple gave the locket to Ward to wear for good luck.

“I told Janae I would really like Dee Dee’s mama and her daddy to be with her,” Jones said.

On the day Dyna’s Plain Special was officially crowned the champion, Little called Jones, overcome with emotion.

“Miss Linda, I know I’m a grown man,” he said. “But I’ve got to tell you that I cried.”

Dyna’s Plain Special was featured on the cover of the January issue of Barrel Racer News and the Women’s Professional Rodeo News.