January 2025

We’re all settled in at the new barn in Dennison, MN!
A huge thank you to Bonnie Minor for her incredible kindness.
We feel so lucky not only to have such a phenomenal facility, but also to share this space with someone we truly adore and trust!

As we look  head,  February 1, 2025
We are proud to offer "Duke" - 2018 registered Half Draft at the North Star Invitational Horse Sale!

View his details here!

Devastation | November 24

Nobody can prepare you for a barn fire. There are so many aspects...so much loss. It's an experience that really can't be summarized in a post.

Let me start with some good news: the surviving horses were all examined by our vet and are doing incredibly well. For that, words cannot express our gratitude.

However, we are heartbroken to share that we lost two horses in the fire. That loss will stay with us forever. Our client, Mary Jo Bird and her daughter Shanalyn, lost three years of time, love and investment in their dream horse, Maxx. He was a horse that would have easily made dreams come true. They were doing everything right by him. Mark had just sent them a glowing progress report and was excited to show Maxx to them. From a talent perspective, there was no doubt this horse was destined to be successful at a national level. He had the silliest personality to boot! The second horse we lost was our very own Chimmy- affectionately known as "Coco" by the kids. I had just shared a video of him, showing how excited we were about his future. He was going to make a forever type horse-kind, adorable, great minded and dependable. 

"Dependable" and "kind" also describe our barn family. To be surrounded by happy, hard working, attentive and caring individuals is one of the biggest blessings we could ask for. I truly believe you can do any job, if you enjoy the people you work with. Many times, Mark and I talked about how lucky we were to have the best people around us. 

 Not only were we blessed with an incredible team, but were also privileged to work in one of the finest equine facilities in the midwest, the Minnesota Equestrian Center. The Rivers family took a leap of faith when they built this facility 21 years ago, and we, along with so many equestrians, have benefited from their vision. To have known this facility from its beginnings and to understand what it means to Jessica Rivers and her family- and then to see it destroyed within minutes - is nothing short of a nightmare. 

As I said from the start, nobody can prepare you for a barn fire. To our fellow horse and barn owners, I cannot stress this enough: IT HAPPENS FAST. It's dark. It's hot. It's terrifying. You wont have a plan. Your horses will be in flight mode, and they wont be easy to handle. If there are others around, communication will likely be impossible. There is danger in handling the horses and danger in letting them loose. Your decisions will be made in a split second.

Speaking of split seconds, I want to share another moment that I will carry with me forever. Our 8-year-old daughter was home from school and with us during the fire. I yelled for her to "go" and pointed to a door away from the flames. In that instant, I had to decide to trust her to leave or ensure her safety myself. I chose to trust her and I ran to save the horses. I questioned that decision the entire time, as I couldn't see her leave and had to believe she made it out. If it weren't for her incredible bravery - walking out of that burning building with our dog in her arms- I wouldn't have been able to save a single horse. Later, she told us she was terrified because all she could see was black smoke and flames and all she knew is that we were in there. She sincerely believed she lost both of her parents. Once we had the horses contained, Mark and I braced ourselves, wondering if these were the moments before we found out we lost our daughter. Bethany Mota - you are our hero. Thank you for finding her, taking her under your wing, and comforting her alongside your two children in your own time of need. 

To the fire professionals: the firefighters and excavation crew saved the indoor arena and connecting barns! Eight fire departments and over 100 firefighters were on the scene. Their teamwork is beyond admirable, and we are so grateful for their efforts. 

 We move now quite literally, to Shannon Marg and her team. They hustled to get her barn ready to take in our displaced horses. The kindness you have shown to us over the year when stabled at your farm never goes unnoticed. To everyone helping behind the scenes: there are too many names to list and I worry about missing someone, but please know we are deeply grateful. 

Looking forward, we are thankful for Bonnie Minor, who has graciously opened her barn to give Baus Horses a new landing spot. Many of you know, Bonnie retired from showing horses earlier this year, and her generosity means so much to us. We are still processing everything and haven't responded to all of the messages yet, but please know we feel your love. Thank you to everyone that has reached out, donated items, or provided financial help.

Newest Additions  | October 24

Sully and Coco have been hanging out and waiting their turn! Sully is a Clydesdale Cross and Coco is a Belgian/Pony Cross. We think Sully could be our best moving and most athletic half draft while Coco so far seems like a replica of Whiskey and Rolex, his personality is above and beyond! We are excited to get going on them! Follow our social media to stay updated on their progress!           

Fall Round UP 2024 Recap | October 24

This was our second time to the Fall Round Up Horse Sale in Heber City, UT  offering horses in the sale.     

Our horses were fantastic, they hauled great and rode amazing! The weather was perfection. I was worried our Air-BnB couldn't top last years, but it did! Lastly, we hauled out there with friends, or should I say A friend. (Someone always ends up flying and we give them a real hard time about it!) But there is really never a dull moment with the road trip stories! 

Moving on to the sale results - our horses got exceptional homes!

Whiskey was our high seller and Top 5 in the sale at $37,000. He landed a new and loving home in Massachusetts. It was really hard to let go of Spirit for $26,000, but this is also the gamble you take as a seller. He ended up on the trailer with Whiskey headed to New York. Bubbles was the buy of the sale in my opinion. She ended up at $16,500 and she is just an exceptional horse and was a solid favorite around here! She was also at the Salt Flats, but we ran out of time and light, so the poor girl got the shaft! She did however end up with a 71 year old man and is staying right there in Utah. She will be his main trail horse, and as he put it, "my last horse." What an honor it is that she was his choice! So that is heartwarming knowing she can be that horse for him!  We no-saled Muffin at $16,500 and the bidder came back after with a higher bid, but this trip was his second time away from home and we expected him to be good, but he was exceptional and showed us even more great things that he is capable of!  We will use and enjoy him some more until his home comes along.           

Fall Round UP 2024

We are so excited to offer another fantastic set of horses for The Fall Round Up in 2024!

New Year 2024

We are excited for the new year and the horses we are going to be offering! Like typical horse people we have invested in more horses!
Follow our social media to see the weekly videos and give us a call if you think one would fit what you are looking for!  

December 2023

October and November have flown by! 
In October we were able to market and find phenomenal homes for  our three half draft horses that we entered in the Fall Round Up sale in Heber City, UT.
We  spent a few extra days in Utah and planned an adventue with our friends to ride the Bonneville Salt Flats!      
   













Goose making friends at the Salt Flats with 40pmh winds!


Goose and Mark also won the Henry Rifle for the Ranch Trail competition that was held between the sale horses!


The eclipse happened while we were out there too!

October 2023

Much has changed since 2019!
We shut the training operation down and moved the family back to southern Minnesota. With three young children, it was important for us to be around and prioritize family.  Mark continued to stay active in the horse world with his judging of AQHA, NSBA,  APHA, POA & Ranch shows along with taking the kids trail riding on their ponies and giving them lessons...horses and ponies! ;-)          

In June of 2023, Mark decided to open the door for training horses again. He has always enjoyed the young horses and developing their minds along with their talents.  With that said, we have been blessed and the barn has filled up with  a lot of young show prospects getting ready to make their sale video debut,  watch our socials and sale page for those! 

I stayed busy runing Melissa Baus Design, marketing sale horses for clients through photography & video, shooting equine portrat sessions, weddings, family & senior photos.  Through this my admiration and respect grew for half drafts and crossbreds. Opportunity on the right one's came around and Mark and I have taken a leap of faith and invested into our own set of horses that we will be offering for sale.

We were lucky enough to be accepted as consignors into a premier horse sale, the Fall Round Up in Heber City, UT.
This sale takes place on October 14, 2023.
Below are links to the horse's we have and their sale pages, you can also check them out on our instagram as we will post all the way through the sale. We would love for these horses to get fantastic homes and want potential buyers to know what they are getting so please reach out and come meet them!

• Online bidding is available
• Transporation is available
• Live Stream Preview on Friday, October 13, 2023
•  Live Stream on Sale Day Saturday, October 14, 2023
         

Left to Right
Hip #45 - Drapp • 2013 Friesian/App Cross
Hip #25 - Goose • 2016 Draft Cross
Hip #2 - Chuck • 2011 Draft Cross

 

 

 

 

September 2019

APHA World Show 2019 ad!

August 2019

Refleet and Mark Baus were Reserve Champions at the NSBA World in Green Color Pleasure and
Reserve Championship in the Amateur Color Pleasure!

September 2018

APHA World Show 2018 ads for the Equine Chronicle and the Paint Horse Journal

August 2018

Fleets Imagination, Gettin Gone and Shesa Hot One were all medal earners in every class shown at the NSBA World Show!

June 2018

Tom Powers Reserve Champion in the 3YO Non Pro Hunter Under Saddle &
4th place - 3YO Limited Open and Novice Horse Hunter Under Saddle with Rhonda Spratto

Unanimous Champions in the Green Western Pleasure at the Corporate Challenge with Rhonda Spratto
Fleets Imagination (no Photo) 2018 Tom Powers Champion (tie)

April 2018

We have a few new 2018 foals to share!
The first is a black/white overo AQHA/APHA colt by The Best Martini out of Without Mercy (One Hot Krymsun mare)


This mare, Impulsive Chic (AQHA) was bred using frozen semen from Fleet Machine.
Her first foal is really special being a great colored colt by Fleet!


Fleets Impulse had her first foal by The Best Martini and this little filly is built like a tank!

March 2018

Baus Horses & 5A Farms ad for the MPHA Directory

It is with sadness and also great gratitude and appreciation that we say farewell to our friend Fleet Machine.
It has been an honor......happy trails...

September 2017

Fleets Imagination was crowned APHA World Champion in Amateur Junior Western Pleasure


Moxie Machine  - APHA World Champions in 3YO Non Pro Hunter Under Saddle
 & APHA World Champions in Green Hunter Under Saddle

August 2017

Cotton Candy Machine & Mark Baus were NSBA Res. World Champions in Green Western Pleasure

July 13, 2017

Moxie Machine & Rhonda Spratto were NSBA Champions against the AQHA competition at the Corporate Challenge!

6/28/17
Moxie Machine & Rhonda Spratto were 4th place in the NSBA Futurity
at the Tom Powers in some nice AQHA competition.

6/20/17
OneTwenty & Mark Baus were Circuit Champions at the Nebraska Corn Husker!

12/29/16
All three of our horses placed 4th in their respective classes at the 2016 APHA World Show!
We have also taken pride in the fact that these horses are involved in a quality training program and that they
are capable of being sent to the biggest show of the year without their everyday trainer and return with such achievements!
Rhonda Spratto & Pat Heeley, you are both talented horsemen/women that we had complete faith in and can't thank you enough!


Congratulations to Shannon Jones & the Johnson family on your purchase of Late Night Machine!

11/1/2016
Mark Baus and his steed, Cotton Candy Machine grace the cover of the APHA Journal!
Photo taken by Melissa Baus.

10/20/16
As we look forward to the birth of our baby girl {Maisy}, we are grateful for talented trainers that will be taking
over our APHA World Show horses. Look For Rhonda Spratto piloting Moxie Machine & Late Night Machine in Open HUS classes
and also preparing them for the Non Pro HUS events.

Pat Heeley will be taking the reins of Fleets Imagination for the Green & 3yo Western Pleasure