RANDY PAUL

To the people around him, Randy Paul appears to simply cruise through his day. He makes the challenge of training and showing horses look effortless. Perhaps it’s that laid-back attitude and measured pace that make him an NRCHA Hall of Fame horseman.

Paul grew up in California surrounded by horses and horse trainers. His father, Jim, and Jim’s wife, Dema, are both NRCHA Hall of Famers and influenced the direction this sport has taken. From his childhood, Paul has shown reining and cow horses, and even spent a little time riding bulls. But in his early 20s, he committed his life to riding and training horses professionally. Starting out in a barn with three legendary professionals, including his dad, gave him a head start.

“When my dad was in Paso Robles, Don Dodge and Gary Bellenfant both trained out of his place, so I worked for all three of them,” Paul recalled. “I think about the things I do today—and the things I’ve always done—and I learned it from my time with those guys. I still use that knowledge today.”

Paul didn’t limit his influences to those only in the cow horse world. His endeavors in reining led him to work with National Reining Horse Association professionals, including NRHA Hall of Famer Tim McQuay. Paul credits the Tioga, Texas, horseman with teaching him the value of providing exceptional care for his horses.

“You have to really care about the horse and the horse’s well-being,” Paul said. “And you have to care about the job you’re doing. One person I look up to who really is one of the best at that is Tim McQuay. Being around him made me want to be a better horseman.”

Paul combined his knowledge from both disciplines and found success few others have known. He’s one of only two men who’ve ever won both the National Reining Horse Association Futurity, which he topped in 2006 with Taris Designer Genes, and the NRCHA World’s Greatest Horseman, with Smokeelan in 2010. Paul has also topped the NRHA Derby and won numerous AQHA World and Reserve Championships in working cow horse and reining.

Even with those shining accomplishments, Paul is ever a student. He admitted he’s always had to work at his showmanship in the saddle, and so he admires legendary showmen such as Greg Ward, as well as the young stars of today, including Corey Cushing, Justin Wright, Kelby Phillips, and Chris and Sarah Dawson, as influences.

Paul’s influence in the Western world goes well beyond winning major events and training superstar horses. His creativity stands on its own. He’s a bit maker, a skill passed down from his father; he’s an artist; and he’s a singer and plays guitar.

“I started making bits when I was young, just because my dad did it,” Paul shared. “There was a time I set it aside because I was so busy training, but I started doing it again seriously maybe 15 years ago. I really enjoy it. Anything that I can do that has an art to it, I enjoy it, like playing the guitar and drawing.”

While still competing against the crème of the crop, Paul’s also coaching up his daughter, Lindsay, and granddaughter, Shilo, to compete in cow horse events.

“Nobody deserves this more than my dad,” Lindsay said. “He’s worked so hard and overcome so many things. He’s my hero.”

Paul still finds it hard to comprehend this honor and standing amongst horsemen he’s idolized his entire life.

“Being inducted into the NRCHA Hall of Fame—it’s pretty hard for me to say that,” he concluded. “I don’t feel like I’ve done enough or that I’m worthy of it. To be in the same room as them, and have my picture alongside theirs, it’s pretty special.”

The cow horse community is just a really special group of people. They’re kind of my second family, and my family is very important to me.”

Kathy Wilson

The best reined cow horse riders are driven by competition, committed to the care and training of their horses, and dedicated to learning. Kathy Wilson of Clarksburg, California, embodies all these characteristics, plus she’s also known for motivating her fellow cow horse competitors and representing her favorite discipline.

“She sold the reined cow horse to thousands of people in her life,” said her longtime friend and mentor, National Reined Cow Horse Hall of Fame inductee and Million Dollar Rider Ken Wold. “She always has time for other people and she kind of never puts herself first. She wants to do well. She’s very competitive. I would say she’s a great horsewoman, but she’s a better person.”

Wilson grew up neighboring Wold, and he has influenced her riding since she was a youngster. Her parents, Tom and Dixie Young, supported their daughter’s passion for horses and made sure she had mounts to train and show.

“[My dad] really encouraged me,” she said. “And every year we’d go pick out a 2-year-old, and they weren’t always the best ones out there with kind of a low-overhead operation. But it was just something we did together. Looking back, I’m so blessed to have had that opportunity, and I just hope I can keep things going, so my grandkids can come and continue to compete also.”

Wilson began her show career in 1977 at the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity® and went on to win three Non Pro championships (1981, 1983 and 1984) at the prestigious event. Since then, she has trained several horses and garnered multiple aged-event titles and career earnings if more than $320,000.

“Every win is pretty special and not to be taken for granted,” she said. “I’m so thankful I can keep competing and look forward to that next futurity win.”

For Wilson, getting involved in the cow horse industry was more than winning titles and prizes. It’s about the members who welcomed her from a youth and continue to support her.

“The cow horse community is just a really special group of people. They’re kind of my second family, and my family is very important to me,” she said. “There’s a lot of camaraderie and encouragement, and it makes me think back to when I first started showing in the reined cow horse. There were a couple of great Non Pros—Frank Rue and Zera Varian—and I just remember how accepting and encouraging they were to me. I was just a kid with a not-so-good palomino mare I started out with. But that was my first horse, and they were always very encouraging and acted like they enjoyed seeing me and made me feel at home.”

She extends the same warm welcome to newcomers to the discipline, whether it’s offering advice or helping them find a suitable horse. As much as she enjoys riding into the show pen, she also finds training and selling prospects rewarding.

Wilson and her husband, Mark, raised their family in the cow horse and cattle industries, and now they look forward to their grandkids continuing to compete and gain confidence through cow horse.

“There are so many great mentors in our cow horse community,” she said. “I can’t thank Ken Wold enough. He’s just a great trainer and he gave me the confidence to know I could do it. Having that behind you is what makes you successful I think.”

Wilson recognizes the importance of the NRCHA Hall of Fame and is humbled by her induction.

“It shows the history and the foundational people who have been in our organization and have really improved it over the years,” she said. “I’m so honored to be counted as one of those people.”