View from the Backside

VIEW FROM THE BACKSIDE

by Barry Denton

Do Horses Read?

Some of you will already know the story of Beautiful Jim Key, but if you don’t, I will fill you in a little. Beautiful Jim Key and his trainer Dr. William Key were famous for touring the country around the turn of the last century.

This horse and his trainer were among the most popular attractions at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. The horse and his trainer toured the United States in a special railroad car to promote the humane treatment of animals. They performed in arenas in large cities and even at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

President William McKinley saw Beautiful Jim Key perform at an exhibition in Tennessee. He declared that “this is the most astonishing and entertaining exhibition that I have ever witnessed.”

The President also commented that it was an example of what “kindness and patience” could accomplish. Beautiful Jim Key was famous for reading, writing, making change, citing Bible passages, and doing arithmetic with numbers under 30. His trainer Dr. William Key was a former slave and a self-trained veterinarian. Dr. Key emphasized that he only used patience and kindness in teaching his horse, and never a whip.

If you want to know the rest of the story about this horse you should read, Beautiful Jim Key, The Lost History Of The World’s Smartest Horse, by Mim Eicler Rivas.

Now I have trained several horses in my time and known lots of horse trainers, but I have never seen one like Beautiful Jim Key. However, I do remember one particular summer day at a racehorse barn in Kentucky. It seems that it was probably July as we were in Kentucky shoeing some highend yearlings for an upcoming sale. At that time all Thoroughbred yearlings were shod with training plates for sale day.

Some of the big racehorse breeding farms would consign up to 150 horses for one of these sales, so there was lots of extra shoeing going on at this time. You have to realize that Kentucky has tremendous humidity that time of the year.

I can remember starting at 4:00 a.m. in the dark to help beat the heat. I would take four fresh shirts with me for my typical shoeing day. Normally after about two hours of shoeing your shirt would be so wet that you could wring it out with your hands. Many days it took every ounce of your self-control not to get after these yearlings too much. Consider that both of you are too hot, the flies are bad, and most yearlings are not that well broke with their feet yet.

On top of that many of you don’t realize that the majority of these long yearlings are

“I guess Jim got exasperated and went and sat in the cab of his truck for a few minutes.

It seemed like Jim was in his cab a long time.

16 hands tall and lightning quick. I cannot tell you how many times a yearling would kick the cap off my head or the tools out of my hand when I was working with a front foot in the air. Under these circumstances you need to remain cool and composed.

This particular race barn I was in happened to be about 150 ft. long with a 16-foot aisle and stalls on both sides. I had my truck backed in to one end of it. My

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friend and fellow horseshoer Jim Overstreet was backed into the other end. Each time I looked over his way he seemed to be having lots of trouble with one particular colt that morning. Each time Jim would pick up a foot that colt would go flying backwards ripping his foot away from Jim. To Jim’s credit he kept his cool and was persistent figuring that the horse would give up eventually.

However, that was not the case. Finally, after several attempts Jim gave the horse’s groom the rope twitch to see if he could deter him a little. Well, that didn’t work so now the horse was flying down the aisle backwards dragging the groom rather easily.

Next, they tried the traditional chain under the lip, but that just made things worse. Finally, Jim went to the his truck and fished out his trusty “war bridle” which generally fixes any situation. With that the colt started rearing and striking sending the groom running for cover.

He let the colt go loose and then he headed for our end of the barn. As I looked up from the horse I was working on I saw this colt running right for us. Luckily, he got right to my anvil stand and turned back the other way. The groom finally caught the colt before he hurt anyone or himself.

I guess Jim got exasperated and went and sat in the cab of his truck for a few minutes. It seemed like Jim was in his cab a long time. I don’t think the groom thought he was ever coming back. Pretty soon Jim returned carrying a magazine.

He opened it up and threw it down in front of the horse. The horse froze at first, but then he relaxed. Jim went ahead and shod the yearling without further incident. The only time that horse moved during the rest of the shoeing process was when he had to turn the page.

Do I believe the story of Beautiful Jim Key? Yes, as there are too many accounts of his exploits. They toured for over nine years. Dr. Key lived with that horse constantly and slept with him every night. The colt is a different story.

No I don’t believe that he knew how to read, but I do think that Jim changed the dynamics of the situation so that the magazine worked. ▫

The Luck of the Draw

by Caren Cowan

With just a few weeks left to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo, rodeo cowboys and cowgirls are scurrying across the country to make those extra dollars that will push them through the bubble.

At press time only two New Mexicans were in the top 15. Shad Mayfield, Clovis, is sitting 4th in the tie-down roping, while Nicole Baggarley, Las Cruces sits at 5th in breakaway roping.

Tie down roper Tuf Cooper is sidelined for a bit with a roping injury requiring surgery on his left index finger. He may move down a bit, which could allow Shad to move closer to the top. Shane Hanchey

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Cooper plans to be back in the saddle sooner rather than later. He and Mayfield will be in the Match Roping at the 68th Annual Cinch Roping Fiesta in San Angelo, Texas, October 29th through the 31st. The Match Roping involves roping 12 calves, six head between the 2nd and 3rd go rounds of the Invitational Calf Roping. This is a second generation meeting for these two young men. Sylvester Mayfield and Roy Cooper had a match roping in Clovis many years ago.

There are three Wright brothers sitting in the top 15 in saddle bronc riding. Ryder and Stetson are trading places at the top after nearly every rodeo. Stetson has a huge lead in the All-Around Cowboy race.

Sage Kimzey had a dry spell for a few rodeos, but he is sitting over $40,000 ahead of Stetson Wright in the bull riding. Corey Petska and Derrick Begay are both in the top 15 and seemed to have gotten by their dry spell in the team roping.

Having become somewhat of a saddle bronc riding junky, it has been fun to watch Taos Muncy, Corona, New Mexico, and Leon Fountain, Socorro, New Mexico compete all summer. Hopefully one or both of them will have a surge here at the end and make the Finals.

As we continue to suffer the woke movement and the departure of sports like major league football and basketball from the values we have grown up with, it occurs to me that rodeo is so much more inclusive and politically correct than these sports could ever hope to be.

In watching the Cowboy Channel’s 100 Rodeos in 100 Days, it is quite clear that rodeo is the most multicultural and multinational sport on the face of the planet and it has been for generations. ▫

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Cell: 806-683-4613 • steve@expressscale.comCell: 806-683-4613 • steve@expressscale.com www.expressscale.comPhone: 806-655-3033 • 325-554-7434 Cell: 806-683-4613 • steve@expressscale.com www.expressscale.com

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