Competitor, trainer, breeder, judge, manager, teacher -- these are
some of the roles played by various people in the world of cutting
horses.
In the case of Gary and Mary Walker, all those job descriptions fit.
The Tehuacana couple have made cutting horses their world for the past
25 years. The level of their success can be measured by the trophies and
medals they've won and the postings on cutting horse association Web
sites of their standings. That success also can be measured by the
number of people who have come to them year after year for guidance and
help in getting involved in cutting horse competitions.
Operating under the name Gary Walker Cutting Horses, their business
offers breeding, training, lessons and evaluations. Visitors to their
operation in Tehuacana will see a sign proclaiming one of their horses, Doctor. Sandman, as the 1994 World Champion. Their successes stretch back to
1989 and go forward into the current century.
In 1991 the
Walkers had the reserve limited open champion at the National Cutting
Horse Association Summer Spectacular. Their son, Tennessee, rode Doctor
Sandman to another world championship in 1997 as a nonprofessional
rider. Tennessee also won a junior and a senior national championship
aboard High N Fancy.
With other horses, Gary won the San Antonio Stock Show in 2000 and had
the reserve champion in the Houston Fat Stock Show in 2001. Gary has
been ranked in the top 10 in the world by the NCHA and American Cutting
Horse Association for several years.
Gary is an accomplished cutter with arena earnings of more than
$237,000. His abilities in the arena set him up to be honored in 2005
with his induction in to the American Cutting Horse Riders Hall of Fame. He holds a judges card in the American Quarter Horse Association, National Cutting Horse Association, and the American Cutting Horse Association.
Going to the Futurity is typical of a travel schedule which puts the
Walkers on the road up to 35 weekends a year.
When Tennessee was at home, the three were often on the road attending
shows. Now, he is 25 and working for the law firm Harris, Finley and
Bogle in Fort Worth. So, in a way, the Walkers feel like they have
pulled back on their travel schedule from those days. Their first show
this year is March 27 at Alvarado. They will do the Oil Belt tour and
the Futurity again. In September they plan on spending seven days in
Belton at the American Championships Show. It's still a lot of travel,
but it's in their blood.
Watching Gary and Mary work in the arena is to see true artists at work.
As they practice to go on the road, Mary fills in as the turn-back
manager, forcing a cow Gary is keeping cut from the herd back to the
center of the arena where Gary and his horse can do their magic.
Gary knows a lot of the tricks of the trade such as keeping up with
which cows out of a small herd of 50 to 60 head have already been cut by
competitors before him. That allows him to have a fresh cow to work
with that will respect his horse and not try to run over it out of
frustration.
As he put it, "Cows can be real stupid when they want."
When they are at competitions, Gary has four helpers who make it easier
for him to do his best cutting. They are two herd holders and two
turnback managers. What depicts the brotherhood of the cutting horse
world is the fact that the foursome are competitors who want to beat him
when it's their turn, but they help him to do his best during his turn.
It's that spirit of helpfulness which characterizes a lot about people
in the cutting horse business, especially the Walkers. While they are in
the business to make money, they offer so much of themselves to help
people become more effective in dealing with horses or to prosper in the
breeding and investment side of the cutting horse business. Mary gives
novice riders lessons in the basics of riding. Gary is enough of a horse
trader and knows what works in the business that he can help an
absentee owner of a fine cutting horse get the best returns possible on
his animal.
Their stud service at a $1.000 a pop could help a purchaser some day end
up with a horse as high a quality as Mr. Sandman or their current
choice, Flips Wilson, a 1997 double registered sorrel stallion out of
Doc Wilson and Patty Congers Flip, a sire and a dam with a history of
good earnings on both sides.
There's an old saying in the meat packing business that you try to use
everything including the squeal as you process a pig. In their own way,
the Walkers, who cover every conceivable aspect of the cutting horse
business in their operation have captured the squeal.
