Over the
past few years the horse industry has lost several of their all-time great
horsemen. Just to name a few: My father, Ralph Acord, owner of Bert Leo
Jr., Rube Hanks owner of Pine Chock, Cletus Hulling owner of Doc Hollywood,
Bill Lumb owner of Beatle Luck, and Rex Cauble owner of Cutter Bill.
The reason
that I named these particular men is near and dear to my heart. When I was
a little 8 year old boy I went with my dad to watch his stallion Bert Leo
Jr. show for the World Championship in Cutting. "Little did I know what was
to come!"
My dad was
on crutches with a leg injury and the famous horse show judge and showman
Kenneth Jackson was going to show Bert Leo Jr. Unfortunately he came down
with a very serious case of food posioning the night before and was much too
sick to even leave his room let alone ride a horse. At that time, the rules
stated that if the listed showman or owner was unable to show the horse then
it would have to be a direct relative [next of kin] to the owner; i.e.: son,
daughter, or spouse. If no immediate family member was available, then the
horse would not be allowed to compete.
Well,
Rube, Cletus, Bill and Rex all tried to talk my dad into letting me show the
horse. Even though I had been riding and showing in horse shows since I
was 3, he refused because he was afraid that I might get hurt. I had ridden
cutting horses on our Ranch many times but had never showed one before. All
I had ever shown in was Halter and Western Pleasure at that time.
Dad's
four great friends kept at it and promised him that they would get the horse
ready to show. They further assured him that the horse would be so
tired before entering the arena that it would be impossible for me to get
hurt.
Dad
finally gave in to their demands and they all set about their task. They
did a great job of giving me a cram session on the art of showing in
cutting. And true to their word, my horse was worked long and hard
before the class and was good and relaxed before I mounted him.
There were
about 90 entries and I drew around number 40 or so to cut. Dad and all of
those guys gathered around the arena fence to shout out instructions as I
rode in to the herd. That horse was calm and determined, to be sure.
The rest
of what happened that day was either sheer luck or pure magic! Old
Bert Leo Jr. was automatic that day. All I had to do was hold on tight and
grin from ear to ear. He worked perfectly and the cows I was instructed to
chose were great. When the smoke cleared we had a combined score
announced of 228, and the large crowd went wild with screaming, cheers, and
a standing ovation that lasted a good 3 or 4 minutes.
We were in
the lead, and we held that lead until the next to last horse came in to take
his turn. That horse scored a 228 and a half and won the World by a half a
point. That horse was Cutter Bill.
When we
recieved our awards Bert Leo Jr. and I got twice the applause that Rex
and Cutter Bill did, even though they had won and we were second. It was a
moment of sheer glory for me. My 15 minutes of fame, a moment I will
never forget as long as I live.
Rex went
up to my dad "all smiles" and said that was the first time that the Reserve
World Champion ever got more applause than the World Champion did, and that
he did'nt blame them one bit. He said that he figured that I had it won
hands down and that he was just going to be riding for second. But Cutter
Bill gave his usual brillant performance and pulled off the close victory.
My nick-name that day became "Kid Cutter" and all the men teased me about it
the rest of the day. I was having the time of my life and my dad was very
proud of me, although I owe all the credit to those great men that so
graciously took me under their wing that day. That has always been one of
my fondest memories in the horse business.
