|
Some Good Advice............
|
A few months ago, there was an article in America’s
Horse, the magazine that is sent to AQHA
members, about George Tyler.
George Tyler, a prominent horseman in the
fifties and sixties, was from Gainesville, Texas.
He was involved in all aspects of the Quarter
Horse business.
He was a breeder, trainer, trader and judge
and handled many of the nation’s top horses at
the time he was in business.
I had the pleasure of being introduced to
Mr. Tyler when he was more or less retired.
He was not only an accomplished horseman,
but a teacher was well.
Many of the later, prominent horsemen from
that area had been “students” of George Tyler.
Mr. Tyler was always willing, if not eager
to share his knowledge and expertise with Quarter
Horses with any interested person.
On one particular occasion I had the
opportunity to hear one of his statements of
wisdom, although not directed to me, it is
something that I have never forgotten.
Several
years ago, a prominent Quarter Horse exhibitor,
trader, and trainer who knew George Tyler well,
had come to this area various times and purchased
young horses that went on to be successful show
horses. For
the purposes of this article, I will refer to this
horseman as “Mr. S” He would call me from time to time to see if I had found or
discovered any good prospects.
I was always on the lookout as I was
usually paid a commission by the seller and often
paid a finders fee by the buyer.
About twenty five or thirty years ago,
“Mr. S.” called wanting to know if I knew of a
good yearling filly that would be for sale.
As it happened, I did.
Some friends of mine had three fillies and
wanted to sell them.
There was one that I thought exceptional.
“Mr. S.” came to Colorado a few days
later, we went to the owner of the three fillies
and he immediately purchased the one that I
thought he would like.
(She did go on to have a successful show
career) The
whole transaction took less than thirty minutes,
so I was asked if there were any other horses in
the area to look at.
I knew of a fancy yearling stud colt that
was for sale.
“Mr. S.” said he wasn’t particularly
interested in a stud colt as he had three in his
barn. One
was qualified for the World show; another was
going to the Congress, etc.
He did say he would go look as it was a
short trip from where we were.
Upon
arriving and looking at the colt, “Mr. S.”
acknowledged that the colt was sure enough good
and warranted the trip to look.
After discussion with the owner, he
acknowledged that the price was certainly fair. But unlike most of these trips, “Mr. S.” did not quickly
decide to complete the deal or decline to buy the
colt. He asked if he could wait until that evening to decide.
The sellers agreed. After
leaving the farm where the colt was kept, “Mr.
S.” again reiterated that he did not really need
another yearling stallion but he hated to pass up
a colt that good. He continued to debate the problem with himself as the day
progressed. Finally,
shortly before he was to meet with the sellers, he
announced that he was going to call his mentor,
George Tyler for advice.
George Tyler’s advice was as follows:
He told
“Mr. S.”
“I
am in Texas, the colt is in Colorado.
I can’t see him so I don’t know.
But, do this- If you have to talk yourself
into buying him, walk away.
If you can’t talk yourself out of buying
him, go for it.
It will turn out ok.”
Think
about that. In
a way we all do that, but in typical George Tyler
fashion, he summed up what could have been a
confusing thought process in very neat, precise,
and easy to understand terms.
In a sense, we all go through this thought
process to an extent with a lot of things we do.
But if you think of it in these simple
terms, it applies to everything we do in the horse
business. Certainly,
this advice applies when buying a horse but it
also applies when choosing a stallion to breed to,
whether or not to keep or sell a foal, or which
foals to keep and which to sell.
It can apply to whether or not to show a
certain horse, or whether or not a certain method
of selling that horse is right for the situation.
From
what I know of and about George Tyler he was
totally not influenced by other people and their
opinions. He lived by his own advice.
If he couldn’t talk himself out of buying
a certain horse, he would make every effort to
obtain that horse.
If he had to even think about talking
himself into buying a horse, he would walk away
and not give it another thought.
George Tyler was a shrewd judge of horses
and was an AQHA judge for many years.
It was fascinating to watch him judge a
horse show. He
would make up his mind quickly and not debate with
himself. I’m
sure that he was not talking himself into or out
of a decision that he was about to make.
George
Tyler was an influential and positive force in the
Western horse business for many years.
His advice and judgment can still benefit
us all. The
next time you go to look at a horse, ask yourself
if you are talking yourself into liking the horse
or if you are talking yourself out of it.
A final
note. “Mr.
S.” couldn’t talk himself out of the yearling
colt and purchased him.
The colt was gelded and went on to win some
of the major Quarter Horse shows in the U.S. and
Canada.
John
Hayes
|
