Spotlight on Our Member!

Ceil and Hazel Gillispie, Mclean, Texas
"A Look Back Through Time"

by daughter Jerry Billingsley

My Dad and my Mom (Cecil and Hazel Gillispie) have been horse people all their lives.

My Dad lost his Mother at age 11. Shortly afterwards he moved out of his Dad’s house and into one of his own, at Durham, Oklahoma. He began breaking horses to make a living for himself. He said where he lived there was a big shinery thicket, so he chopped out about a 5 or 6 foot track in the middle of it, leaving trees as an inside and outside fence for his round pen. He hung up 2 or 3 coal oil lanterns around in the trees for his lights. He would do day work for area farmers during the day and break horses at night. At the young age of 12, I thought this was pretty awesome.

When he was 15 or 16 he went to work for Walter Merrick where he learned a lot more about horses. When at age 17 he met my Mom. She was 15.

She grew up on the Davis Ranch at Shamrock, Texas. They did all the farming on the ranch with horses and mules. She helped my Grandad do a lot of it. I remember one funny story she told about a runaway mule they used. He was almost impossible to catch, but she and my Grandad didn’t give up easy. After they caught him and got him hooked up, my Grandad would hold the reins until my Mom could get on, and then away they’d go. She said sometimes the fields would be 3 or 4 miles away from their house. She’d just let him run as she sat on the cultivator, and when they’d get to the field and begin to plow he’d finally slow down. She would plow the rest of the day and then head home to help feed the rest of the horses and mules and milk the cows. So even as a young teenage girl my Mom learned a lot about horses and mules, and had a lot of nerve also, to ride a cultivator behind a runaway mule! She loved ranching and horses.

Then at the age of 15, Mom met Dad at a family gathering. Two of Dad’s brothers had married two of Mom’s aunts. Dad and Mom fell in love at first sight. They saw each other a couple of more times in the next two weeks and decided to get married.

My Mom said the night before they married Dad traded his horse for a car so they would have a way to go, but 2 or 3 days after that he traded the car for another horse. Then they hitch-hiked everywhere they went for about six months. Dad was a horse trader at heart, you see.

They worked on many ranches and even farmed for themselves for a few years, but always had a good horse or two. Dad trained roping horses in between farming.

Then in 1952 they moved to Amarillo, Texas, and took their 3 or 4 horses with them. In 1956 they began their quarter horse herd. They purchased a stallion, "Mr Preacher" and five good brood mares. Dad trained some cutting horses during this time too. In 1957 they moved to Shamrock, Texas, where they continued to pursue the horse business.

He purchased and showed Helena Lewis in the late 50’s along with Alisha’s Darling that they raised. They continued to raise, trade, train and show, and in the 60’s they showed Sundance Mac, Tuff Hank, Wimpy’s Comanche and Seco Sandy, winning many firsts, grands and reserves.

They also purchased Reger’s Skip from Monte Reger as a weanling and began showing him. He was the first yearling to ever win 1st in his class and stand Grand Champion at the Tri-State Fair in Amarillo.

They continued raising and showing horses. In 1963 they won Horse Of The Year in the Goden Spread Association with Wimpy’s Comanche. They also won the Golden Spread Halter Futurity with a filly by Showdown N. during the early 60’s. Then in the middle 60’s they began running horses too.

I remember going to the races with them and it was a lot of fun. They have many winner’s photographs with a lot of good horses my Dad raised. In 1969 they purchased the horse race track at McLean, Tx. It was, and still is the McLean Training Stables, where they still live.

In the early 70’s they showed Chicaro Bee Play who was 1st and Grand every time showed him. Even though they were running horses they didn’t lose their touch for good show horses. They’ve had and still have some awesome horses. One of them was Silverado Dude who has sired a lot of Champions.

Today in their 70’s they are still raising, standing and trading horses. At the Triangle Horse Sale in Shawnee, they said that Dad has been there every year for 21 years, bringing outstanding horses every time. So my Mom and Dad have a terrific history of being in the horse business. In July they will have been married 59 years. In that amount of time they have seen, raised, trained raced and been around a lot of good horses.

Two years ago in October, my Mom picked out our Mr Skipper Depth at the Shawnee Sale, and told Dad he needed to come look at this horse. Immediately he went and looked at him and he knew they wanted him, so they bought him. When they unloaded him at home, I knew instantly that I wanted to buy him. Well, Mom and Dad weren’t ready to sell him yet, but said they would sell us half interest. We feel God blessed us with this horse, and are looking forward to showing him and standing him again this year. He already has 6 firsts with 5 Grands and 1 Reserve, so we are excited about Mr Skipper Depth and we thank God for my parents and all their horse knowledge.

They are looking forward to many more good years in the horse business too. So come by McLean Training Stables and visit with them sometime. You’ll be very much enlightened about horses, plus you can see some of the most awesome horses in the country. They have been a lot of places and done a lot of things with horses, and I feel you’d enjoy visiting with them.