8 EQUUS 498 AUTUMN 2019Memories of a great one
I read and re-read “Sons of the Great
Ones” (Conformation Insights, EQUUS
497) by Deb Bennett, PhD. What an
amazing piece of work.
I was interested in the complete
article but particularly the part about
Hard Twist, Cowboy P-12 and Mame
Taylor. My grandfather, Lou Kirk,
owned several good Quarter Horse
EQ LETTERS
mares, but Mame Taylor (by Jack
Dempsey) was the best producer.
During the second world war,
my grandparents moved with their
broodmares to my parent’s Springstead
Trading Post, 18 miles northeast of
Gallup, New Mexico. The trading post
was surrounded on three sides by
the Navajo reservation so we all
spoke the language. My grandfather
helped my father, A.P. “Colonel”
Springstead, at the post and my mother
taught my older brother and me the
Calvert Course, which originated in
Baltimore, Maryland.
Lou Kirk bred Mame to Cowboy
P-12 resulting in a colt he named Hard
Twist. My grandfather had an eye for
quality horses, and I remember him
telling me that this colt may have been
the best stallion he ever raised.
This leads me to share a few
incidents that happened when Hard
Twist and other foals of that crop
were yearlings. I would sneak downto the corral (which was out of sight
from the post) and play around
with the youngsters. I got halters on
all of them and finally got them so
gentle that I could get on them. I
knew if I got caught there would be
hell to pay, but everything worked
well until I tried Hard Twist. He bucked
me off so many times I couldn’t count
them, but the challenge was there and
I kept trying.
I got caught, of course, because when
the youngsters were 2 year olds, my
grandfather hired a good local cowboy
to break them. He started his work but
within a few days said, “These horses
have all been ridden by someone but
not outside, so I will finish them for you
but it won’t take much time.”
But, even he could not break Hard
Twist. So, my grandfather asked the
cowboy’s son, Louie, who was training
in California, to come and break this
horse. He did, but it took him 30 days.
Then the sad day arrived when myA note to our readers: EQUUS
encourages riders of all disciplines
to wear protective headgear. On
occasion, however, the photographs
that accompany our articles reflect a
reality of the horse world: Many riders
choose not to wear helmets. We hope
someday this will change, but in the
meantime we will portray equestrian
life as it is.—The Editors“A randomized, controlled trial of the effects of resveratrol administration
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