Page 104 - January_2023

YEAR in REVIEW
LEON BARD JANUARY
LEON BARD
(Jan. 5) Trainer Leon Bard, 75, passed away in Wheelock, Texas, following a battle
with cancer. Bard rode horses in his youth, competed in rodeo, and worked for Keith Barnett Sr. Cutting Horses before becoming an exercise rider and jockey. He then began a training career in which he conditioned the earners of over $6 million. His top earners include Ruidoso Futurity-G1 winner Zip First and Sam Houston Futurity-G2 winner This Is An Eagle, among many others. His favorite horse, however, was Cash From Texas, winner of the 1994 Speedhorse Sprint Derby-G3.
LARRY J. COMEAUX
(Jan. 7) Larry J. Comeaux, 72, passed away at his home in Carencro, Louisiana. Comeaux was a veteran of the U.S. Army and worked for 15 years as a truck driver. He was an outdoorsman and enjoyed hunting and fishing and working the horse sales.
JOHN G. JOHNSON
(Jan. 17) Longtime horseman John G. Johnson of Shadehill, South Dakota, passed away at
the age of 90. Johnson has been involved in Quarter Horse racing since the 1980s. He
is the owner of over 1/2-million in earners.
He is the owner of multiple stakes winners, but perhaps his best horse was Faster Than Hasta ($245,742), winner of the 2020 Covered Bridges Stakes-G3 and 2021 Energy Downs Distance Challenge - trained by his son, longtime trainer Bob Johnson with over $6 million in earners.
DONALD SANDOVAL
(Jan. 19) Former jockey Donald “Donnie” Michael Sandoval of New Mexico passed away from COVID complications at the age of 64.
102 SPEEDHORSE January 2023
LARRY J. COMEAUX DALE YOUREE
Donnie was born in Colorado in 1958. He won multiple championships as a boxer for Aztec Boxing Club, including the Golden Gloves
and a third in the National Junior Olympics. He later became a jockey, riding the earners
of more than $1.5 million with 8-time stakes winner Flight Nine as his top money earner. Sandoval was known as a caring and kind individual who would help anyone in need.
DALE YOUREE
(Jan. 27) Barrel racing legend Dale Youree passed away at the age of 93. Dale met his wife Florence, a barrel racer, at a rodeo where he was calf-roping when she asked him if she could borrow his horse to ride in the grand entry. They married in 1950, and after he graduated from Oklahoma A & M (now Oklahoma State University) they worked on Florence’s parent’s ranch and continued to rodeo. They soon welcomed son John and daughter Renee. While Florence was pregnant, Dale began helping out with the barrel horses and this soon became their livelihood. They began producing rodeos in Oklahoma and Texas and launched Youree Horsemanship Camps as well as the Oklahoma Youth Rodeo Association. They also helped found the Barrel Futurities of America (BFA). As a family, they have earned many titles in the rodeo arena, including the WPRA World Championship and the NFR Championship. Florence and Dale were three weeks shy of their 72nd wedding anniversary.
TAB LEE THOMPSON
(Jan. 27) Tab Lee Thompson of Farr West,
Utah, passed away at the age of 64, six years
after suffering a traumatic brain injury at
work. Thompson drove trucks for construction companies, but his joy was in breeding, training and racing race horses. Lee and his brother Wayne trained in the intermountain region as well as at Los Alamitos. Perhaps the best horse they were involved with was Miss Princess Handicap-G2 winner Finely Tuned.
KENNETH LAYMON FEBRUARY
KENNETH LAYMON
(Feb. 2) Longtime horseman Kenneth Wayne Laymon, 82, passed away at his home in Neosho Falls, Kansas. Kenneth was active in the oil industry, drilling and producing oil wells. He was also successful with cattle and farming. He was an owner and trainer of Quarter Horses, training 193 winners with over $3.3 million in earners, and his wife Regina is the owner of over $1.2 million in earners. His top money earner is 3-time stakes winner Hooked
On A Win with $209,910 banked including the 2020 Mr Jet Moore Stakes-G2 at Remington Park.
COLE JUNGERS
(Feb. 8) Longtime Texas horseman Cole Jungers, 81, passed away. Jungers was known for living life to the fullest. He raced cars, built street rods and had a great love of horses - breeding, owning, training, selling and racing Quarter Horses. He sold 1977 and 1978 Champion Little Blue Sheep
and was part of the syndication of World Champion Dash For Cash. He was a partner on many racehorses, including with son Marc, and most recently as the breeder and co-owner of 2021 All American Derby-G1 finalist Flash Riley.
ELAINE PELLERIN ROBICHEAUX
(Feb. 17) Elaine Pellerin Robicheaux passed away peacefully at the age of 84 in Louisiana. Elaine is the mother of Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association member Jude Robicheaux and grandmother of LQHBA past president Ryan Robicheaux. Born in 1937, Elaine was an LPN in Labor and Delivery, a devout Catholic, and enjoyed traveling and being with her family.
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Remembering The Ones We Lost
Coady Photography
Speedhorse
Speedhorse
Susan Bachelor, Speedhorse