Page 74 - June 2015

“THE HORSE WITH
THE FLYING TAIL”
Suzanne Norton Jones’ claims to fame include training four mounts certi- fied as Olympic prospects, one of whom quali-
fied for the 1959 Pan American Games: the famed Nautical. Suzanne
showed him at his first show in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “He was very much a char- acter,” Suzanne says — which is very much an understatement.
Also known by his registered name of Pelo de Oro, as well as Peter De Oro, Sneaky Pete and Injun Joe, the palomino with the explo- sive, tail-waving jumping style earned a place in Hugh Wiley’s string of jumpers. Nautical went on to win the Team Gold medal at the 1959 Pan American Games and regularly served as a mount for the U.S. Equestrian Team in international competitions.
Along with his flamboyant jumping style, Nautical’s reputation as a hard- to-handle competitor who was prone to refuse water and ditch jumps (thus, the name Sneaky Pete) led to a 1960 Disney movie, “The Horse With the Flying Tail,” in which Nautical played himself. The movie earned an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Nautical was born in 1944. In addition to being a member of seven Nations Cup teams, his accomplishments include:
1957 — Won the West Point & Stone Trophy at the National Horse Show.
1958 — Won the West Point & Stone Trophy for the second time; placed sixth in the European Championships in Aachen, Germany; won a puissance class in Dublin.
1959 — Won the King George V Gold Cup in England; placed sixth in European Championships held in Paris, France; earned the best individual score at the Pan Am Games in Chicago and helped the U.S. team win a gold medal there.
He officially retired at age 17 and died in 1966. He’s a member of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame.
NEW HORIZONS
After the kids quit showing, Suzanne expanded her equine resume to include judging. She has held cards for six breeds, including AQHA, ApHC and APHA, as well as 14 different disciplines/divisions in the American Horse Shows Association, includ- ing hunter/jumper. She has judged in most of the 50 states, plus Canada, Germany and Switzerland.
She also became a published author, writ- ing several books including “Charlie, Master Hand” in 1985 and “The Art of Western Riding” in 1992. And, she wrote as a columnist for Horseman magazine, Quarter Horse Journal, Western Horseman and Horse Lover.
Suzanne’s many equine accomplishments led to her being inducted into several halls of fame: the AQHA Hall of Fame in 1999 as a judge (Punch was inducted separately as a breeder
in 2008); the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1999; and the Ruidoso Hall of Fame in 2014 with Punch as owner/breeders. As a couple, Suzanne and Punch were also recognized with AQHA’s 30-year Continuous Breeder Award and 40-Year Cumulative Breeder Award. Suzanne also served on AQHA’s International Committee.
A FEW CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
During the course of their breeding and racing career, Suzanne and Punch’s sixth- generation Maroon descendant Kuhi Kuhi qualified for the $202,753 All American Derby-G1 in 1995, finishing sixth. The graded stakes winning mare earned a career record of 48-14-10-5 and $159,925 in a five-year career that ended in 1998.
Their home-bred winners now include three seventh generation Maroon-descended half-siblings:
Multiple graded stakes-winning RCJ Major Storm (Brookstone Bay-Major Kia, Major Rime), who won the $50,000 Hard Twist Stakes at Albuquerque in 2012 and all of his last four races: the $181,480 Zia Park Championship
in Oct. 2014, the $85,000 Handicap Stakes at Sunland Park on Dec. 6, 2014, the $350,000 Championship at Sunland Park on Dec. 28, 2014, and the $60,000 Lineage Championship at Albuquerque in May 2015.
Stakes winner Incoho Tes (Rabbits Rainbow- Major Kia), who won the $65,000 Four Corners Senora Stakes-RG3 at SunRay Park in 2013.
“The requirements for a happy, well- adjusted life are the same in the horse and human worlds.
Multiple graded stakes-placed Kia Won (Ketel Won – Major Kia), who won the $50,000 New Mexican Spring Fling at Sunland Park in April 2013.
Along with generations of horses, the Joneses have raised human generations as well; their four children blessed them with 10 grandchildren.
In addition to their family, Suzanne and Punch have brought many people into the horse world. In a New Mexico College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences publica- tion, Suzanne wrote, “The requirements for
a happy, well-adjusted life are the same in the horse and human worlds. When children under- stand how to bring a horse to its full potential, they begin to understand the structure of society — discipline, friendship, respect, understanding, companionship and mutual trust.”
Suzanne has been the guiding force and example in helping countless others bring horses and humans to their full potential. Suzanne and Punch’s son Dirk sums it up: “She’s always willing to share her knowledge and assist others any time there’s a need.”
6th generation Maroon descendant Kuhi Kuhi qualified to the 1995 All American Derby and won several graded stakes races, including the 1998 Buttons And Bows Stakes at The Downs at Albuquerque, shown here.
7th generation Maroon descendant RCJ Major Storm recently won this year’s Lineage Championship at the Downs at Albuquerque, shown here.
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