Page 26 - New Mexico Summer 2022

“I knew I wanted to work with horses because that’s where my passion was.” – Donna
The Wilken children began making money with horses at an early age, developing a
trick roping contract act named The Wilken Youngsters. Their mom, Barbara, hand-stitched their costumes, meticulously affixing the rhinestones herself. They traveled and camped out all summer. It was their way of life, and it set the paths they followed for decades to come.
Lefty received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999 and was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. “Coming from that kind of lifestyle plays a huge role in shaping your later years,” Donna said. “I knew I wanted to work with horses because that’s where my passion was. We were taught to respect them as our partners and the means of our livelihood. We were taught to do right by them. After all, they provide the support for us and for our families.
“From what I’ve watched over the years, respect has become a missing part of the equation for a lot of trainers. That’s when things get dangerous because there’s the
temptation to try other ‘methods’ to make it to the finish line first.”
We’re all adults so there’s no reason to tip-toe around the sore, throbbing, giant elephant in the room. The elephant’s name is Drugs, and that particular elephant has savaged some of the biggest and most influential names in racing, both Quarter and Thoroughbred.
“It’s extremely frustrating,” Donna admitted. “Drugs are not going to make a horse run any faster than he’s naturally able to do. They may make it easier for him to sustain his natural top speed longer, but that doesn’t mean he’ll run any faster than he was intended to run by nature.
“Me? I concentrate on learning everything and anything I can do to keep a horse happy and healthy. He’ll have no problem giving me everything he’s capable of if he has those two things going for him.”
We have a sort of chicken and the egg juncture here. Think about this: we don’t hear much about a trainer until he/she comes with a big horse.
His horsemanship skills were recognized across the rodeo circuit, establishing his reputation
as one of the top pickup men for any, and all, events. He worked for Beutler Brothers Rodeo and was voted by the competing cowboys to pickup at the National Finals Rodeo a record 10 times, including the first Finals in 1959 in Dallas. They knew who they wanted riding toward them if things got tight. He was also an accomplished calf and team roper, respected for his hot southpaw skills in the 1950s.
There were four kids in the Wilken family on the ranch at Hillsboro, New Mexico. Two of them were Donna and her twin brother Don. The other two were John and Carl (aka Wolfy). All four learned to rope, using horses trained by their dad who especially stressed one point: “Let your horse tell you when to throw.” Any horse “made” by Lefty did exactly that. Donna still ropes, contending she and James can truly confuse a steer since they’re both southpaws.
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New Mexico Horse Breeder
Donna with her sibilings Don, John and Carl as the The Wilken Youngsters trick ropers.