Page 81 - January 2022

“There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart” - Ghandi
NOVEMBER
HARRY JAMES MACROBERTS
(Nov. 8) - Harry James MacRoberts, 74, passed away at his home surrounded by family following complications from
line of racehorse breeders and owners, from his grandfather Reno Petry Sr. to his son Reno Petry Jr., a veterinarian who passed away in 2015. Among the many horses associated with Petry is Hemps Jumpn Lajolla ($269,772), who
YEAR in 202 REVIEW 1
THOMAS WADE BYRD
(Dec. 10) - Longtime jockey Thomas Wade Byrd passed away in Concord, Arkansas. Byrd rode 11,832 races aboard Quarter Horses, Thoroughbreds and Paints, winning 1,455 races with mount earnings of $8.62 million. Perhaps
bone cancer. Harry married equine artist Ginny Harding in 1996, and they bred and raised Quarter Horses for decades
on their Toll Tax Farms in Finley, Washington. Harry owned and operated Super Scrap, a scrap and special metals company. He was passionate about horse racing; baseball, where he coached youth teams for many years; and music, playing guitar and as a songwriter.
ANDREW T. SMITH
(Nov. 10) - Oklahoma horseman Andrew “Andy” Smith, 71, passed away following a long battle with kidney disease and diabetes. Smith grew up in Ardmore, Oklahoma. He attended Oklahoma State University, East Central, and Southeastern, where earned a degree in physical education with a minor
in speech. He ran Ardmore Drilling Co. as part of a more than 30-year career in the
oil and gas industry. He married his wife Melody Hamilton, in 1973, and together they raised two children. Smith enjoyed fishing, hunting, traveling, and breeding and owning racehorses. Perhaps his most successful runner was Wicked Courage, earner of $1,132,848 with wins in the Rainbow Derby-G1, Ruidoso Derby-G1, Bob Moore Memorial-G2, Black Gold Futurity Championship-G3, and Black Gold 350 Futurity.
DR. BARRY JAMES PETRY
(Nov. 26) - Dr. Barry James Petry,
61, passed away. Born in 1960, Petry graduated from the LSU School of Dentistry in 1986. He came from a long
was his first and biggest stakes winner going wire-to-wire in the Mardi Gras Futurity-G2. His mare Genuine Reward produced Grade 1 stakes winner Jess Genuine ($195,175) and Grade 1 stakes placed Genuine Botticelli ($164,182). Barry had a deep love for his children and grandchildren, as well as raising cattle and racehorses at his Live Oak Farms.
DECEMBER
BUTCH WEBB
(Dec. 9) - Butch Webb, 65, passed away
in Loveland, Colorado. Butch loved to rodeo and made the National High School finals. He graduated from Cheyenne Eagle Butte high school and then attended MSU in Bozeman, Montana, on a full ride rodeo scholarship. He graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1981. Butch worked as an auctioneer, at the Federal Land Bank, for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and as President/CEO of Western Dakota Bank of Timber Lake/Isabel, all the time rodeoing and winning the NRCA and SDRA Championships many times. His Webb Ranch in Isabel, S.D., raises quality Black Angus Cattle and Quarter Horses, who compete on the track and in the arena. Among the stallions standing
at the ranch are barrel performers Vanila Viper and Magnum, and Webb Ranch broodmares carry leading race and barrel bloodlines. He was married to Stephanie Eagleberger in 2013. Butch was a true cowboy, a shrewd businessman and a great bronc rider, and he was a loving husband, father and grandfather.
the top Quarter Horse he rode were 1995 Oklahoma Derby-G2 winner Optimizer, Blue Ribbon Derby-G2 winner Cash Alliance, and OHA Futurity-RG3 winner Kiss A Corona.
GERALD FLOYD “JERRY” BAILEY
(Dec. 17) - Dr. Jerry Bailey, 78, passed away Dec. 17 due to complications from pneumonia following a battle with COVID-19. Bailey, who lived in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, earned
a veterinary degree from the University of Minnesota. He moved to Florida where he was a racetrack practitioner, then to Oklahoma where he became the resident veterinarian for the Lazy E Ranch. He was promoted to general manager of the Lazy E, where he was instrumental in the building of the training center at the facility. He eventually moved back to Florida and started the Jerry Bailey Training Center. Among the many horses he is associated with is Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch and Champion Lucky At Lucky. Bailey and wife Leslie retired in Oklahoma, where they founded the Quarter Circle 4 Bailey Ranch near Pauls Valley, and he spent his retirement roping, and breeding and raising barrel horses.
LINDA GORDON
(Dec. 18) - Linda Thompson Gordon, 67, passed away in Denton, Texas, on Dec. 18. Linda graduated from Southern Methodist University. She worked with her father and sister in the family businesses, including oil and gas operations and exploration and ranching. Linda met Gary Gordon in 1994 and they were married for 22 years. She and her husband,
in partnership with Ross Roark, owned 2014 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Jess Walking Thru. She also participated in the halter industry and barrel
GERALD FLOYD “JERRY” BAILEY
SIMON ESCAMILLA DR. BARRY JAMES PETRY BUTCH WEBB
SPEEDHORSE January 2022 79
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