Page 134 - Jan_2020

“When you have a Paint, it’s like Christmas morning. You never know what you’re going to get.”
KAYE JONES
by John Moorehouse
The tale of Kaye Jones and Jones Ranch starts
at her home nearly 40 years ago, when her husband Dan showed up at their back door with 13 Appaloosa yearlings.
“I’ve been a horse person my whole life, but I didn’t plan on 13 Appaloosa yearlings in my life,” Kaye said.
So many horses have followed, but everything changed for Jones Ranch thanks to CRM Livewire, who’s proven to be a spectacular sire. CRM Livewire led all APHA sires in 2018, with his progeny ranking as five of the top 10 earners in the country. No other Paint sire has more winners or stakes winners.
“We’re an overnight success,” joked Jones. “Livewire made our legacy. And we are very, very blessed to have had him, to have the opportunity to have him in our life. He’s been amazing.”
Kaye and her husband Dan live in Cedar Creek Lake, Texas, about four hours drive from James Ranch in Oklahoma, which is the home base of their breeding program. Some of their horses, however, reside at their home, a 30-acre property.
“They’re my therapy, my horses,” she said. “We have our mares here at the house. We bring the babies here. I used to foal out all of our horses. It got to be more than I wanted to do, sitting out in the barn in
a thunderstorm when (2018 World Champion) Live Moonshine was born. We foal them out up at James Ranch now.
“We’ve done it all. Dan and I were our only employees for years, but we’ve kind of had to start having some others. I still feed five days a week in the mornings. I have to put my hands on them every day, talk to them.
“This is our passion,” she added. “This is what keeps us going.”
Now let’s get to know more about Kaye Jones in the latest installment of our Lighter Side feature.
Q: Where were you born?
A: I was born in Santa Fe. My dad was a mining engineer and we lived in the Four Corner states when I was growing up, at one time, in each state. In the 50s, in Window Rock, Arizona...it was so different. There was so much freedom. I could be gone all day on my horse—7 miles away and then back. We were just safe there. A lot of freedom and a totally different culture than the 50s for most people. I went to boarding school, because my dad was so afraid in seventh
grade I was going to have a boyfriend. So I went to Wasatch Academy in Mt Pleasant, Utah, a very small Presbyterian boarding school. I always laugh and say my family moved and left no forwarding address. Next we moved to Prescott Valley, Arizona. I went from a total school enrollment of 350 to 400-something in my class. You talk about a shock. It was pretty interesting.
Q: What are your hobbies outside of
horse racing?
A: I love to read. I love to spend time with my kids and grandkids—and my brothers and their wives.
I used to think we were normal. I don’t know that
we are. We have so much fun when we’re together. There’s very little drama and very little problems. And we just laugh. My cheeks always hurt when we spend a couple of days together or an evening with our kids and my brothers. I have three brothers: two years younger, 10 years younger, and 14 years younger than I am. It’s quite a varied age group.
Q: What is your favorite movie, and why?
A: “Open Range” is one. And “Steel Magnolias” is another because it was the first movie I really remember bawling in and right in the middle I burst out laughing. One of those emotional roller coasters. No scary movies.
Q: What’s an interesting fact about
your family?
A: My dad was a mining engineer for the Navajo Tribe in Window Rock, Arizona, for eight years. We followed uranium.
John Moorehouse
130 SPEEDHORSE, January 2020
THE LIGHTER SIDE