Page 184 - January 2018

“I want the young people involved because they are the future of our industry and we need that future.”
Jerry Burgess
by Marie Littlefield
Home Base: Grand Prairie, TX
Time as a Track sTeward: since 1988
raceTrack: strictly Lone star Park and retired from all others
FavoriTe HoBBy: Golfing as often as possible
irecently had the chance to visit with Jerry Burgess, who is probably familiar to just about everyone
in the Quarter Horse industry. With a career that
easily spans five decades, his wealth of knowledge
and the stories he tells can keep a person in awe and highly entertained with quite a lot of laughter. Mr. Burgess took the time to share some of his experiences as both a jockey and track steward.
Q. How did you get your start in Quarter Horse racing?
A. My father worked on large ranches when I
was young, and he always appreciated and knew the value of a well-bred horse. He raised a few colts and we always had nice horses to ride and some would be bred for the track. My father actually worked on the Kerr Ranch, which belonged to (Oklahoma) Senator Robert S. Kerr. He told me about one day when Mr. Kerr brought a young politician named Kennedy to the ranch who had no idea what ranching entailed. He had my father spend the day with him, and they spent all day driving through the ranch, talking about cattle and horses and ranch life.
Q. you rode many nice horses in your racing career as a jockey. which one would you consider the greatest racehorse you’ve ever ridden?
A. Dash For Cash, definitely. I rode him in his first stakes race and he won it. He had so much natu- ral ability that he was not effortless to ride, because he wasn’t easy, but he was a pleasure. I wasn’t always his regular mount during his career, but when Jerry Nicodemus was injured they flew me to California
to ride him in the Vessels Maturity. They wanted someone who was familiar with him and the way he ran to ride him. Like I said, he had so much natural ability that he could run so effortlessly that you had to really watch him so he would stay focused and not get distracted while running. It came so easy to him that he didn’t need to focus on the race to be in front, but he was the kind that you had to stay in contact with so he kept his attention on work.
Q. another great horse you rode during your career was Bugs alive in 75. what was it like to ride him?
A. I liked to call Bugs Alive a blue-collar horse. He had so much try and heart and gave everything he had in each race. He may not have been the most ath- letic horse, and maybe not the fastest, but he tried so hard that he won with sheer guts and drive. It really was a pleasure to be able to ride so many great horses during my time as a jockey.
Q. did you mainly ride Quarter Horses?
A. Well back then, if you wanted to make enough money to live on, you rode whatever you could. And to be honest, I was the kind of jockey that I didn’t care what I was riding. I would ride whatever paid the most, so I rode both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses. I will say, too, that there’s a state fair that used to offer a $100,000 race for Appaloosas that I’ve won seven times.
Q. what do you consider your greatest accomplishment during your career as a jockey?
A. I would say that my greatest accomplishment would be having earned the respect of the people around me. You can win all the money in the world, but that means nothing if you aren’t respected and have no friends to show for it.
Q. i read that you went to college full-time and while pursuing your degree, also rode horses. and, all while you were going through a Police academy. How did you accomplish all of this?
A. I did do this. I would ride six months at a time. Then, I would buckle down and go to school for six months after I made enough money for tuition. I believe that no matter what you do in this world, the friends you have or the money you make can all go
A StewArd’S PerSPective
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SPEEDHORSE, January 2018
marie Littlefield
THE BACKSIDE