Page 92 - Speedhorse June 2019

JUDY COY-HORTON
by John Moorehouse
“Every time that bell rings and the horses come out, man alive, I get goose- bumps just talking about it.”
Judy Coy-Horton served as an AQHA Director. Now a Director Emeritus, she’s still working close to help horse racing in her home state.
Currently, Coy-Horton works at Wyoming Downs where she serves as the event coordinator while also running public relations. Wyoming Downs kicked off its 2019 meet during Memorial Day weekend,
so before things got rolling, she was kind enough to participate in our latest Lighter Side feature.
Q: Where were you born?
A: I was born in Torrington, Wyoming, there in the southeast corner of the state.
Q: What are your hobbies?
A: Horses, horses, and more horses. When my kids were young, I chased them all over the world and enjoyed that, but I don’t know if you call that a hobby.
Q: What is your favorite movie, and why?
A: Dances With Wolves. I think the reason why it’s my favorite movie, first of all, because I thought it was very well-made. Also being a movie about our area, the country where the buffalo roamed and the Indians were everywhere. I just took pride in someone making a movie about where I grew up. And I loved the horsemanship in it.
Q: What’s an interesting fact about
your family?
A: My great-great-grandfather was the first white settler in Fort Collins, Colorado, and his daughter was the first white child born there. He settled there and donated land for a college - my family had a lot of land in Torrington. My dad always loved horses. In the 1940s, he got more involved with the AQHA. He got real involved with training horses and was
a very successful horseman and trainer, and he also was an AQHA accredited judge. I guess you’d say our claim to fame was, in 1960, he bred one of his really good mares ... Sparky Joann. She had a foal
by Jaguar called Coy’s Bonanza. The horse was too nice for us to keep and so my dad sold him in the sale in November ... He topped the sale as a yearling. He ended up being AQHA Champion and he was the World Champion Halter Stallion two years in a row.
Q: If you were not in the horse racing busi- ness, what job would you like to have?
A: It’s hard to imagine because it’s been such a big part
of my life. I probably would have liked to be a coach, for track. I had three boys and they were all really athletic and got into all the sports. I really enjoyed being a track mom. Hardly any parents followed their kids in track like they did in the other sports.
Q: What is your favorite thing about living where you live?
A: There are no people. I don’t know if it’s P.C. or what, but I love our state. We have half a million people in Wyoming. We never ever have an issue with a traffic jam. You can go to some of our larger cities and you might have a mini-rush hour. I think it’s a blessing and a privilege to live in a state like Wyoming, where you can still appreciate the open spaces and the fresh air. Everybody knows everybody. Everybody’s your neighbor.
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SPEEDHORSE, June 2019
John Moorehouse
THE LIGHTER SIDE