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by Diane Rice
Lance Robinson’s partner in McColee Land & Livestock, Keith Nellesen of Mapleton, Utah, isn’t sure of the source of Lance’s talent for seeing a horse’s athleticism. “I don’t know if it’s a gift or if it’s something he’s learned over a million hours in the saddle,” says Keith, “but he can just tell what a horse will do.”
It’s a skill that has taken Lance and various partners — and also horses solely owned by Lance and his wife, Marla — to the top ranks of rodeo, Thoroughbred racing, Quarter Horse racing and barrel racing.
“In the horse world, there isn’t much that Lance hasn’t personally done,” Keith says. And he’s succeeded in all aspects due to his sixth sense about horses and what Keith describes as an incredible work ethic.
Lance Robinson’s talent for judging form and function has yielded scores of barrel and flat-track winners
From Cattle to Horses
Lance entered the world one of four boys and two girls born to the late Rick and Gwen Robinson, dairy farmers in Farmington, Utah. “We had farm horses,” he says, “but there wasn’t a lot of quality.”
Although a couple of his brothers have competed in rodeo, Lance is the only one of his siblings who has taken horses to the professional level.
Because of the cattle industry, he adds, breeding was something he grew up with and developed an interest in. He started roping in high school, and from there through college and beyond, he won several national championships. “I learned about horses from the seat of my pants,” he says, “and I think that built a lot of confidence in what to look for in horses.”
After graduating from Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah, Lance attended Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, then graduated from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, after serving
a two-year mission in Kentucky, the heart of Thoroughbred country, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
“I went to Kentucky kicking and screaming, thinking, ‘Why didn’t you send me to Texas or somewhere there was rodeo?’ I didn’t know my mission was going to lead me to a career!” he says.
After his mission, he got involved in the Thoroughbred business with Dr. Jerry Bailey of Gulf Coast Farms. “He was one of the leading pinhookers in the Thoroughbred industry
and he and I became partners in breeding and pinhooking,” Lance says.
“I don’t know if it’s a gift or if it’s something he’s learned over a million hours in the saddle, but he can just tell what a horse will do.”
– Keith Nellesen
Lance Robinson and his partner in McColee Land & Livestock, Keith Nellesen
36 SPEEDHORSE May 2020