Page 113 - SpeedhorseMarch2021

“You’ve got to love horses and you’ve got to love the work. If you can’t put the work in, I don’t think you’re going to be very successful.”
THE BACKSIDE
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT? WHETHER IT’S A TRAINER TITLE, A CHAMPIONSHIP, OR A SINGLE RACE?
“I won the Oklahoma Futurity a couple
of years ago with a horse called EC Revenge. That’s the oldest futurity in Oklahoma, I think. My wife’s grandfather, he won it, he won the first Oklahoma Futurity as an owner. So,
it was pretty neat to win that. That was a nice horse and that meant a lot.”
WHAT’S IT BEEN LIKE RUNNING RACES DURING THE PANDEMIC?
“In Oklahoma, we’re really lucky to run... we had races without spectators there for a while, but we still continued running.”
YOU’VE TALKED BEFORE ABOUT YOUR CHEROKEE HERITAGE AND HOW MUCH THAT MEANS TO YOU.
WOULD YOU CARE TO SHARE
SOME THOUGHTS?
“Absolutely. I’m half Cherokee Indian and really proud of my heritage. My dad is fluent Cherokee-speaking Indian. I don’t speak Cherokee, but I wish I did. It’s a
dying language.”
WHAT’S YOUR
TRAINING PHILOSOPHY?
“There’s a lot of well-bred horses but I just kind of look at a horse as an individual - if they’ve got the heart and the will to run.”
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE HORSE OR A HORSE THAT MEANT A LOT TO YOU?
“We raised a Paint horse that made quite a bit of money: PHQ Goodbye Earl. We’re kind of proud of him. EC Revenge was
one of my favorite horses, too. Then Bust
N Moves from years ago. He defeated Got Country Grip, who was going for a North American record.”
I’M SURE YOU’VE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WORKED FOR YOU THROUGH THE YEARS WHO WENT ON TO BE TRAINERS. WHAT ADVICE DO YOU GIVE IN THAT MENTOR ROLE, OR WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO ANY ASPIRING TRAINERS?
“Well, it’s a seven-day-a-week job and you’ve got to love it. You’ve got to love horses and you’ve got to love the work. If you can’t put the work in, I don’t think you’re going to be very successful.”
WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE GOALS?
“I tell my wife I’m building a new barn right now, and I plan on going to train for at least 10 more years. And then I think I am going to be done. If I last that long. We’ll always have horses, though. I’ve got a guy who works for me who wants to be a trainer. I don’t know if he will, but he wants to take over.”
Dee accepting the 2019 AQHA Oklahoma High-Point Gelding award for Tarish.
EC Revenge winning the Oklahoma Futurity-G2 at Remington Park.
SPEEDHORSE March 2021 111
© Dustin Orona Photography