Page 28 - NMHBA Spring 2022

Champion Bartendress was bred, owned and trained by Henderson.
World Champion Goetta after winning the All American Futurity in 1963.
Beat A Native, sire of Bartendress.
Thoroughbred sire and a Quarter Horse mama. Her daughter was Matching, and she was even faster. I also had Matched and Rematched. I’ve always liked fast horses. These were all fast, and they had that class. You could just see it when they walk out.”
Henderson was (is) an astute businessman, adept at juggling successfully several endeavors simultaneously. Henderson LTM Ranches, established in 1970 and headquartered in Odessa, covers his horses, cattle, ranching, and other off-shoots. He fills each pursuit with a personal monetary as well as emotional investment.
“It’s exciting to see oil coming out of the ground, hundreds of barrels flowing every day. It’s a fantastic feeling. And racing? Just competing is a thrill. And winning? There’s nothing like it. I won four races during the last week, and I can tell you that feeling never gets old.”
W.H. Peckham. The stallion was owned by George Kaufman of California at the time. The
wore his red shirt and nearly-white hat against his dark hair. It didn’t take long for him to establish name recognition, but before he could really capitalize on it, he hooked up with a guy from Gulf Oil and started drilling holes.
He orchestrated oil deals with the dexterity of an accomplished magician. First you see an expanse of flat, worthless-looking land and then, bingo, there’s a metal praying mantis kind-of-thing dipping its “head” up and down into a hole, resembling a huge bird looking for water. But, in this case, it was sniffing oil.
Before he blew out the candles on his thirtieth birthday cake, Henderson uncovered five oil and gas fields in Texas in the 1960s. As far as he can remember, he never drilled into the silence of a black hole. That big shadow he’d grown into was completely at home in the oil business. It was big, just like everything else he touched.
Things turned ugly before they got better but Henderson never considered stampeding. He stood his ground and beat the challenges into submission each time they reared their heads.
After a decade or so of sinking augers
into the ground in search of oil, Henderson transitioned back into ranching and his early love of horses. He’d fed his hunger for racing with frequent trips to Hot Springs and spent entire summers at Ruidoso. He seals his position as a true horseman, in the deepest meaning of the word, with his answer to a single question. It is: Question: Do you prefer Thoroughbreds or Quarter Horses?
with an eye that could spot class. We had a ranch mare who was darned fast. She had a
“I like a good, good-looking horse with talent and obvious class. Not much else matters,” he answered. “And I put more stock in the bottom side of the pedigree than I do the top,” he added. “I grew up with using horses, working ranch horses. They needed talent and common sense. They also needed the willingness to tackle a whole list of jobs. And, I admit, I always wanted to sit on a nice-looking horse.
Henderson added tremendous respect to his name in the racing world when he decided to purchase the Thoroughbred stallion Rocket Bar in partnership with his ex-wife, the late Sarah
Henderson exerted strict control over the
business/career aspects of his life. He was
successful. The bank accounts grew bigger.
B u t t h e r “e w a s n o w a y f o r h i m t o c o n t r o l h i s “I don’t know why or how, but I was blessed Henderson, along with Mr. and Mrs. (Harriet)
health. Unfortunately, he looked down the barrel of some serious, life-threatening issues.
26 New Mexico Horse Breeder
“I like a good, good-looking horse with talent and obvious class. Not much else matters.” – Sonny Henderson
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