Page 44 - July 2020

Gooood Hand
by Diane Rice
A multitude of great runners have started their lives and careers in the hands of John Firth
When motivational coach and speaker Zig CULTURE SHOCK kid with no horse background was riding and
Ziglar said, “Luck occurs when opportu- nity meets preparation,” John Firth could have been his case in point.
As a kid, John’s greatest dream was to be a good hand with horses — to train them, to break them, and to be a cowboy in the best sense of the word. So early in his life, he set
Born in beachy Orange County, California, John moved 100 miles east to Anza in the mountains north of the Anza- Borrego Desert with his family when he was 10 or 11 years old. His mom, Cindy, was a waitress, and his dad, Tom, worked for the power company.
breaking horses and running gymkhanas. By the time John was 13 or 14, Stony
was teaching him to shoe horses. By 15 or 16, Stony was teaching his kids and John how to rope.
John continued shoeing with Stony after school and on weekends all through high school.
about putting in the hard work and learning from those around him.
Although the path wasn’t rose-strewn, it was honest and rewarding. And now, the 53-year- old handler from Hemet, California, owns title to a lengthy tally of talented runners that have passed through Firth Ranch, either on their way to the track or during layups.
“It was quite a culture shock being from Huntington Beach and moving out to the middle of nowhere,” he says. But the deter- mined youngster not only adapted, he found his life’s passion. He hung around with the kids of the local butcher and farrier, Stony, frequently saddling up a horse and riding over to spend the weekend. Before long, the
“I felt like I wanted to be more than what
our small town was,” he says, “and I thought
I needed to go to horseshoeing school to ac- complish that, so after high school, I went to Oklahoma Farriers College.” He stayed on there to work after the 20-week course ended, then returned to California and launched a successful shoeing business.
42 SPEEDHORSE July 2020
A