In the third of our series of AQHA.UK Legends, council Member Anna Burns writes about a multi talented gelding.

Hyline Gentry

Sorrel Gelding May 1970 - June 1996

Gentry was bred by Art and Eileen Petersen, in Cloverdale, British Columbia, on the A bar E Ranch. His sire was Sir Quincy Bob by Quincy Dan, AQHA Champion sire and grandson of the great Three Bars. His dam’s side was King Fritz and equally loaded with AQHA Champions, so he was truly born ‘in the purple’.

He was owned all his life by Joy Richardson, who fell in love with his dam, Whispering Lady, who, she felt, had given her a special look on a visit to the ranch. Joy was, at the time, very much involved with her livery business, having grown up with horses and farming all her life and, as she learnt more from Eileen about the world of the American Quarter Horse she realized it opened up a whole new vista. However, the age old problem of money reared its ugly head. She says that, “Purchase, care and eventual showing of an American Quarter Horse seemed impossible to manage financially” but she, nevertheless, gave Eileen her ‘dream order’ of a “red sorrel colt, with a flaxen mane and tail, a star and strip on a pretty head and three white socks for luck” and preferably out of her favourite mare from the bunch, Whispering Lady. She left with her head whirling with ideas and hopes for a dream colt next year. Imagine her surprise when Eileen rang the next day to tell her that Lady had delivered just the colt she wanted shortly after she left!

Needless to say, it was love at first sight when Joy raced over to the ranch and a complex arrangement of monthly payments combined with a steer for the freezer – amounting in all to $1,000 - clinched the deal and the lovely colt was hers. His name was to be Hyline – the affix given to all the ranch’s progeny and Gentry due to his sire being ‘Sir’ and his dam being ‘Lady’ – a nicely appropriate name.

The little colt turned out to be quite a character. Gradually Joy and he came to an understanding and by three months, he and his mother came to live with Joy where he became the “biggest timewaster of my life”, as she watched him running with his mother, until he was four months old and weaned. Then the real lessons began for both horse and owner. Joy, who was very experienced in English showing had a lot to learn about the Western side and she and Gentry learnt together, starting with the small shows and working their way up.

In 1971 he received the tremendous accolade of winning the first Futurity ever to be held in British Columbia. This was clearly a brilliant triumph for the indomitable and determined Joy, an Englishwoman new to the Western show scene competing against top breeders and their stock.By 1972, Joy was faced with a difficult decision. Gentry was turning into a powerful and feisty stallion and she was finding him increasingly difficult to cope with him at shows, “attempting to bite, rear, kick, being totally overbearing”. Despite the disciplining, he was, as she described, laughing at her. It was suggested that she handed him to a male trainer but she was certainly not going to have her plans of a successful show career together thwarted after all this trouble and expense, so he was gelded – a difficult decision that many stallion owners have agonized about.

However, the now gelding soon settled down and became, once more, the sweet, wanting-to-please horse that he was as a youngster and the partnership continued with ever increasing success with Gentry winning the High Point Yearling Stallion trophy at the British Columbia Quarter Horse Association banquet, the first of those he won every year of his show career in three countries.

At this stage, a problem that was to plague him all his life started to appear. His feet, elegantly small for a horse of his size, started to crack and weaken. They did improve with supplements and special care but were always a source of worry to Joy.
Despite this, Gentry was going to strength to strength with his show career, beyond Joy’s wildest dreams, as she put it and they were closer than ever.

In 1974, Joy decided that she should employ a trainer to show him in the classes he was bred for – roping - and the, then young, Bob Avila was contacted and agreed to take him on. She says “by now Gentry had turned into a cow pony, proving his pedigree bloodlines were rich in cow sense, which really surfaced when Bob took him into the roping arena”. This relationship was to lead to many successes and Joy is proud that she owned one of the first horses taken on by this, now world class trainer.

Over the following years Joy campaigned Gentry at many major shows as can be seen from his impressive list of achievements, culminating in the AQHA Championship in 1975. In 1978 he came over to England with the now legendary AQHA exhibition team from Amarillo, the high point of whose visit was the Royal Show where he was a much admired ambassador of the breed, which was then still quite new to this country.

Enter AQHA UK Treasurer and long term member, Pat Dyke who lived nearby in Lubenham.  Pat, then a professional horsewoman took Western riding lessons from Joy and Gentry who was a "brilliant instructor".  She quickly learnt the technique and of how to push the right buttons to such good effect that she partnered him to become the British National Supreme Champion, along with other national titles and accumulated many wins together at county shows.  She remembers collecting Gentry from Joy's stud and travelling with him and Joy to the shows, sharing accommodation in Joy's caravan with Joy typing the transcript for her book late into the night.  In that same year the well known animal trainer Barbara Woodhouse came to visit the legendary horse at Medbourne during the making of her programme, Barbara’s Horses. Pat rode him in the demonstration of Western riding and Joy and Barbara got on famously. This programme was, apparently, broadcast all around the world seven times.

In 1983, Joy returned to her beloved Canada with Gentry where they continued in their winning partnership, triumphing together in 1987 and 88, winning the Canadian dressage Pas de Deux Freestyle Championships along with Gentry’s brother, Hyline Paladin, dancing to The Blue Danube. His enjoyment showed in his performance as he moved elegantly to the strains of the music.

Gentry was active into his old age, sharing his paddocks with his friends and Joy’s youngsters. He was a natural leader, keeping them quietly under control and teaching them manners, though the problems with his hooves were starting to get the better of him.  In 1996, Just before his 26th birthday, Gentry tripped and fell in the all-weather ring, injuring his shoulder. On x- raying his feet it was found that the coffin bones had finally collapsed. The wonderful old timer had come to the end of the road.  Hyline Gentry’s ashes were buried by the fence, under his favourite tree and his front feet were donated for teaching. He is remembered in the Spirit of the Horse Memorial Gardens that Joy has set up in Langley where horse lovers from all over the world have sponsored plaques in memory of their favourite horses. In the same year, Joy finished her autobiography about the early part of her life and her exploits in Canada with her horses, entitled ‘Joy for Living’.

With thanks to Joy Richardson, Pat Dyke, Ingrid Soffrin and Liz Ford for help and information for this article.