FeaturesCox Performance Horses
Yep, Roy is a Cowboy.
Roy Cox is not exactly the imposing sort. He’s average sized, with a somewhat beaten cowboy hat and a big, bushy moustache standing out. He’s bowlegged, as befits a man who spends much of his time on the back of a horse. And he’s got a Midwest twang that comes from a lifetime in Missouri.
Yep, Roy is a cowboy. But he’s also much more—probably the most prolific mounted shooting horse trainer in the history of the sport. He’s trained, sold and bought countless horses; he’s got a reputation to match those numbers. Yet the man is seemingly unaffected by his notoriety.
Meet Roy Cox.
Modest down to his country roots, he was born in Wheatland, Missouri nearly 59 years ago…in, of course, a barn. He is the second of six children born to a hard working machinist and a homemaker. Times were tough back then. Roy spent most of his childhood with his horse-trading grandfather, Jess Miller. The roots of honesty, integrity and the value of a good horse originated there.
Despite his grandfather’s influence Roy insists, “I am not a horse trader. I buy horses off of individuals, private farms, and performance horse sales where I can watch a horse work. I give more money for horses than a lot of people, but I get better horses too. I don’t buy anything at the auction house.” Roy cautions against purchasing at those types of sales stating, “It’s too risky.”
Roy recalls that his two main idols growing up were his grandpa and rodeo legend Larry Mahan. Like most boys back then, the only television he watched were the Westerns. (Even today he seldom sees a show, with the exception of Horse TV and RFD-TV.) He learned how to spot a good horse. As time went on, his training enabled him to keep money in his pocket…something he never wanted to be without.
“When I was eighteen or twenty years old there were a couple of old bachelors living down the road from me that used to trade horses some. They’d bring me a horse to ride and tell me not to bring it back until I could take it around the block. That country block was several miles long. But, when I brought the horse back I got $30 or $40 put into my pocket,” Roy grins.
Over the years he has team roped, cowboyed, pasture roped, done some penning and sorting. Mostly, the passion for horses with a good handle keeps him ticking. Some of his most interesting stories originated with his beginnings in cowboy mounted shooting.
“Back in 1999, a friend of mine (Gary Hanna) heard about this new sport called cowboy mounted shooting. So we took a trip down to Arkansas where we saw Pat Doyle riding a little old Paso Fino at a competition. After Pat took the overall title, Gary turned to me and said, ‘We can do that. All we have to do is cock and shoot, cock and shoot.’
“Not long after that I bought Blue Duck, the little gaited appaloosa cross currently owned by Nora Porter. I bought him off of a drunk Indian. He wanted $1200 for the stud horse. I offered him $1000. Well, that old drunk pulled out a wad of money from his pocket, cussing me the whole time and saying, ‘If you think I need your blankety-blank money you are dead wrong’ and several other choice words, but he called me the next day and took my money.
“Gary went with me to pick him up. I’d been thinking that I really didn’t need another stud on my place. Gary said we could fix that right quick. He pulled off the side of the road and we cut that horse right there. For a long time I didn’t know who was going to kill who first. He would rear up between the barrels, buck and carry on. He bucked me off several times when I was riding him in Colorado. He was tough. But when we finally met half-way, he became one of the finest horses I ever sat on.”
He parallels how horses work to a professional athlete with a particular skill. “If the horse plays one lead really well, his rider should ride him that way and not try to change him up too much,” he says. “People need to quit trying to train their horses at the big matches. A trained horse is better off, and works better, if you just leave him alone.”
Roy believes that you never get too old to learn something new. In his soft-spoken manner he says, “I lean a little more toward the old school than the new school. I don’t claim to know everything.” His training includes a lot of hard work and sweat. He does not believe in beating his horses for any reason, nor does he have any yard ornaments. His horses work. “They need to know that when you step up on their backs that you [the rider] is in control…that it is time to go to work,” he adds.
Not too long after joining the shooters, he got hooked up with a long time friend Theresa, whom he later married. The team is unstoppable. The couple has turned out over 140 mounted shooting competition horses, something no other trainer might ever be able to claim. Roy admits to spending plenty of time and money hunting for prospects. This strategy is paying off. Riders of Cox horses are winning. Nothing makes the Cox’s happier though than to see a customer forma lifelong partnership with their equine counterpart.
Thanks in part to a Cox horse named “Woodrow,” Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association Level 6 shooter John Clark rose faster in the ranks than any cowboy in the history of the sport. Woodrow has also rocketed Ladies Level 6 Amanda Porter to the upper echelon of shooters. To compile a list of Cox shooting horses, their riders and their collective titles won would take far more space than this column allows. “This shooting deal has been good for the horse industry. These horses are the ultimate performance horse. They have to have speed. They have to be agile and athletic. These are good horses,” Roy states unequivocally.
Another story he shares involves the effect shooters have on the younger generation. While at the 2008 Jeffers Nationals, Roy and Theresa assisted with the National Handicapped Riding Association program under the direction of Diane Holmes-Purcelli. One of the Jeffers family youngsters took a liking to Roy, especially after Roy gave him a real cowboy hat and penned his signature across the felt. He later learned from the boy’s mother that once the hat went on, all the little boy whining and fussing ceased. According to her, “He became a different child.” Apparently a few of the boys helping that day took to heart Roy’s words. “When you put on a cowboy hat, you need to cowboy up. That’s when it’s time to quit your whining.”
Roy is known to repeat the phrase, “It’s just a game,” when talking about cowboy mounted shooting. He cringes when someone comes along with the attitude, “I’ll do whatever it takes to win.” Little philosophies like these are what make him tick. “I figure you better enjoy today because there are no guarantees about tomorrow. A person better be looking higher than what is here,” he believes.
While cowboy mounted shooting might very well be the best thing that ever happened to the horse industry, Roy Cox might be the best thing that ever happened to cowboy mounted shooting. Next time you go to a shoot, look for that purple handprint brand on the left hip. That is the mark of success.
For more information contact Roy or Theresa Cox at their farm in Missouri at 417-839-9027 or 417-357-6123.  Related posts:
|
|||||||||||||||||
Tags: 
Discussion
No comments for “Cox Performance Horses”
Post a comment