The year was 1982. That’s the year Smart Little Lena won the Futurity, “E.T.” was the movie to watch and in cutting circles, if you wanted a laugh, “Cuttin’ Capers” was the book to read.
The introduction to that little 142-page book states,
It all started quite innocently. One person and then another would entertain a group of us at horse shows with hysterical tales of days gone by. We held our sides, wiped tears from our eyes and thoroughly enjoyed laughing at those antics, some innocent and some mischievously planned. We forgot about the electricity bill that needed paying, the installment notes coming due and the rising cost of living. Instead, we laughed.
Then someone would adamantly say, “These stories need to be recorded!” Time and again similar statements were made and that year, the same year “E.T.” kept the movie houses full and Smart Little Lena filled the coliseum, the little paperback book called “Cuttin’ Capers” was born.
What fun it was to write! Needless to day, it didn’t take long before they were sold out.
History, though is a keeper, and even now, almost 20 years later I receive requests for “Cuttin’ Capers”. They remember the story about Don Neuenschwander’s first cutting where he showed up in a short sleeve shirt because Jim Reno forgot to tell him to wear a long one. Don had to buy the closest long sleeve shirt to his size at Berkman’s Corner Grocery but that only gave him ¾ length sleeves. That only started a fiasco that ended when the announcer ask Don to just pleeeeeease ride out!
Then there was the story about Standley Bush who entered a competition other than cutting at the San Antonio Stock show. Barefooted cowboys competed to see who could hold a damsel in his arms the longest while standing on a block of ice. Course the damsels Jimmy saw were gorgeous and skimpily clad so he staked a lot of money on winning – as did his friends. He didn’t draw one of those, though; he drew a fat little gal who was too short to see with the beauties standing in front of her! Of course, with all those cowboys who had staked money on Jimmy winning standing in front of him…well.
Or how about when Buster Welch chased Bill Freeman with the buffalo head? Or when Bobby Nelson locked a cutter in the horse trailer, and the owner unknown to the cargo in his trailer drove off before anyone could stop him?
The book is full of one hilarious story after another from an era that promoted good times and laughter.
Want a copy? Yep, Cuttin’ Capers is about to be reborn! Pre-order online today at www.nettlescountry.com in the book section for $12.95 and we’ll ship your copy to you fresh off the press.
Mar 162011
If you’re in the horse business, you know about fast trips – the ones that ordinary folks view as requiring vacation time to make them. I have a brother-in-law who believes a 3-hour trip to the lake and back home is a 3-day event.
Not so in our household! Let hubby Ronnie start grinding those dually gears and 6 hours on the road is just getting started. And just getting started is exactly what we did last week.
I visited with Karen Freeman who lives in Tennessee about my current project – writing a book about Smart Little Lena. Sure, there is plenty of information out there on the first Triple Crown Winner. The “Cutting Horse Chatter” and “Quarter Horse News” always had stories about his championships and then about the championships of his offspring.
And there have been numerous articles throughout the stallion’s lifetime that included interesting little nuggets to hold your interest. After all, unless a horse directly influences you or you are a die-hard horse person those statistics can get boring without a spicy nugget or two.
I was hoping Karen might have some spicy nuggets yet to be published and then secondly, hoping she might let me use them in my book. She did…and she is!
I hadn’t visited with Karen in years. I’m not too sure how life got so busy that it canceled a lot of visiting time, but it has. By the way, I don’t like that.
During the time I wrote the book Training the Horse and Rider With Bill Freeman (it still remains one of our best sellers today) I practically lived at the Freeman ranch. That’s when I learned Karen was an avid shutterbug. Of course, usually when we gals become Moms attaching a camera to the body is as much a part of getting dressed as putting on shoes. I remembered seeing scores of pics of Erica and Kim, but also of Smart Little Lena. Admit it; you’ve probably got an animal in your life that is like one of your kids too!
So I called Karen and she graciously agreed to share.
Since there was only a small window of time to make the almost 1600 mile round trip I cajoled Ronnie into going with me. He could catch up on training his horses when he returned, but I had articles due each day and needed some help. His answer, “Sure, be glad to haul you out there.”
Haul… you would think I was a horse, wouldn’t you? Quite honestly, I don’t mind that thought. You see, some thirty-plus years ago when we were newlyweds I informed Mr. Nettles I was not a horse and to NOT tell me to “load up” when we were going somewhere! That, however, was before I learned that on this ranch horses get the best treatment. These days I’m happy to get hauled and quick to load up.
Articles being due was good news because it mean we had to stop each evening early enough for me to finish whatever I was writing and email it in. Early for Ronnie was 10ish. Of course, he was also usually asleep before I had the computer humming! This is a man who isn’t really fond of potty stops and who thinks crackers and peanuts are a meal when he’s driving, so any excuse to stop is a good one.
Bottom line is that whirlwind trip was an awesome one. Ronnie had us out there and back home in the twinkling of an eye and I came home with a gold mind of articles to research – and quite a few spicy nuggets for the Smart Little Lena book! Just wait until you see them!
Yep, I’m excited.
Now if I could just get in the habit of packing more crackers and peanuts when I load up. You’d think after this many years I’d get that one figured out, wouldn’t you?
Lil and Rascal’s puppies just turned 7 weeks old, and last week I had planned time to start advertising them for sale – well, that was the plan.
Rascal is the Australian Cattle Dog with me in my profile pic and he is really a sweetheart. Highly intelligent Rascal and his mom Allie, (the pups’ grandmother) go to the pasture each day by themselves and bring up the cattle, depositing them into the round pen for Ronnie’s training sessions.
Rascal is Ronnie’s #1 hired hand, not only retrieving the cattle from the pasture but also turning back while his Master works horses. He hasn’t quite got the technique down for closing the gate behind him, but then to his credit, no one has stopped long enough to teach him he needs to do that!
We have been rearing excellent cow dogs for almost two decades, shipping them throughout the United States and overseas. Two decades ago was when we quit breeding for papers and began breeding for cow sense. Amazing the difference.
This set of pups show extreme promise – bright, mischievous, intelligent look in the eye, already showing signs of learning. Then, Saturday night they had a visitor. A coon scaled a 5-foot non-climbable fence (non-climbable; someone forgot to tell the coon he couldn’t do that) and killed one of the pups.
It made for a teary-eyed day for me. In fact, I’m just now able to delete the pics of that little boy before I post the other four brothers online to sale. Amazing how many I had of him. Amazing how tender-hearted I am.
Working with animals is a wonderful profession, one full of great stories and bright rainbows. But with every rainbow comes a little rain and with every great story comes a little sadness. Last Sunday was a sad day at the Nettles Ranch.
Mar 022011
We like it when people are happy!
Barrel racer Sharon Camarillo and equestrian Science professor Donna Irvin visited with Nettles Stirrups about building a stirrup that would assist when performing in speed events.
We did; sent both Sharon and Donna a prototype to test-drive. Here’s the email Nettles Stirrups received from Donna this week. Yes!
Thank you so very much for the awesome stirrups. They are gorgeous and a wonderful tool as well. So many rider’s do not understand that the base of a balanced position begins with a good boot positioned correctly in a well made balanced stirrup (especially in a fast paced event like barrel racing)!
I rode in the Nettles stirrups the day before I went to a barrel race and they felt perfect. The next day I went to a jackpot and won in them! They are superb and I will proudly promote and use them. As a matter of fact I would like to order another pair for my other saddle.
Again, thank you so very much,
Donna Irvin, Professor, Equestrian Science, Black Hawk College
Wanta try a pair???
As I write this, I am in our bedroom cuddled up with a heating pad watching Ronnie work horses in the round pen – well, from his waist up that is. Love these big windows!
I’ve been here off and on for almost 3 weeks, first battling severe gastritis and IBS. Anyone who has that knows you have a real desire for pain meds – strong ones.
About the time I had a 90% rein-in on those two, I caught the crud, one of those feverish, chills, achy, waterfall-eyes and horse-size head cruds. How can you catch the crud when you have barely left the house? This is not the diet I had planned.
The good news though, is my ringside seat to the working pens, waist up that is.
One day years ago when the crud ran through the barn help and Ronnie was working alone he yelled at me from that slatted round pen. When I looked up I couldn’t find him. I just knew he was on the ground seriously injured (I have a vivid imagination) so I flew to that slatted fence, surprising even myself with my Super-man leaped upon it. I don’t think I’ve done that leap since.
Ronnie was still horseback but his boots sat on the ground. Instead of an accident, Futurity champion Doc Per knelt on the ground with his head stretched out, a twig in his mouth. He slowly swept that twig back and forth as if tantalizing the cow in front of him. I got there in time to see that cow move and yep, Doc Per was off his knees and in front of him with split-second timing – still holding that twig.
Ronnie came in last night and said there’s another three-year-old, head-in-the-dirt twig-carrier in the barn. In fact, he said he might have two of them. That’s the good thing about having plenty of time to play with your young horses. He promised to yell when this one does the knee trick.
At least this time that yell won’t scare the living daylights out of me. And if I can get out of this bed I’ll run when he yells. I don’t want to miss the action – but you can forget about the Super-man leap! With cell phone picture taking availability, I hope I can snap a pic and share it one Hump Day before long.
Speaking of sick folks those of you in the cutting horse business need to know Jack Adams is having quite a struggle with bone marrow cancer and the chemo to battle it. Jack is very weak, but Judy will read those cards to him. That address is P.O. Box 753 Clements CA 95227.
Baby it’s cold outside! Days like this makes me wonder whose bright idea it was in this family to have livestock.
I suggested to Ronnie that he try to train ours to go a few days without meals. That way when the weather is extremely tough, we could wait until it improved to put out more hay and drop more oats in those buckets.
I could tell from the way he sat thinking, chin in hand, that I probably wasn’t going to like his retort, but then… he said he thought I might have a good idea! I should have known better than to fall for that.
Before I could even say thank you, he added, “First, though, as with all changes there needs to be research. We’ll need to experiment so why don’t I use you for that? We’ll see what happens after you don’t eat for a few days.”
Just for your information, Ronnie is now outside helping employees feed.
On to more enjoyable subjects…UPS is making deliveries quite regularly these days, bringing the selections we chose at Market. I’m loving it! The good news is they are here in time for you to surprise your Valentine sweetie and these will be around a lot longer after the flowers wilt!
First, a slew of new fashion jewelry has the jewelry cases sparkling again.
The new Welcome signs are in, including some jazzy ones with Welcome inside a horseshoe.
A wonderful group of pictures in all sizes – as well as in color, sepia and black and white – arrived and along with them a spattering of longhorns. Hopefully the other longhorns will come trailing in before long.
Lasered art work that is so unique and intriguing.
Today we’re looked for the new Bible covers, coffee mugs, wall sayings and an abundance of Christian items to arrive.
And the quilts! Hopefully they will arrive today! Quilts are wonderful to have year-round. You can put them on the back of the couch for when the cool settles in, over the table for a spicy cover, even hang them on the wall! Any gal will love them for Valentines.
And of course stirrups of all kinds for the him or the her in your life.
It’s about time for UPS, so I’d best leave this warm fire and go to the office so I can open more boxes! Getting things out is important, not only for customers but right now for Ronnie as well. After that remark about taking my oats away for a couple of days, he needs to be making quite a few Valentine’s Day selections!
