///////// From the Judge’s Chair
Farewell to a Horseman NRCHA Director of Judges Bill Enk dedicates his column to Benny Guitron, his late friend and colleague. Primo Morales
B
enny Guitron was a man to be admired, not only for his accomplishments in the show ring, but also for his unwavering determination to do right by the horse. He had learned the traditional training methods from such icons as Tony Amaral and Bobby Ingersoll, and applied these techniques daily to his livestock. He always preached time, patience and the gradual training process when explaining how horses were supposed to be trained. Conducting clinics and mentoring young people gave him a platform to keep these training tech- NRCHA Hall of Fame horseman Benny Guitron niques in the forefront. He stood strong and committed because he I believe Benny figured out a long knew it was the right way. Benny was good at what he did. time ago that he had to be diversified to He became an expert with the bri- make a good go of it in the horse indusdling process and the hackamore, co- try. He was about as vertically integratauthoring a book with Al Dunning ed as he could get. He had studs, raised on hackamore training. Proof of his colts that he broke and sold or camextensive knowledge existed in his paigned as show horses, and bought horses’ accomplishments. These includ- and sold who knows how many horses. ed winning the Snaffle Bit Futurity, He had a line of bits that he endorsed, numerous National Reined Cow Horse feed companies that endorsed him, and Association year-end awards and was an avid collector of bits and hackaAQHA World Championships. He was mores. If you needed a horse, bridle, also competitive in the cutting, reining, saddle, or a set of Ortega reins, Benny and pleasure horse industries. Benny was your man. Besides being an expert could have been the poster boy for the with horses, he was an expert on horse equipment. term “horseman.”
Benny’s involvement with the reined cow horse and Quarter Horse industries was important to him. He received the AQHA Horseman of the Year Award, which demonstrates how much people thought of him. His thoughts and advice were constantly asked for and appreciated. You might not agree with his opinions, but he always had an answer and reason why he thought the way he did. He was president of the NRCHA when I was hired as Director of Judges. Over the years we have had innumerable conversations on judging. I valued his opinion probably more than he knew; he was a great help. Over the years, when I would call him and ask how he was doing, he would answer, “Living the dream.” In reality, Benny truly lived the dream. He was involved in what he loved, he was committed and successful, built a house on his own place (the ultimate American dream), and had a significant other in Paula who probably had as much to do with his success as he did. What a life! We’re going to miss him. Until next time, Bill Enk NRCHA Director of Judges
102 January/February 2017 | Reined Cow Horse News
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