LARRY BAILEY HORSE WORLD

                                                                                                                                                                                       My Horse, My Teacher, 

BIG SKY JOSEPHINE 

     There she stood with the largest brown eyes I had ever seen. Her coat was a rich red and dark brown undertone. I was in my early teens and small in stature and to me she seemed very tall and strong yet feminine. Big Sky Josephine was a registered Tennessee Walker born on the Hugh Ranch in Big Sandy Montana. Ann Turk was the owner of the ranch , a woman very much like the horses she bred and used on the ranch, pretty, tall and beautifully gaited.

    I was to travel from my home in Kalispell Montana with Captain Roy Larsen who was my trainer. I had gotten the job with Captain Larsen through my mentor Curtis Maxey, as a helper for Roy and his horses. We left Kalispell about 3a.m. for Big Sandy to pick out a truck load of Tennessee Walkers to train and take to the marketplace. Little did I know that this trip would be a very important part of the next thirty years of horses, horsemanship, marketing,  sales,  politics, educational programs, travel, breeding programs, genetics etc.... I often wonder if I would have continued if I had understood the adventure that I had just begun .

    It was 9 or 10pm when we finally reached Mrs. Turk's ranch. Seemed like to me that we had driven across the United States and back to get there , and I had to wait until morning to see the horses !  I had nervously spent eighteen hours with Mr. Larsen and he wanted to talk. Knowing that I was recieving pearls of wisdom and life experience I knew I had to be attentive to this opportunity since I might never get a chance like this again. Not having learned the ability of trying to concentrate and remember everything that was said , my head was heavy and tired. I hadn't eaten all day because I was so nervous I didn't want to get sick. My schedule had been messed up for the last few days which meant I hadn't stopped to have a bowel movement and now I had  an extremely bad stomach ache from constipation.

    We had a Montana supper of steak , potatoes, and pie with lots of talk about horses. Mrs. Turk and her extended family wanted to know what was happening in the world of horses since they hadn't had any outside input and were hungry for knowledge of any kind. It was 2am when they showed us to our quarters. I was so tired and sick but that didn't dampen my excitement to sit down and journal all that had happened that day. Unfortunately when I finished I looked out the window to see daylight and snow. Then I heard someone call my name and it was time for breakfast...... to be continued