Phil with his 12-year-old Appaloosa mare, Little Bit.

Go to any gathering of horsepeople — backcountry horse group, a poker ride, or just a plain old trail ride. Who has the most stamina, the heartiest laugh, and the best of times? Chances are, they’re the senior citizens. A determined man rides from Mexico to Canada to raise money to fight cancer — with a pinned broken leg.

A 16-hand stallion plucks a carrot from his trick trainer’s mouth.

A string-bean-bodied cowboy swings lightly onto his prancing horse and heads into Colorado’s rugged Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

With lightning-like moves, a cowboy wins another calf-roping competition.

What makes these incidents remarkable is that all of these active horsepeople are what we like to call “Silver Saddle Tramps.” 

Time and again, we’ve wondered about this phenomenon. After one grueling group ride, I watched in disbelief as a bony, leather-faced cowboy sauntered by for his third beer. Of course, not all tough old horsemen are cowboys. Some are simply tough, horse-crazy old people.

Why do some people gallop along in their 70s, 80s and 90s? Are common threads woven in the silver tapestry? We wanted to know. When we’re in the twilight of our life, we want to be in the saddle; we need time to prepare. With that in mind, we set out to interview seven inspirational older riders. Here are their stories.

The Fighter   

We met Phil Thrasher a number of years ago when he was 75 years old. At the time, he was doing Montana’s Bison Range ride with a pin in his broken leg. Wearing a beat-up cowboy hat and a merry grin, he was standing on the fender of his horse trailer, trying to get on his horse. We thought this was pretty amazing until he shrugged his shoulders. “This is nothing,” he explained. “Some friends and I just finished riding from Mexico to Canada.”

“With a pinned leg?” I inquired.

“Yup,” Phil answered with a huge grin.

We never forgot Phil Thrasher. Every once in a while, we ran into him on a trail ride. Sometimes he’d be by himself, other times with friends. He seemed unfailingly upbeat and cheerful. He was just happy to be on a good horse and enjoying nature’s splendor.

When Phil was a little boy, his dad worked the cotton fields with a horse-drawn plow. Two-year-old Phil would sit on the plow horse, holding onto the mane. His early love for horses has stayed with him throughout his life.          

Then cancer struck Phil’s family; nine loved ones over a 16-year time span. Some were dying. At age 75, Phil decided to fight back. He organized Horsebackers Against Cancer, a fundraising ride that went from Mexico to Canada.

Joining Phil were four good friends who both shared his love of horses and had loved ones fighting cancer. The group left Mexico in the spring and rode until they reached Canada. The trip was far from easy, but Phil chose to focus on the generosity of strangers. Every dollar raised went directly to cancer research.

Phil and his wife, Bert, have been married for 44 years. Accomplished musicians, they enjoy playing country music together. Now, at age 82, Phil still rides, walks, and enjoys a good game of croquet.

I asked Phil whether he had a philosophy about life that he’d be willing to share with us. With a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face, he quoted Will Rogers: “A stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet.” And for Phil Thrasher, that’s the truth.

The Hall of Famer

Eighty-year-old Bill Free is well-known in the world of Missouri Fox Trotters. When we met Bill, we didn’t know that he bred, trained, judged, and showed the breed. All we knew was that he had an indoor arena, and he was willing to shelter our rig one cold January while we were picking up a horse. 

Bill Free is a very handsome, silver-haired man. He’s ramrod straight and walks with a military bearing. And what a kind, considerate man! He’d never met us, yet went out of his way to make us comfortable.

The registered Fox Trotter we purchased — who we call Scout — is the son of Cloud’s Real McCoy. Bill remarked on the horse’s good conformation. We were all surprised to discover that, in a strange quirk of fate, Bill happened to own Cloud’s Real McCoy.

Bill was in his early 50s when he became interested in Fox Trotters. He entered a breed show just for fun and was thrilled when his horse won third place. After that, he was “hooked on showing,” he said.

He described winning the world championship in halter as a real rush. In 2004, he was inducted into the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association Hall of Fame.

When other senior citizens were gearing down, Bill was gearing up. He works tirelessly for the MFTHBA. He’s unfailingly generous to horsepeople who need help and advice. One of his greatest joys is mentoring young people who share his passion for riding and showcasing Fox Trotters.

The Trick Rider    

Shirley Jones, at not quite 70, is the “spring chicken” of the group. She’s been a trick trainer, trick rider, world champion chariot racer, and an avid trail rider, and is still going strong.

When she was a little girl, trick horses at the circus sparked her interest. From the time she was 6 years old, she was training any animal available at her family farm, including cows.

Then Shirley’s parents bought her a 5-year-old horse. She went on to train horses to lie down, sit up, count, answer yes, waltz, eat at a table, and drink out of a bottle. She even did a little dance while standing on top of a horse.

Her favorite trick was to teach a horse to lie down. As a child, Shirley and her horse would lie down in the warm summer sun and take naps together. That sounds like a pretty good plan to us!

Then Shirley met Billy Keen. Billy, a rodeo clown, designed the barrels still used in bullfighting today. He inspired Shirley to start trick riding. Shirley would jump on and off a running horse, ride rearing horses, ride horses trained to buck, and even jumped a horse through a flaming hoop. She performed in rodeos and parades throughout the northwestern United States.

Shirley became the first female world champion chariot racer in 1963 — about the same time the movie Ben Hur premiered with Charlton Heston in his death-defying chariot race.  To promote the competition, she and a rotating team drove a chariot more than 400 miles, from Sandpoint, Idaho to Portland, Oregon. 

For many years, Shirley preferred working with Morgan Horse crosses, such as Morgan-Arabians. Today, she has Rocky Mountain Horses. She says the breed has the same willingness combined with a smooth ride. And yet, her favorite horse is the first one she had as a child. It lived to be 27 years old.

Shirley still teaches horses tricks and pleasure rides. She also helps children trick train their own horses. Her personal philosophy is: “Don’t give up. Get out there every day and work with the horses.”

The Lifelong Horseman 

“I have lots of favorite horses. Whichever one I happen to be riding is my favorite horse,” says Nate Brown with a twinkle in his blue eyes.

Nate, born in 1921, spent part of his childhood on Crow Creek near Wyoming’s Wind River Mountains. In this isolated region, his parents used horses for farming and ranching. He chuckled as he recalled a three-year span when he didn’t go to town a single time.

Nate found work starting and selling horses. His father disapproved. “The day of the horse has gone,” Nate’s dad told him. “Old horse breakers are destined to herd sheep.”

But Nate kept at it, a job fraught with danger. “I’ve been killed in horse wrecks three times, but refused to die,” he says.

Over the years, Nate has ranched, wrangled, outfitted, gathered horses, broke and trained horses, and written poetry. He also co-authored a children’s book, Roll On, Little Dogies (Gibbs-Smith Publisher).

The last four years, he and his wife, MaeCile, have operated Wyoming Horse Works, through which they train horses, match horses and riders, and work with children and adults to develop their horse interests.

They take people on cattle drives, roundups, and memorable trail rides. A number of years ago, we ran into a couple of riders whom Nate had taken on a special ride. The ride went to the remains of seven Sheep Eater Indian teepees. Nate had discovered these ancient teepees in the early 1940s.

It would be a severe omission to overlook mentioning the special relationship between Nate and MaeCile. Nate’s eyes take on a special light whenever MaeCile is mentioned. MaeCile is a beautiful woman who has two master degrees from Harvard and is 30-some years younger than Nate. Nate told me how they met.

Twelve years ago, MaeCile took a summer break from her high-paced Eastern life and signed on as a cook for the High Island Ranch. Nate was working as a wrangler. The ranch owner wanted all the employees to meet one another. Nate smilingly recalled how the hopeful young wranglers were eagerly checking out the pretty cook. He remembered how their jaws just about hit the floor when Mae-Cile’s first words to him were, “You look so hugable! May I hug you?” Grinning ear to ear, Nate replied, “Anytime you want.”

The past five years, Nate and MaeCile have leased 20-some horses for riders to use on the Outlaw Trail Ride in Wyoming. Nate not only rides the grueling 110 miles, but also takes care of his horses and helps the riders who lease them.

Nate’s energy and toughness are legendary on this ride. He rides all day, parties around the fire at night, sleeps on the ground under the stars, and begins wrangling horses in predawn darkness.

I asked this 84-year-old cowboy with electric blue eyes and boundless energy, “What keeps you going?” With a contented smile he replied, “Just keep at it. And don’t let ego get in the way of learning from horses.”

(For more information about Horse Works Wyoming, write to Nate and MaeCile, 3520 Grass Creek Rd., Grass Creek, WY 82443, or send an e-mail to horsewy@trib.com.)

The Die-Hard Roper

Hooves pound with lightning speed after a racing steer. A rope is hurled through space. The rider, poised and balanced, watches as the rope connects. Deft hands dally the rope. A perfect catch in eight seconds. Not bad, especially considering that this roper happens to be 85 years old.

George Richmond has been playing with horses ever since he can remember. He remembers going to the movies in 1928 and watching Tom Mix on the silver screen. All the other kids wanted to play baseball; George just wanted to rope.

It wasn’t easy growing up in those days. There were three kids in George’s family; three horses had to be saddled up every morning for the kids to ride 4½ miles to school. George rode an old work horse.

As George grew up, he kept on roping and riding. He won roping events, jackpot rodeos, and regular rodeos all across the West. It was a pleasure visiting with George in his home. One entire bookcase was full of trophies. But, George doesn’t sit long. He went out to practice calf roping with his son, Lee. They had a rodeo event to travel to the next day and no moss was going to grow under their horses’ hooves.

All this activity hasn’t been without incident. When he was 79, a horse bucked George off breaking five ribs and puncturing a lung. When he was 81, a similar accident did the same damage! But he recovered, and this year will be out there roping, riding, and winning.

George says the key to longevity is to stay active. “People who are successful in any endeavor have to have a little extra try in them,” he says. In recognition of George’s “extra try,” he was inducted into the Idaho Cowboy Hall of Fame last August.

The Living Legend

Poetry in motion, the 77-year-old slender man with steel-gray hair lithely lifted himself up and then gracefully down into the saddle.

“That’s how you should get on your horse,” Charlene said.

“Well, I have a lot of years to work on it!” I replied.

We’d driven nearly 1,000 miles from our home to see Paul Senteney and possibly purchase one of his horses. What we didn’t know was that this person was a living legend in Missouri Fox Trotter circles.

For 30 years, Paul brought Fox Trotters from Missouri to be saddle mounts for the United States Forest Service throughout the Rocky Mountains. Later, he did the same service for thousands of trail riders in the West, such as myself.

It all began in 1967, when Paul traveled to Missouri and bought a few Foxtrotters for the USFS. He made this journey once or twice a year until he retired in 1990.

USFS personnel enjoy using Fox Trotters in the backcountry as the horses can cover ground much faster than Quarter Horses, allowing the rangers to patrol greater areas and avoid overnight stays. The Fox Trotters also provide a smooth ride and surefootedness in the mountains.

Paul always tried very hard to match horse and rider. He created a matrix, scoring each horse on such things as eyes, legs, joints, soundness, and disposition. He also checked out each horse “cold turkey.” No longeing or prepping the horse; he’d just ride off to see how the horse performed.

For Paul’s tremendous efforts, he was inducted into the MFTHBA Hall of Fame, the first individual west of the Mississippi to receive this distinct honor.

We bought a buckskin Fox Trotter from Paul, who we named Buddy. That first year we owned him, I [Kent] rode Buddy in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. And, he’s still going.

Along the way, he’s learned a few tricks: smiling, holding a flag, counting, retrieving a thrown object, taking a hanky out of a pocket, ringing a bell, and taking a bow. If I’m mounted on him and drop a glove or hat; he’ll pick it up, turn his head, and give it to me. That’s handy.

(You can see a good picture of Buddy in From the Editors, on page 8 of the September/October ’05 issue.)

The Passionate Trail Rider 

When an Encampment Museum official learned that Kent and I were writers for The Trail Rider, she emphatically declared that we had to meet Helen Van Ells. I’m so thankful we did.

Eighty-four-year-old Helen isn’t a trainer or a rodeo rider, and she isn’t in any hall of fame. Yet, she’s what I aspire to be. She’s a diminutive, white-haired lady living life on her terms and enjoying every day to the fullest.

She lives in Encampment, Wyoming, in a little pink house she refers to as her “cottage.” The only family in her world is a beloved Quarter Horse, Easta (short for Easter). Easta is 25. The two of them have been together all of the horse’s 25 years. We could sense the love between them.

They go on long trail rides together. Helen keeps Easta in a pasture a block from her cottage. Whenever her grass needs cutting, she puts up an electric fence and has Easta come over to “mow it down.”

Helen’s goal in life is to outlive her horse. If she could do that, she says, she’d be able to die happily. Our last glimpse of Helen and Easta was that of a large, dark horse following a tiny woman down a residential street. Helen’s grass needed mowing.

Common Threads

So — are there any common threads? The answer is a definite “yes”! First, all of our Silver Saddle Tramps are physically active; couch potatoes, they’re not. Secondly, every one of them has a zest for life; they’re interested in what’s going on around them. Thirdly, they have a generous, loving spirit. These aren’t bitter, whiney people.

Fourth, these folks have “extra sand.” They’re willing to go that extra mile, and they aren’t quitters. Aches and pains might slow them down, but they keep chugging along. And last, but not least, they really love their horses.

To every Silver Saddle Tramp who gleefully rides while ignoring aches and pains, who smiles and laughs after life bucks you off and beats you up, who keeps on going when it'd be so easy to quit; we admire you. Keep on riding!