Thompson Quarter Horses Article Published in the American Quarter Horse Journal December 2007 Written by Michelle Schmidtke. RANDY THOMPSON,56, HAS DONE IT ALL, DONE IT WELL-AND he has done it with the American Quarter Horse.
“ They’re the best looking horse around,” he said. “You can’t beat them for brains, stamina, athleticism and over all enjoyment.”
From AQHA shows to the polo fields, Randy
has proven himself a superlative horseman, versatile as the Quarter Horses he rides. He belongs to a dying breed of horsemen who train horses from start to finish, in many disciplines, for the sense of accomplishment it gives them to help a horse reach its full potential. He has lived on Whidbey Island in the state of Washington his entire life, and it’s there he breeds and trains Quarter Horses. As a youth, Randy Rode Quarter Horses at the local 4-H shows. At 19, he helped Ed Milam, a local horse breeder, finish his first AQHA Champion, Flit Knot, a Flit Bar daughter. Ed wanted AQHA Champion so Thompson said he found the mare for him, trained her and rode her in the shows. Randy continued to work for Ed and apprenticed with the late John Condon a Trainer.
“Within three years, we produced three AQHA champions, and there were only 50 in the entire state,” he said. For the next three decades, Randy bred his own horses and competed in AQHA shows.
“I did a little bit of everything,” he said, “halter, western pleasure, working cow, reining, trail and cutting.” The awards that fill his home attest to his success. Trophies, plaques, high-point saddles and a coffee table display full of silver buckles are scattered throughout his living room. Randy is especially proud of his trophies from the Washington State Quarter Horse Association for high-point halter and performance breeder in 1996 and 1997 and the WSQHA high-point halter breeder in 1998. Randy didn’t quit his day job to train horses full time. He gets up at 5 in the morning, five days a week, catches a ferry and commutes to work in Seattle, 40 miles away. He works his horses rain or shine –and there’s lots of rain-when he gets home from work or on the weekends.
“I like a fast, smart Quarter Horse,” Randy said. “Everything I do is fast.”
He said breeding racehorses to cutting horses produced the type of Quarter Horses he prefers. Dash for Cash, Smart Little Lena, Sugar Bars, Driftwood, Jet of Honor and On the Money Red rate as his favorite sires. In 1998, at the top of his game, Randy left AQHA Shows behind. He found the sport that suited his temperament when his sister-in-law and niece introduced him to “motocross on horse back,” pattern racing events. They bought two of Randy’s reining horses and used them for barrel racing and gaming. Randy went to the shows with his relatives and was hooked. That same year, Randy’s son, Trevor, joined the Yale University polo team. When Randy visited his son at Yale, Randy said, he helped out in the barns and Trevor turned him on to polo.
“I thought I could ride better than those bratty little children,” he said. The next summer, when Trevor was home from college, they played polo together, a sport that provided the perfect outlet for Randy’s abundant energy.
“When I started playing polo everyone told me that I would need Thoroughbreds,” Randy said. “The thought was only Thoroughbreds had the endurance for the polo field.”
But he had to find out for himself what made a good polo pony. Randy bought a few Thoroughbreds because he was new to the game, but he also turned his reining, barrel and gaming horses into polo ponies. He said the Quarter Horses turned out to be just as fast as the Thoroughbreds on the polo fields and had plenty of stamina.
“My best polo ponies are Quarter Horses,” Randy said. “Not only are they smart, quick learners with explosive speed and agility; they’re naturals for it. They follow the ball ride off your opponent as if working a cow.”
“Polo is expensive,” Randy said. He sells 12 to 15 horses a year to support his “habit.” Some of the horses he raises; others he obtains from the S2 herd. Randy Allen and Steve Isaac, Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses breeders, run a band of about 150 race-bred mares under the S2 brand, near Yakima, Washington. They don’t ride any longer, so Randy breaks and trains their youngsters, keeps a few and offers the rest for sale as barrel and polo prospects. His phone rings regularly with request for one of his “stew” horses as a fellow barrel racer calls them. Keeping polo ponies fit is a big job and “they must be very fit,” said Randy. During the off-season, teenage girls and sometimes an Argentinean pro helps get the horses legged up. In the arena, the horses are long trotted and loped for at least 30 minutes, five days a week. On weekends, they’re hauled to barrel races and gaming shows where they get used to crowd and lean about control at speed. Playing Polo requires fit riders as well as fit horses, and Randy works out regularly to keep in shape. At an age when many if his peers are dreaming of a leisurely trip south in a motor home, Randy can keep up with his 20-year-old Argentinean pro. And while you wouldn’t mistake him for the 20-year-old, Randy isn’t shy about taking off his shirt for a victory pose next to him. Starting in June, Randy said, he plays polo every weekend until the season ends in October. Her hauls nine horses for himself and a polo pro from Argentina. It costs roughly $1,000.00 a weekend to play polo, he said, citing a long list of expenses that include transportation costs (ferry and gas), polo pro salary, groom, entry fees, meals out and beer (lots of beer).
“Anyone who plays polo is addicted; we don’t make good business decisions,” Randy said. “there’s no logic to how we spend money or the risks we take.”
Despite the expenses and his many injuries from playing polo, when asked what his future plans are, Randy says, “I want to move up to a six-chukker game next season.”
This translates to more playing time, stiffer competition, a four-goal pro, 12 horses to keep fit and haul, and a much bigger rig – no Randy isn’t slowing up anytime soon.
