Matlock Rose
| Birth name | Berry Matlock Rose |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Horse trainer |
| Discipline | NCHA cutting AQHA performance horses |
| Born | August 12, 1924 Little Elm, Texas |
| Died | January 5, 2008 Van, Texas |
| Major wins/Championships | AQHA World Champion, 5 times NCHA World Champion |
| Lifetime achievements | NCHA Rider Hall of Fame, NCHA Member Hall of Fame, AQHA Hall of Fame |
| Honors | |
| Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame | |
| Significant horses | |
| Peppy San, Pepponita, Jesse James, Stardust Desire, Christmas Four | |
Matlock Rose, born Berry Matlock Rose (1924–2008), was a professional horse trainer for over 60 years. He established a reputation as an all-around cowboy and trainer of champions.[1] Rose was often described as stonefaced, a man of few words, but long held the respect of his peers. He was referred to as a trainers' trainer,[2] and considered a legend.[3] He trained multiple AQHA world champions, five NCHA world champions, was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2001, as well as both the NCHA Rider Hall of Fame and the NCHA Member Hall of Fame. The first famous cutting horse he trained was Jesse James and many other great horses followed but he was best known for training Peppy San and Peponita.[4]
Early life
Matlock Rose was born and raised in North Texas near Hill Town, later known as Little Elm which is located approximately 15 mi (24 km) from Aubrey, Texas. He was the only son of five children born to Pauline and Sam Rose. Sam farmed oats, wheat, maize and corn, and also raised cattle.[5] As a small boy, Matlock often rode double in the saddle with his father to check cattle. He grew up working on the family ranch under his father's guidance, which is where he learned horsemanship and developed his early skills as a trainer. He knew how to shoe horses, and train them in various disciplines but he was particularly fond of calf roping and cutting.[2]: 19–20 He was also a good competitor as he demonstrated early on in high school playing catcher on a championship baseball team. After graduating, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.[2]: 20
Career
Matlock trained and showed many horses to earn their championships in various performance disciplines in American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) horse show competition, including halter, reining, roping and cutting. He also competed successfully in National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) cutting horse events.[2]: 20
After his service in the Navy, Matlock returned to ranch work and secured his first major job training Quarter Horses at 3D's Stock Farm for W.T. Waggoner from 1946—1948.[2][4] At the time, Bob Burton was foreman of the horse division, and Pine Johnson, who trained and showed Poco Bueno, was their cutting horse trainer. His next job was at Lester Goodson's J3 Ranch in Magnolia, Texas. It was at J3 Ranch that he and Bubba Cascio worked together and became longtime friends.[6]
Major career wins
- 1951 NCHA Reserve World Champion riding Jesse James
- 1966 World Champion riding Stardust Desire
- 1967 NCHA World Champion and NCHA Tournament of Champions Champion riding Peppy San
- 1968 NCHA Top Ten and NCHA Tournament of Champions Champion riding Christmas Four
- 1969 NCHA Futurity Winner riding Cee Bars Joan
- 1970 NCHA Top Ten riding Moira Girl
- 1971 NCHA Top Ten riding Gay Bars Gen
- 1974 NCHA Derby Co-Champion riding Chucky’s Monkey
- 1975 NCHA World Champion riding Peppy’s Desire
- 1976 NCHA (twice) Top Ten riding Chunky’s Monkey and Peponita
- 1978 AQHA World Champion Senior Cutting Horse riding Peponita
- 1979 NCHA World Champion and NCHA Finals Champion riding Peponita.[3]
References
- ^ "Matlock Rose". American Quarter Horse Association. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Diana Tackett-Moore (July 1992). "Matlock Rose: The Legend and The Man Behind It" (PDF). Cutting Horse. National Cutting Horse Association. p. 19. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
- ^ a b Connie Hubbard (April 1997). "The Legend". American Cowboy. Vol. 3, no. 6. Active Interest Media, Inc. p. 38. ISSN 1079-3690. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ a b "Matlock Rose: The Ultimate Cowboy". Quarter Horse News. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ "Berry Matlock Rose". The Dallas Morning News. January 7, 2008.
- ^ Richard Albee (March 2008). "Tribute to a Horseman – Matlock Rose". Equine Chronicle Online. Retrieved May 27, 2016.