I ran into an old acquaintance today at Darren Blanton’s cutting horse facility in Millsap, Texas. If I had known James was going to be there, I would have brought some doughnuts.
The first time I met him, James was sharing a doughnut with his owner, Bill Freeman, during a cattle change at one of the NCHA Triple Crown events at Will Rogers Coliseum. More than likely, because he won all the big events at least twice, it was one of the years that Freeman won the NCHA Futurity or the Derby or the Super Stakes.
James isn’t as famous as Smart Little Lena, but if there were a turnback horse hall of fame, he would be a member.
“It’s probably the second-best purchase I’ve ever made,” Freeman told me about his acquisition of James in 1983, two years after he purchased Smart Little Lena. James is now 32 and Smart Little Lena is 31. Bill Freeman passed away in 2008.
Sired by Vandal and out of a daughter of Dark’s Wimpy, Jamestown Vandal was bred by Helen Groves, of Silverbrook Ranches fame, and shown as an NCHA Futurity open semi-finalist by Willie Richardson. Non-Pro world champion Jim Milner owned the gelding for several years, then sold him to Freeman.
“When I settle cattle on him, he knows the pattern,” Freeman said. “He steps up, stops, (and when) the cattle start moving, he’ll step over. He’s really automatic. When I go to dust those cattle off, he’ll get to a certain spot in the arena and stop and turn. It’s really comical.”
Eight years ago, when Jason and Becky Clark were looking for a gentle horse for their two-year-old daughter, Sheridan, Freeman offered them James.
“He said, ‘Take him home and keep him as long as you like,’ Becky remembered. “He is priceless. He’s one that you never had to worry about with your kids.”
Jason Clark is head trainer for Darren Blanton and all of the Clark children, Sheridan, now 10, Cameron, 8, and Cooper, 4, learned to ride on James. “I think the riding helped keep him in good shape,” said Becky, who retired the venerable gelding two years ago.
These days James likes to hang out with three miniature horses and the mares and foals, when they go out to pasture. He gets a special “senior” diet, along with glucosamine for his joints, and still enjoys the occasional glazed doughnut.
Photo at top: James today at 32; photo at bottom: Bill Freeman and James enjoy a doughnut break in 1987.