Dale Wilikinson, 84, a giant among early-day Quarter Horse trainers and the only rider to win both the NCHA and the NRHA Futurities, passed away on Thursday, March 11.
Wilkinson, who grew up on a farm in rural Ohio, began training horses for pocket money when he was 14. He purchased his first Quarter Horse in 1947, the same year that he married his hometown sweetheart, Lucinda Sherman. In 1960, the Wilkinsons moved to Findlay, Ohio, where Dale began training Quarter Horses full-time.
In 1966, riding Pocorochie Bo, Wilkinson won the inaugural NRHA Futurity, an event that he had played an integral part in founding. He won the NCHA Futurity in 1972 on Gun Smoke’s Dream, a mare that he owned and raised, and he claimed the NRHA Futurity championship again, in 1975, aboard Clene Continental.
“We lived in Ohio all our lives which made (the wins) more rewarding,” Wilkinson once told me. “It encouraged other people to come because there was a chance for them to win.
“Texans at that time were the ultimate in the horse world. But I just loved to go to Texas and be competitive in cutting and reining. They called me “OH” from Ohio.”
One of Wilkinson’s rivals in those days was Matlock Rose, another legendary Quarter Horse trainer.
“Realistically, none of us had the corner on anything, but Matlock was sure a very, very big part of programs being developed so they could beat him,” Wilkinson said. “He made me rise to a level I probably wouldn’t have even thought of if I didn’t want to beat him so bad.”
Considered by many to be “the father of reining,” Wilkinson is credited with perfecting the fluid style of movement popular in today’s reining arenas.
In 1964, Wilikinson purchased 3-year-old Mr Gun Smoke, who would sire Gun Smoke’s Dream, among many other top cutting and reining performers.
“I had him for 18 years,” said Wilkinson of the blaze-faced stallion. “He had incredible ability and he benefited the performance industry. At one time he stood at Charlie Ward’s in California with Doc Bar.”
In 1975, Wilkinson Training Center had become headquarters for Findlay College’s equestrian program. Although he was not a member of the staff, Wilkinson gave his time freely to students who were interested in becoming trainers.
In 1984, the Wilkinsons sold their Findlay facility to the college and moved to Waynesboro, Georgia. Wilkinson, the first member of the NRHA Hall of Fame, was inducted into the NCHA Hall of Fame in 1989, and the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2000. He was also the first recipient of the Zane Schulte Memorial Award, in 2001.