“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.” — Winston Churchill

Bill Smith likes to start his September WYO Ranch Quarter Horse Sale off with one of his best geldings.

This year it’s Ja Sheer Skippin’, a striking Palomino that’s gentle, easy going and a pleasure to ride. WYO Ranch with DR. H.B. Woody Bartlett will hold its annual fall sale Saturday Sept. 8, at 1 p.m. at the Hot Springs County Fairgrounds in Thermopolis Wyo. They offer for sale well-broke geldings, weanlings, yearlings and 2-year-old fillies and colts.

Bill and Carole Smith started the WYO Quarter Horse Ranch Horse Sale in 1983. Over the years, it has developed into one of the nation’s top arena, ranch-broke gelding and Quarter Horse production sales. They have had buyers come from as far away as England and as many as 22 states have been represented at the sale. At the spring sale in May of 2018 the highest gelding bid was $32,000 and the average was $13,500. The 2-year-old bids were an average of $4,981.00. The sale has a 10-day guarantee, prospective buyers can try the horses out and they also have phone bidding for those who cannot make it to the sale. The Smiths stand behind their horses and believe they operate their family-run business with integrity and honesty.

H.B. Woody Bartlett joined the Smiths in 2003. He has a cutting horse operation in Weatherford Texas, a working cattle ranch in Chugwater, Wyo., and a horse ranch in Pikes Road, Ala. Bartlett offers geldings, 2-year-olds, yearlings and weanling colts and fillies each year and he won the prestigious Zoetis AQHA Best Remuda award in 2016.

DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH

Novelist John Galsworthy said, “I’m still under the impression that there is nothing alive quite so beautiful as a horse” …

The Smiths take pride in their broke, gentle geldings. They find those “diamonds in the rough” and make them shine.

“They are not really (high) performance horses. We have a lot of gentle, family horses for people who like to ride the trails or weekend riders. They have to be gentle and they have to be pretty,” Carole Smith said.

There are also some smaller geldings available with reining experience. They are well-broke in the arena and the WYO crew has taken them into the hills. The end result is a nice horse that will do well in or out of the arena.

One of these reining horses is Carole Smith’s personal favorite, Shining My Dually Lot #44. He is a handsome 14.2 hand sorrel gelding out of a daughter of Shining Spark. He is an extremely agreeable horse that is kind, easy to shoe, hauls well and is eye catching.

“He’s a lot of fun to ride in the hills.” Carole Smith said.

Bill Smith’s favorite of the sale Lot #48 Buzz Cody Jack. The big 15.2 hand buckskin gelding is quiet and gentle and easy to get along with.

The horse to watch might be Lot #35, Stone Cold Ollie. Ollie is a nice looking, big dun gelding that is gentle for most people to ride and he is a good traveler on the trails.

LIFE CHANGING

“There is nothing better for the inside of the man, than the outside of the horse.” – Ronald Reagan

They say a great horse will change your life and Bill Smith would probably agree. ELS Scottish Nick WYO Ranch’s stallion is a once-in-a-lifetime horse for Bill.

“I’ve been around horses all my life. This is the best I’ve ever been on.” Bill said of his horse. “He’s got a beautiful disposition and he is a magnificent traveler.”

He is Scottish bred on the top and out of a daughter of Tee Jay Three Bar (out of Jackie Bee). The Smiths have been crossing “Nick” with their Royal Diligent mares and they have been getting foals with wonderful dispositions. To say Bill Smith likes this stallion a lot would be an understatement. His voice is filled with pride, love and respect when he speaks of him.

“You can turn him out with a bunch of mares and he won’t have a scratch or a nick on him,” Bill Smith said. “He’s just a great horse. Not all studs are like that.”

WYO Ranch Quarter Horse Sale has a variety of quality horses. They have well-broke geldings that are good on trails and some with arena and reining experience. They also have weanlings, yearlings and 2-year-olds from their stud ELS Scottish Nick or from H.B. Woody Bartlett’s award-winning horse ranches.

“It has been our goal to offer a set of quality, young, sound, broke geldings with color,” Bill Smith said. “These horses are carefully selected for quality, disposition and soundness. When you buy from us, you can be confident in what you take home. We stand behind these horses to be exactly as represented 100 percent. Our past customers can attest to the fact that our word is good regarding everything pertaining to the sale.”

For more information on the WYO Ranch Quarter Horse Sale, visit their website at http://www.wyohorses.com or call (307) 864-5671 or (307) 272-0593 or email wyoqhr41@gmail.com. ❖

— Hall is a freelance writer from Platteville, Colo., when she’s not writing she is riding her horse in the mountains. She can be reached by email at jodylhallno1@yahoo.com.