John Tilley: American cowboy — Part 1
*Due to an error, part two was published before part 1. Part two can be found in the Tuesday, May 12 edition and both can be found on our website.
Mounted police sitting tall behind opaque sunglasses looking down upon the chanting and screaming and gesturing and flag-waving citizenry on a sun-drenched palm lined street in Huntington Beach, are upholding state law.
Their horses wear blinders, spreading their front legs widely and resolutely against the silent and deadly foe of both protestors and enforcement officers, Covid-19. Impatient Americans were attempting to open-up the beaches after 6 weeks of Sheltering In Place. It was a showdown.
These horses are the rare specimens (one out of 100, I’m told) selected for this important duty. In the national photo of the HB mounted police, the horses were a symbol of strength with incredible girth, calm; faithful to their rider; a human, who instructed them with their knees, gentle pats, whispers and clucks, nudges to stand firm.
John Tilley is a trainer of such horses. He is last of a breed. He is an American Cowboy. I caught up with John on his ranch off West Road just past Eagle Peak Middle School in Redwood Valley. John meets a few of the stereotypes you might harbor about Cowboys.
He is rope taut-check; a solid 6’2” and 180 pounds of sinew- check; wears a dusty creased hat- check; cowboy boots-check, wrangler jeans-check; sunbaked cheeks-check; blue pressed button-up shirtcheck; non-stop booming voice-check; gave up chaw 40 years ago-check; works long hours-check; although claims his “get up and go done got up and left-” check; has strong political beliefs-check; uses unique language-check below:
“I start horses;” “giving them the wherewithal;” “no big deal;” “old habits are hard to break;” “that’s about the size of things;” “she’s a Willits’ gal;” “I shod off and on to get some extra cash;”
“Hindsight is 20-20;” “home-made my own stove;” “I can do that;” “I’m workin’ on a new round pen pad;” “Kinda wish I’d gone with a post and…”; “I was a young pup in 1949;” “Take it real slow and easy;” “how long before you’re packin’ up;” “you cotton-picker-you didn’t wait;” “wait, wait, wait;” “pay attention;” “they’re horse people;” I was a header;” “I got high enough scores in the milking;” “load up, load up;” “it was old hat;” “By golly, I got one this year;” “you’re a good man, Charlie Brown;” we cleaned the clock with him.”
Spouse, Bobbie is no minor player on this ranch that demands constant physical labor. “She’s a Willits gal, one of the Burris clan,” John relates. Bobbie is called “my bride” is solid and muscular (could wrestle for the Wildcat ladies at a mid-weight). She’s a constant companion, jousts with him off and on and says: “I don’t get paid for thinking.”
Here’s John on his parents: “My daddy was Walker B. Tilley.” According to Google, “Walker B. Tilley, a member of a pioneer Humboldt County family, came to work for the Albion Lumber Company as Forest Engineer during Flinn’s (a colleague) tenure. He had a distinguished international career as a forester, and returned to Mendocino County to be Chief Forester for Masonite Corporation (1948-1960).
“But, my mother was the horsewoman and she had the greatest influence on me. She died of Parkinson’s too early.”
“We moved here in 1949; Hell, there was only 68 kids in the grammar school here in 1949.
I started horsin’ around on a mule- Dad got me a mule first at 5 years old; and then got a big gelding- 6 year old; then I got a pony for a year and a half; then I graduated to a mare. I had that mare for 4 years; 68 ribbons in the last two years. One third of those were first place ribbons. She was a magnificent mare.”
“Both my most important horses came to me at 6 months old. Came from my bride’s mother and father- they raise horses. That family had for 50 years through American Quarter Horse records of their horses. Both Breeze and Brewin A. Breeze; they’re half brothers. I had to put Breeze down at 16 years old; just tore me apart. He was admired everywhere in all fields: team roping, gymkhana, team pinning; we just cleaned the clock with him. In an extreme Cowboy race in Anderson; I won the championship and reserve championship buckles with Breeze. This one here is Brewin’ a Breeze.”
What does a Cowboy do? Ranch work is the answer and his constant partners are his dog and horse. Livestock and associated problems, gates, fences, trailers, loading and unloading, pens and chutes, and obstacles around the ranch. John Tilley has competed for years in the Trail Obstacle Challenges around the region. As late as 2019, John was Champion with Brewin A Breeze at the Oregon (Eugene) Horse Center’s Reunion Mountain Show (High Point in the Class). Earlier, in 2013, John registered a couple of victories on Brewin’ A Breeze at the extreme Cowboy race in Anderson. He earned the Championship and Reserve Championship buckles.
John and Bobbie put Brewin’ A Breeze through his paces to demonstrate some of those horse and rider skills that he competes in, teaches, and uses around the ranch. First up was lunging his fine gelding. ” When you lunge a horse , it moves around you in a circle on the end of a lunge line, where the horse learns to be more flexible and balanced, as well as increase fitness if the horse has not been working. You can also use it to observe a horse’s gaits to see if it is lame.” It’s a warm-up for horse and rider. The rhythmic clippity- clop of hooves against the surface of the ring was mesmerizing; I asked John about the red sand. “Well it comes from Lake County and its volcanic earth; 120 yards first delivered years ago.”
John is building a new round pen for this activity, having imported various grades of sand and is presently tamping it down and smoothing it out (like concrete). And he just acquired a new portable round pen at the Benson Ranch at the end of Lovers’ Lane in Ukiah. That will be used for Search and Rescue, competitions, shows. It was quite a show as John and Brewin’ went through their paces.
John mentioned that he was always working on the round pin to eliminate the water hole, where the ring surface is beaten down constantly with the action of the circling horses and winter rains; but decided to construct a new one just outside the arena.