Robert Mayne and Romeo

Team #84

Robert and Romeo are the first Century Club team from Oklahoma!

Born in 1938 in Globe, Arizona, I was a second-generation rancher.  I have been riding horses and raising cattle most of my 73 years.  I am a retired elevator constructor, spending the last 15 years of my trade working as a state elevator inspector.

Also, I am a published cowboy poet.  I have a small book of poems containing 68 poems that I wrote, expressing some of my experiences with ranching life.

Eight years ago, I retired, and my wife, Katie, and I bought a ranch in north central Oklahoma.  We raise Black Angus cattle, and have a band of brood mares, mostly Thoroughbreds, which we breed to our stallion, "Lean Pickins," an own son of Doc O Lena.  This breeding results in Appendix Quarter Horses, which are well suited for mid-level dressage.  We also grow, cut, and bale our own hay each summer.

I have been riding horses most of my life.  Most of that time I have ridden Western (reining style); I started riding dressage 10 years ago.  I discovered that dressage is a good process to train a horse for a complete performance and ease of gaits.  I try to ride a short time every day.  Sometimes this is difficult, especially in winter with the temperature getting to minus 20 degrees F.  Our showing season takes a break in the humid summer, which I really like, as this is our busy haying time.

Our aged horse, "Romeo" came to us on the west coast.  We found him living in a chicken pen, which was not tall enough for him to raise his neck or head.  The owner told us that he was a Quarter Horse, but he stands 17.2 hands, is built like a Thoroughbred, and his inner lip is tattooed (as are Thoroughbred race horses).  We took him home, and he has been the boss horse in our herd ever since.  We shipped him to Oklahoma when we moved here, along with 2 other horses, 8 years ago.  He has been to many dressage shows in Oklahoma, winning reserve champion in Introductory Level at the state schooling championship a few years ago.  He thinks he has to keep all our horses in order, and also thinks he is the boss of the cows.

(All photos courtesy of Lisa Jewell)

Robert and Romeo			Ready to celebrate a great day!