What a fantastic response to my last post about the outstanding Quarter Horse gelding, Head Pin, and his trainer, Ron Hawkins. I want to thank everyone for their continued interest and the numerous requests for more information on Ron Hawkins himself; I found a comprehensive obituary in the Burns Times-Herald.
https://www.btimesherald.com/2017/07/19/ronald-william-hawkins-1937-2017/
Even after decades of friendship, I learned things about Ron that I hadn’t known. But then, Ron wasn’t one to toot his own horn.
While I knew he had attended Cal Poly and graduated with a degree in Animal Husbandry, I didn’t know he competed on the college rodeo team and was so good at it that he finished second in steer wrestling at the Intercollegiate Rodeo Association National Finals.
Along with the words, you’ll find a great picture of Ron that I think reflects the man’s true character. His good humor jumps off the page.
Ron Hawkins — 1937 – 2017
Now, how about a memory? There are so many that involve Ron and Rexanne. But I suspect there are only a few, if any, who would know that Ron sent me an unstarted maiden Quarter Horse filly to train in the summer of 1979. At the time, we were stabled in Santa Rosa, awaiting the start of the Sonoma County Fair meet, and where I was lucky enough to have fifteen horses under my care with my new trainers’ license in hand. I had several promising horses, both veterans, and maidens and was looking forward to saddling my first starter.
It was back in the days when there were a lot of maidens, and getting into a race was brutal. Since Ron had so many maidens at the ranch with earlier entry dates, he felt his client would have a better chance of seeing the filly race if he sent her to me. The filly really blossomed in the racetrack environment, and long story short, Barbaretta Go was the first horse I saddled with my new license. As you can see, we won that day, and she did it pretty easily. I don’t know who was more pleased, me, Ron, or the client.
“Barbaretta Go”
Santa Rosa, California 7/16/79 James Riley, UP
Truly Boo, (2nd) 350 yards – 18:4 Howes Don, (3rd)
Terry Cole, Owner Shelley Riley, Trainer
Another anecdote I remember involved Ron and Jim long before Jim Riley and I met and we were married. As Ron told the story, he and Jim were working two young colts down the straightaway at the ranch. A sizeable lady in a voluminous moo-moo-like dress stood off to one side, observing. According to Ron, it was a windy day, and the wind caught the fabric of her dress as the two colts raced toward her. The horse Jim rode spooked violently, and off Jim went head first. Ron may have laughed as he told the story, but it was easy to see the memory was as affecting as the day it happened.
Ron sawed on his horse’s reins, and as he looked down, Jim’s body kept pace with Ron’s mount.
The bigger problem, and what still haunted Ron, was that Jim’s neck was bent so far under his body that it looked like he no longer had a head. Ron was sure that Jim was dead.
Suffice it to say Jim survived, and when he came around, he seemed none the worse for wear.
Ron, Rexanne, and the Hawkins family made a very positive impact on our lives for over twenty years. For one year or twenty, I count their friendship as a blessing.
Thank you for taking the time to stop by to read ‘My Thoughts.’ Get in touch, and I will respond. I will never sell your information.
Holy crap about Jim! I’m shocked he wasn’t badly injured or killed! I love that photo of Ron. You’re absolutely right that his personality jumps off the page!!