Interview with Greg Denney, Andrea Denney, September 25, 2007

Partial Transcript: Okay, this is Kim Lady Smith.

Segment Synopsis: Greg Denney talks about his family and early life. He talks about his early interest in horses and motocross. He talks about working on a ranch in Texas as a cowboy, and about his National Guard service. He says the ranch is where he gained an interest in training cutting horses.

Keywords: Cattle; Ranching

Subjects: Cowboy; Horses.; Maypearl (Tex.); Quarter horse.

Partial Transcript: So, are--and please understand that I don't understand--(laughs)--the business, so if I ask a question that seems ignorant, well, assume somebody listening to this will be just as ignorant as me.

Segment Synopsis: Denney talks about the challenges of earning the trust of owners to train horses, and the difficulty making a living in the business. He talks about various trainers with whom he worked.

Keywords: Cattle; Roping

Subjects: Cutting (Horsemanship); Cutting horses.; Ranches.

Partial Transcript: So when you were training horses, were you training other people's horses?

Segment Synopsis: Denney talks about his early work training horses for ranch owners, which transitioned into buying and selling horses. He talks about training cutting horses. Denney's wife Andrea talks about him training cutting horses on his off time. He talks about being lured back to Kentucky by offers to train horses.

Keywords: Cattle

Subjects: Cowboy; Cutting (Horsemanship); Cutting horses.; Horses--Training.; Quarter horse.; Ranches.

Partial Transcript: I'm going to back you up a little bit.

Segment Synopsis: Denney says he first met his wife when he sold her a puppy. He says she shares his love of horses. He talks about his developing career at the beginning of his marriage. He talks about various types of training for horses including cutting, roping, and work horses.

Keywords: Ranch horses; Roping horses

Subjects: Border collie--Breeding; Border collie.; Cutting (Horsemanship); Cutting horses.; Ranches.

Partial Transcript: So, when you--you moved to Kentucky when?

Segment Synopsis: Denney talks about moving to Tennessee before moving to Kentucky and working on various farms while looking to buy his own farm. He says that to train cutting horses it is necessary to have room to keep forty to sixty head of cattle. He says there are only two cutting horse trainers in Kentucky, and he is the only one associated with National Cutting Horse Association (HCHA).

Keywords: Cattle

Subjects: Cutting (Horsemanship); Cutting horse competitions.; Cutting horses.; National Cutting Horse Association (U.S.); National Cutting Horse Contest; Veterinarians.

Partial Transcript: So let's talk a little bit about the competitions. Is there uh, any particular competition you want to--experience you want to share?

Segment Synopsis: Denney talks about how much satisfaction he gets from showing new horses, and how much fun it is to show older horses. He talks about judging American Ranch Horse shows and other competitions.

Keywords: Cutting horse class; Judging; Ranch riding class; Ranch trail class; Reigning horse class; Roping; Working cattle horse class

Subjects: Cutting horse competitions--Rules; Cutting horse competitions.; Horse show judges; Horse shows--Western division and classes.; Horse-shows.; Horses--Showing.

Partial Transcript: Well, let's talk a little bit more about, um, you coming to Kentucky. Is it what you expected?

Segment Synopsis: Denney says his move to Kentucky from Texas was a beneficial experience. He says he likes the customers, the people, and the weather. He says it was challenging to get used to not being around cowboys all the time. He talks about horse shows, women involved in showing horses, and the public interest in horse showing sports.

Keywords: 4-H Clubs; Ranch horse shows; Saddle clubs

Subjects: Cowboy; Cutting (Horsemanship); Cutting horses.; Horse shows--Western division and classes.; Horse-shows.; Horses--Showing.; Quarter horse.

Partial Transcript: This is actually the on--the second interview I've done on quarter horses. I interviewed Benny Sergeant.

Segment Synopsis: Denney says most of his customers own more than just one or two horses. He talks about quarter horse farm customers keeping seven or eight horses and keeping them for breeding and training. He says most people cannot make enough money to make a living breeding and training horses, and that the activity is more often a hobby.

Keywords: Colts; Horse barns

Subjects: Cutting (Horsemanship); Cutting horses.; Horses--Breeding--Kentucky.; Horses--Breeding.; Horses--Training.; Quarter horse.

Partial Transcript: Well, what do you think are some of the biggest challenges you face as a, uh, as a cutting horse trainer and in--or in the quarter horse world in general?

Segment Synopsis: Denney's wife Andrea talks about the challenges of getting established training horses professionally. Denney talks about being an official trainer with the NCHA and the process of establishing a training business. He talks about the capacity of his farm. He talks about the difficulty of finding qualified help to employ in training.

Keywords: Customers; Hobby

Subjects: Cutting (Horsemanship); Cutting horses.; Horse trainers.; Horses--Training.; National Cutting Horse Association (U.S.)

Partial Transcript: The, um--now you don't keep any horses on, on the farm that, uh, are, uh, in--are bred, so you don't have to deal with delivering--

Segment Synopsis: Denney says they do not keep mares in foal on their farm, and he can address minor medical needs of horses while referring serious cases to the veterinarian. He talks about finding good veterinarians and farriers. He talks about the importance of shoeing a horse correctly. He talks about common ailments in cutting horses. He talks about using human chiropractors on horses.

Keywords: Farriers; Horse shoes

Subjects: Chiropractors; Horses--Care; Horses--Wounds and injuries.; Veterinarians.

Partial Transcript: [inaudible] another issue that I've talked with most people about, and that's the issue of horse slaughter. Of course we hear that in the news.

Segment Synopsis: Denney talks about slaughtering horses in the horse industry. He says people are reluctant to euthanize their pets, but that many horses outlive their usefulness and will not receive proper care and feeding. He says the existence of a slaughter market provided a price floor for horses, but the absence of a horse slaughter market has dropped the bottom out of the prices for horses at auction. He says government subsidies to care for abandoned horses is becoming depleted. He talks about euthanizing elderly horses that cannot care for themselves anymore.

Keywords: Euthanization; Horse slaughter; Starvation

Subjects: Horses--Wounds and injuries.; Horses.

Partial Transcript: Since coming to Kentucky, is there anything different about how the horse industry works for you here than in Texas?

Segment Synopsis: Denney says buying and selling horses in Kentucky is a smaller market than in Texas, which is challenging. He talks about interest in cutting horses in New England and California. Andrea talks about the expenses involved in cutting horses as a hobby.

Keywords: Bastrop (Tex.); Cattle; Horse trading

Subjects: Cowboy; Cutting horse competitions--Rules; Cutting horse competitions.; Cutting horses.; Quarter horse.; Ranches.

Partial Transcript: A couple of questions, one, who are some of the other people in this area working with quarter horses that you think should be interviewed?

Segment Synopsis: Denney talks about other horse industry professionals that could be interviewed for this project.

Keywords: Cattle; Howard Floss; Weesie Brill

Subjects: Cutting horses.; Quarter horse.

Partial Transcript: I guess, guess my final question, and uh, you know, a lot of people take this in different directions, but, uh, what has it meant to you to work with horses?

Segment Synopsis: Denney talks about his childhood dreams to work with horses and to run his own horse farm. He talks about the many ranches where he worked and the hundreds of horses he broke and helped train. He talks about his uncle Billy Jack who influenced him to become a cowboy. He talks about learning how to train horses.

Keywords: Cattle; Colts; Texas Rangers

Subjects: Cowboy; Cutting (Horsemanship); Cutting horses.; Horse farms.; Quarter horse.; Ranches.