Billy Pinion grew up with horses. His daddy was a horse trader of sorts. When he was just a boy, Billy broke wild, crazy, mean ponies for his dad to sell to the neighborhood kids just when he got them broke good. He always wanted a Quarter Horse but his dad wouldn't let him have one as gaited horses were more popular in their area at that time. Always active in sports (baseball, football, basketball, track, softball, and bass fishing... and Oh! Almost forgot, coon hunting! - has a "Drag Race Tree" trophy from when he was a kid and trained his own dog!) when Billy finally got old enough to ride mini-bikes, then drive cars and ride motorcycles he lost interest in horses and his dad sold out when he was about seventeen. Billy vowed if he ever got a horse of his own it would be a QH...and so the story begins!
Julie began homeschooling the kids in 1990. In 1991 as they were studying a KONOS unit on obedience/horses Billy's interest came back in full force! The family went to horse shows, rodeos, got introduced to riding, visited breeding farms, Love Valley (a horse town in the mountains where trail riding is available and you can still ride horses down the dirt streets and tie them to the horse rails outside the stores as you shop or browse), saw farriers in action, read books on horses, watched videos about horses, learned the points of a horse and studied various horse breeds... Nearing the end of the unit study, Billy came riding up on a two year old gray gelding, an AQHA registered "Quarter Horse" named "Cajun Cactus" he had just purchased! The kids were beyond excited! Then the story really began!
(More coming soon, as I get time to write and find photos! - Julie)
Billy and Kassi on "Cajun"
The last several years at 4RK Ranch Billy Pinion (and/or members of his family)…
Have selected cutting horse breeding stock, bred [hand, pasture, A-I (ordered and picked up shipped semen at airport and assisted vet in A-I, managed and mailed in/back paper work and Equitainer via UPS…)], fed/doctored/dewormed/vaccinated/assisted vet/farrier, cared for broodmares and newborn foals, named, registered, started, ridden, trained, shown, bought and sold cutting horses, hauled horses to and from shows and sales and/or arranged hauling from coast to coast…washed, groomed, cared for feet…reconditioned and/or rehabilitated injured cutting horses…
Helped design and build metal barn and arenas (including footing before sand), ordered shavings and replaced in stalls w/skid loader when needed, selected/grown/purchased/ordered and/or picked up hay/feed & supplies, bought saddles/tack, cut, raked, baled, picked up, unloaded and stacked square bales of hay in loft or moved round bales out of field with tractor/trailer…
Selected and purchased bulls and cows for small cow calf operation, bred cows, pulled calves when necessary, bought, sold, and hauled cows and cow calf pairs to and from sales, bought and sold tractor trailer loads of cows, sold trailer loads of cow calf pairs via RFD TV…purchased and picked up soy bean hulls for feeders, vaccinated/castrated/dewormed/doctored cattle…
Managed QuickBooks, designed and maintained website, handled phone calls and emails, entered shows, stallion stakes, incentive fund, dealt with NCHA and AQHA, purchased photos and obtained copyrights, designed and submitted ads…
Billy Pinion and Leon Harrel
Learned to train and show cutting horses with God given talent/communication with horses, the help, support, and encouragement of 4RK Ranch owner Dr. Thomas Armstrong who believed all along that Billy could do it, the help of DVD’s (mostly NCHA and Back Fence Videos), books, Leon Harrel Cutting Clinic, Shannon Hall Cutting Clinic, and more local trainers like Tracy Barton and Tommy Minton, with numerous others helping at shows… Michael Blewitt, Eddie Braxton, Steve Ginn, Michael Graham, Randy Harvey, Ronnie Hodges, Lisa Johnson, John Starrack, Tracy Surles…the list goes on and on of wonderful people in the cutting horse industry willing to help, especially in Area 18.
Billy Pinion and Leon Harrel
Helped Youth, Amateurs, and Non-Pros learn to gain confidence and ride, show, and win on cutting horses…examples: Michelle Armstrong, Stephanie Lyons, Charles Parker, Kassi Pinion, and Kelli Pinion…
Some recent accomplishments…
Kelli Pinion won two classes and finished Top Ten in the Senior Youth at the 2008 All–American QH Congress; the Non-Pro Cutting Futurity Champion riding RK Purdy Playgun trained by Billy Pinion and the $2,000 Limited Rider Class Champion riding Peppy C Suzie, also in training with her dad. Kelli and Purdy also won the 2008 Tobacco Road Non-Pro Futurity in Pelzer, SC. Billy Pinion and RK Purdy Playgun also made the finals in the 2008 Congress Open Futurity.
Our most recent news...
Kassi Pinion has been selected to receive the NCHA Todd Drummond Award to be presented at the beginning of the 2008 NCHA Futurity Finals in Fort Worth, Texas!
More accomplishments can be found by clicking on the "Accomplishments" link on the right hand side of the page. Videos can be found on the "Videos" link.