Oklahoma cowboy life is all about horses

BRISTOW, Okla. (AP)--Bristow is home to a cowboy raised on the Okeefenokee swamp on the Georgia-Florida line, but who moved here from Texas about two years ago.

Candler Henderson, owner of Rock Creek Ranch, is just 33 years old, but has been riding professionally for most of his life. For the past 10 or 12 years he has spent his time training cutting, roping and reining cow-horses.

One thing Henderson is convinced of when it comes to training, is that "the main goal is to establish a good relationship between you and your horse." He should know, because he has raised, trained, bought and sold, and shown hundreds of horses successfully during his career.

Henderson was raised around horses and cattle, being the nephew of an all-around winner in the International Professional Rodeo Association.

"My grandpa raised lots of cattle, and my dad he farmed more, but we always had good horses to work with down there," he said. "People don't realize that there are more cattle in Florida than there are in Texas."

Henderson recently won first place in the Versatility Ranch Gelding Competition held in Wagoner, at 4-W Horses, owned by Troy Parrish. The competition hosted riders from Oklahoma, Georgia, Missouri and other surrounding states, with about 40 men and women competing.

"I was second to the last," Henderson said, "so I had to wait all day."

He said that he saw some awesome horses there and didn't think he was going to win. However, he knew that the horse he was riding, Sonny's Dun Gone Cool, was a good 8-year-old horse and knew what he was doing out there.

What exactly did Sonny have to do to earn the title?

"He had to open and shut gates, go over some obstacles, lope circles, stop and show his handle on him," Henderson said. "Then he had to rope and handle a cow."

After the competition, Henderson sold Sonny for around $2,800.

"I thought it should have been more," he said, "but he had a winter coat and I hadn't got him all slicked out yet. But he did all right."

Parrish, who also owns Parrish Saddle and Tack, awarded Henderson with the championship bridle.

The competitions are great, and Henderson enjoys participating. However, his greatest joy is his ranch and being able to "make a living" doing what he knows best and loves doing.

"We primarily focus on the cow-horses to better satisfy the cow-horse enthusiast," Henderson said. "Although, we are very appreciative of other disciplines and are always eager to learn as much as possible."

On his ranch, Henderson not only works with and trains his own horses but is hired to work with horses belonging to other people, getting the animals ready for whatever purpose the owner has in mind.

"I train cutters and ropers and reining cow-horses," he said. "I was 13th in the world in the reining cow-horse."

A cutter is the biggest quarter-horse equine event there is," Henderson said. "It's like the limo of the cow-horse industry."

The horses have to show great discipline when they go in to herd cattle. In show, they have two-and-a-half minutes to perform their duty successfully.

Henderson owns and trains for others some very expensive horses.

"I have one at the house that I want about $25,000 for," he said. He mentioned one that had been sold last year at a livestock sale for over $800,000. "It's an extreme industry," Henderson said.

The most that he personally received for one of his horses was about $47,000.

"I'm just a nobody," Henderson said. "I ride a lot of junk. You got to ride a lot of bad ones" to find the good ones, sometimes.

Henderson looks at himself as just a cowboy.

"I don't drink, don't smoke, read my Bible and go to church," he said.

Although he is quick to admit that there are things in his past that he would like to be able to erase, he said, "I try hard to just be one of the good guys."

Running a ranch by himself at the age of 33 is a time-consuming job, but Henderson loves his work and his career as a rancher and horse trainer.

Date: 5/21/08