In Memory of Jacci Gaines
My life light is less bright these days. I am missing a huge part of who I am. People come together in life that become more than just friends, you become family. You learn from them, you emulate them and your world tilts a little better. I met a person like that when I was a junior in high school and started to ride with a lady. She was one of the toughest people I had met. She had me riding thoroughbred colts with her. I had ridden horses my whole life and had no idea what real riding life was about. I learned a lot and a lot about what hot blooded horses are all about.
Following a weekend off, riding race babies on Monday was taking your life in your hands and hoping you survived to see the next day. I learned so much those first years. We started a pile of horses. And I never left her side, whether she wanted me or not. Jacci Gaines let me hang around. From there we got a couple mules dropped off at the place. One being an older mule we named Hot Lips. Jacci bought him and I rode the shit out of him. I rode him everywhere and we started showing them.
Jacci had an extensive horse life prior to me meeting her. Her step dad bought her her first horse. She ran gymkhana and did everything on that horse that was around. As a kid she would show up bareback with a strap around her neck to match races and blow those guys away. She raced sulkies, again a young girl against men. She went on to show allbreeds, quarter horse, paints and Appys. She showed everything western and hunter jumpers. She rode with a jumper trainer who would make her drop her irons and jump 5 foot fences. I whined about 3 ½ feet. She used to hold cows on pasture all day in Madera.
In her cow days she met up with a guy who had a mule and let her work some cows on her. She knew a good mule, as her first long eared mount was one of my favorite, Sanger Red. She rode cutters with some good friends, one being Tod White who ended up dropping Hot Lips off at her house. He also bought a little mule named Festus who we started and she went on to win the trail class at Bishop and it just went up from there. That is where our AMA commitment started.
She really made waves in the mule and donkey industry. She was made for this world. She raised some great cow working mules and we ended up from Todd again a little jack we called Liberachi. We raised a few babies by him. The last being out of a big Colonel Freckles cutter mare named Last Chance. Named after my cousin Chance because he was born on his birthday and Jacci thought would be her last baby. Little did she know she would buy 2 more nice babies and sell for great money.
She rode some great outside mules for people too. One year in the AMA she had trained 3 of the top 3 all around mules. My mule Ruby Rue, the famous Call me the Fireman was started by Jacci and the all around donkey Joe C was ridden by her. Last Chance was a great western green mule and I grabbed him as soon as I could. We can talk good mules and Jacci will come up in the conversation at a few different times. She then started riding donkeys and there was where she did great things, every one she had became an all around performance donkey. Everything she touched turned to gold. I didn’t, but I was much better because of her.
She became a grandma to my son and always treated him with love and adoration. He has a little Grandma Jacci magic. I am glad to have had a hand in having her in his life. She was actually the first person I told about being pregnant. It was a surprise for sure, and she was my first excited share. I can’t believe we have lost her. I can’t believe our industry has lost her. We will all be a little less without her. I am getting to ride her donks now as we decide where we go from here and I can’t help but appreciate that I get to. They are all 3 some of the most well broke animals I can climb on. They are a treat to be around. So many memories I have to hold onto. She was such a huge impact on my life. I hope I can keep a piece of her alive. But her shoes will never be filled. A hole is left inside. A sad page indeed.