Joe Mead
When I think of Joe Mead, I think of a man who was always kind to me, honest with me, and who, as a skilled horseman, bred some of the best curly horses in the ABC Registry.
I know Joe on two levels. One level is as a teacher and as a knowledgeable breeder. The second is as a friend, even though not as a close friend. As a teacher he taught me high standards of breeding. As a friend he corrected me when I have shown poor judgment.
Joe Mead and Benny Damele were close friends. Joe explained to me that MR. Damele bred his curly horses as working ranch horses. Jo explained that the curly horse mares first brought in off of Robert’s Mountain could go all day, every day. But they were not fast enough to catch the range cattle. By crossing the captured curly mares with quality gaited and non curly stallions, Mr. Damele was able to get the smooth gait and speed that he needed. Yet, he was still able to retain the curly hardiness and endurance that he and Joe valued so highly. Mr. Damele used a Saddlebred stallion from which came the Copper D line. He also used Nevada Red, an Arabian Crabbet bred stallion. Lastly, he used Ruby Red King, a running walk gaited Morgan of old government lines. Because of his love for RRK and his respect for Joe, Benny gave this stallion to Joe when he learned that he was dying of cancer. Joe then used this stud for many years.
Joe took the work started by Mr. Damele and strengthened it by careful line breeding. This line breeding was used to set desirable characteristics of conformation, gait and disposition. Then Joe strengthened the curly horse even more by adding yet another source of quality curly genes. The blood that Joe added was old line stock that came when 100 Nez Perce and 300 horses made it to Canada. That is where Joe got Walpinit, the stud that he used to found the Yellow Hornet line. In Yellow Hornet Joe found that he could strengthen the work of Benny Damele. The line had good curl, good conformation, kind disposition and mellowness. For Joe, the goal of a mellow disposition has always been uppermost. In his Yellow Hornet stallion Little Bucks Joe has the kindness and mellowness that he values so highly.
It is my personal belief that the ABCR curly horse of today would not exist had it not been for the work of Joe Mead. Not all, but most of the long time ABCR breeders got their foundation stock from Joe.
It was at the urging of Joe that the modern ABCR stud books were written. Some old time breeders just wanted to list sires. Joe insisted that both sire and dam be listed.
I admire Joe the human being because he has always been kind and respectful to me. When I first met Joe in ’91 I was very sick with an ear infection. Yet he still showed me his horses and allowed me to ride Ruby Red King during the time I spent with him. When I accidentally allowed a young stud named Gorden to get loose, Joe was still gracious. When I visited Joe again in ’03 he congratulated me on my return to good health.
In closing I say, “Thank you, Joe.”