Janice N Chapman

They Called Him RJ Janice N Chapman

The bidding stopped when the seller told the announcer the big chestnut stallion he rode into the sale ring had a habit of leaving home and returning when he chose to. Nobody wanted a horse they couldn't keep inside their property. He had called him RJ. Eldon Hanks had the last bid prior to that announcement. He needed a good cow horse. It was time he and his ranch friends, Robert Fuller and Lynn Ackerman got their cattle worked and to the railroad stockyard pens. The big chestnut stallion proved himself to be well trained with cattle, and he could sort a load for the cattle trucks to the exact number by voice command. He obeyed only Eldon Hanks and Lynn Ackerman. He left home for eight days after the cattle were finished, and brought back a wild mare that could have doubled for his twin, which gave Eldon Hanks an idea to add to the training program he wanted to start. He and his friends had already trained two young boys. He talked to his friends, and they decided to gather a few head of the wild mares. They took RJ with them to the wild herd, and he proved he could sort and load wild mares into a horse trailer on command from Eldon Hanks. An ad Hanks pinned to the bulletin board outside the Sheriff's office drew a man who had known the seller, and who knew the chestnut stallion. Even he was amazed at the stallion who was loved and respected by these ranchers. And they called him RJ.