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On a warm spring afternoon in Hutchinson, Kansas, four-year-old Zane Arnold eyed a wrought iron configuration as though it were a steer ready to burst from the chute. Standing on the family’s backyard patio, he wore a hat that was almost too big. It pushed his ears down a little when he cocked the brim with his gloved roping hand. He let go of the hat and, without looking down, adjusted the big silver belt buckle he won mutton busting at a rodeo last year. Never taking his eyes off the pretend steer, he "backed into the box" and readied his loop. Then, with all the speed a preschooler can muster, he charged out, threw his loop and nailed his target. He was roping on foot this time. But it won’t be long before he’ll be roping off a darned good usin’ horse. And, because he’s an Arnold, that horse will be Driftwood bred, and one with color. Zane belongs to a rodeo family which raises some of the best and most colorful Driftwood horses in the country. Perry and Martha Arnold, Zane’s grandparents, and his uncle JR., are partners in an operation which usually has about 75 horses on their 320 acres. Zane’s dad, Dusty is also a active partner, by helping on the ranch with the breeding and selling of the horses, he also rides and breaks most of the colts, and Zane's grandpa and great-grandpa rope on Driftwood horses. Mom, Stephanie, and aunt Tamra are competitive barrel racers, and often win money on those stout, athletic Driftwood’s. The ranch is located in the heart of Amish country, where horse drawn buggies go up and down their road everyday, past their horse-design mailbox. The driveway to the Arnold’s big brick house is tree lined and funnels friends and visitors into a peaceful existence that epitomizes Midwestern hospitality and the closeness all families wish they could have. Zane’s dad, Dusty, and his aunt Tamara, grew up with JR. in a life that wouldn’t have been the same without all those good horses. They grew up surrounded by horses who were raised to work, like the ones their dad, Perry was around when he was a kid. Perry recalled, "When I was growing up, my dad supervised three big ranches for the Young and Cooper Cattle Company. We always raised horses. Dad and the cattle company kept as many as 60 broodmares all the time, and we furnished all the horses for their ranches in Kansas and Oklahoma." Perry’s dad also rodeod and still does at the age of 72. That, alone, is evidence that this is a family that appreciates good horses. Perry has always paid close attention to the horses that the winners were riding. That’s why the Arnolds got into raising Driftwoods. After Perry and Martha were married, they often had visitors who would, while traveling to rodeos, stop and stay with them. They lived in the Dodge City area then, and when the visitors arrived, everybody talked rodeo and horses. This was in the 70s and Perry had roped with men like Bob McClennan, Ricky Green and Ramon Figueroa. They all rode Driftwoods, as did PRCA winner Brad Smith, who won the World on one. At rodeos and ropings, Perry said, "I’d heard a lot of guys talking and saying that unless you were on a Driftwood, you were in trouble." Perry watched the horses work and was amazed at how capable and sensible they were. One thing that really impressed him was that the horses were young when they were being hauled. Brad’s horse, at the time, was only about four years old, "And Brad won the World on him," Perry said. This horse, and the other Driftwoods Perry saw, "Were so solid, yet they were so young. It was amazing they could be hauled and winning when they were that age. That really impressed me." But the real zinger was, according to Perry, that these Driftwood horses were able to do things that the other horses just couldn’t do, and they could do it easily. "Overall, they were just winners," Perry said. Perry and Martha became extremely interested in these horses. Perry said, "I kept finding out more and more about them." The Arnolds were in the cattle business at the time, and even though they had horses, they didn’t have any Driftwoods. That soon changed. They decided to start a broodmare band of Driftwood bred mares, and to find some good foundation stallions. "We bought mares in Arizona, and a mare or two that came out of California off the Gill Cattle company. We went to South Dakota and Nebraska. We found out about mares mostly through word of mouth. We’d stop and talk to some people and they’d say, ‘Well, so-and-so has them.;" There was also a magazine out at the time, centered around Driftwood horses. "When we really got serious about trying to put together quite a few mares, there were a lot of Driftwood horses advertised in that magazine." It took the Arnolds about three years to assemble their band of mares, which now numbers about 35. They knew what they wanted in their mares and stuck to their guns. Perry said, "We liked to buy mares that had been ridden. We brought a lot of them home and rode them, and roped off them, so we could see what they were," Over the years, they sold some and added new ones because, Perry explained, "We just kept striving to make them better -- as good as we could." They wanted mares with nice heads, good backs, legs and feet, and tons of athletic ability. They had to have as much Driftwood as possible in their pedigrees, and one real plus was if a mare had Driftwood Ike or Orphan Drift in that family tree. "They’ve got such willing dispositions, and they’re so smart," Perry said. "You can show them something one time you ride them, and later they’ve still got it. You can wait a week before you ride them again, and it’s still there. There’s none of that having to go back and repeat everything." So, all of this made up the profile of a bunch of nice mares. But so did one other factor. Color. The Arnolds all liked buckskins, palominos, duns and roans, so it was a unanimous decision that this is what they’d concentrate on -- Driftwoods with color. JR said that this decision wasn’t just because they all like color, but also because, "It’s easier to sell them when they are babies, because that is what everybody wants. Now, if they were older when we sold them, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, because we would be able to show the buyer how they ride and perform, which would make the color not so demanding if a horse performed like the buyer wanted." Color became an issue not just with the mares, but also the studs they purchased. They started with a couple of foundation bred stallions, but eventually replaced them with Driftwood bred studs with the conformation, speed, athletic ability and of course, color, that they wanted to reproduce. They’ve also recently purchased a young black Driftwood bred stud. Today, they have four breeding age stallions, which they stand only to their own band of mares. JR said that they’re not really set up to bring in outside mares. And, he said, this gives the Arnolds more control over the quality of their colts. They know that their mares are good producers and they don’t have to worry about their stallions getting blamed for a mare that can’t produce a good colt. "We use all the studs," Martha said. "That’s what we’re hauling and using." It’s not unusual, for instance, for one of the studs to be in a pen with four or five mares. "If Dusty needs to go to a rodeo," Martha explained, "he just goes out to the pen, gets the stud and takes him to the rodeo and ropes off him. Then he’ll bring him home and turn him back out with the mares. That’s the kind of disposition these horses have." When they were shopping for stallions, Martha said that most of the ones they look at had to be viewed from outside a fence. But the studs they own today are different. It’s a combination of good minds and good handling. "You can walk right into the pen and look at them while they’re turned loose. You can walk around them or stand there and pet them," Martha said. Since the studs are turned loose in huge separate pipe fenced areas with the mare they’re to breed, it is sort of a pasture breeding situation. Perry feels this keeps the studs more sensible. "We’ve found out that if you don’t hand breed these studs, they stay so much better," he said, adding that many studs become problems because when a handler goes in to catch them to lead them out to breed a mare, the stud always thinks that’s where he’s going -- to the breeding shed. "When we go in to catch a stud," Perry said, "we want him to know it’s because he’s going to get ridden and roped on. He’s not going to breed a mare. That’s one reason we take our studs to those ropings and rodeos. We can tie them right up to the fence beside other horses, and they don’t squeal or kick. They know that when they’ve got a saddle and bridle on, they’re to be roped on or rode. There isn’t going to be any funny business." All four of the Arnold’s stallions know this. They’ve been "in the family" long enough to know the rules. The 1995 palomino stud, Lucky Goldwood, was bought from Tom Eliason as a coming two-year-old. He is a son of Wilywood, out of a daughter of Clark’s Doc Bar. MJH Rosewood Ike came from Gillette, Wyoming when he was two. The Arnolds purchased him from Jayne Harris, who is Bobby Harris’ mother. Bobby has won the World in team roping, so the Harris family knows what kind of horses are needed to get the job done, and that’s what they breed for. This stallion is by Wayward Ike by Driftwood Ike and is out of a Driftwood and Poco Tivio bred mare. He’s a six-year-old this year. The Arnolds purchased their blue roan stud, CC Blue Driftwood, as a weanling. He is double-bred Driftwood out of an own daughter of Driftwood Ike and was foaled in 1996. Their other buckskin stallion, JR Goodwood, is a two-year-old that they raised. He carries one of the highest percentage of Driftwood blood alive today, with the names of Driftwood Ike, Orphan Drift, Speedywood, Easy Keeper, Poco Bueno and Red Man in his pedigree. The Arnolds have no trouble selling their foals, In fact, new owners often plop down deposits sight unseen, to be sure they get one of those fast-selling babies. But, for the owners who come out and look around, a real surprise often awaits them. Dusty or Perry will bring out the sire of the colt they’re interested in and climb aboard. After riding it, if the person watching looks at all like a qualified horseman, Perry said, "We’ll climb off and hand them the reins and tell them to ride the stud." All of their studs are so good-minded, the Arnolds feel comfortable doing this. Last year, in a foal crop of 20, 89% of the foals were buckskins. The Arnolds have a formula for producing the right color. Martha explained, "We use our blue roan stud on the palomino and buckskin mares, and the palomino and buckskin studs on the roan and dun mares." It takes a lot of work, keeping track of all the horses. But in this family operation, everybody pitches in. Twenty-eight-year-old JR, half owner of the operation, does all of the paperwork, designs the web page (ARNOLDQUARTERHORSES.COM) and all of the advertising. He also designs and produces a booklet, similar to a sale catalog, which lists all of their studs and broodmares, including detailed pedigrees. These are given out to people who come to the ranch to look at horses. They’re also mailed to folks who request them. Color pictures of each stallion take up the first pages of the booklet. This publication, as well as the ads and web pages, make it evident that JR, who is self-taught, has a keen eye for color and design. He is also an accomplished photographer. All of the photos he shoots convey a knowledge of horses, especially in the perfectly-timed action shots. Whether it is a shot of team ropers, a barrel racer, calf roper, or mares running in a pasture, JR has an instinct that tells him just when to "shoot." All of these talents and traits can be considered an example of how tragedy can turn one’s life around and nurture capabilities. In 1988, when he was a junior in high school, JR’s neck was broken in an accident on the football field. Before that, his father said, "He team roped and roped calves." He even assisted a trainer in schooling polo horses. Wheelchair-bound and unable to use his hands, JR works on his computer by using an infra-red headset device. He operates a 35 mm camera using a sip-and-puff device that is attached to the shutter’s cable release. "He stays up all night and works on his computer," his mother, Martha, explained. "His screen saver has pictures he’s taken of all our horses." While Martha admits her computer skills only extend to being able to find the "on" switch, she’s going to be learning more. They recently purchased a lap top, and JR is putting the web page information on it, so that when they go to rodeos and ropings, they can show people pictures and pedigrees on their horses. They also have a new digital camera that not only does stills, but will also record 30 seconds of video action. "We’ll be able to show people the studs roping." It will be on the web page. All of the Arnolds are proud of the horses they raise and ride. There’s is a unique family venture that even includes Perry’s father, Jim. On this warm spring day, when little Zane was throwing loops on the patio, his great-grandfather was away at an old timers rodeo in Dodge City. Martha sat back and grinned. "Perry’s dad is in his second childhood. He’s off to a rodeo today." It goes without saying. He was riding a Driftwood.

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