TRIBUTE TO
A HORSEMAN: Remembering Guy Stoops
By Marilyn Morris Mayer |
 The horse world lost a talented western pleasure trainer on
August tenth when a motorcycle accident took the life of Guy Stoops....but more
than that, it lost one of it's finest men.
"He was a big guy with a big
handshake," says Cleve Wells of his close friend of more than 20 years. "Guy
was just such a genuine person. He went out of his way to speak with
people...he was a leader." Cleve adds that Guy was someone you could always
count on, no matter what. "I've been in some binds before," Cleve recalls, "and
I'd say, "Guy, you with me?"...and he'd say, "I'm standing here, aren't I?"
"He was my hero," says Guy's longtime friend, Mike Carter, who trains
western pleasure horses in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville.
"Guy was just always the first one to come to anybody's rescue, or help to do
something. Always smiling--I never heard him talk about anybody."
"I
was thinking the other day how we became such great friends," says Mike, "and I
really don't know--with all the distance between us. But we talked everyday on
the phone. Between him and Cleve and I...if we have a problem with a horse,
we're always running a problem by each other." Mikes adds, "We were more than
friends--we called each other brothers."
Memorial service draws
hundreds...
It is estimated that more than 600 people attended the
outdoor memorial service at Guy's ranch in Hemptead, Texas on August 13th, as
they said goodbye to their friend. Big shade trees rimmed the area where
hundreds sat on chairs, and hundreds more stood. With alfalfa bales stacked
around, an abundance of vibrant flowers, and Guy's World Show trophy and
countless photos on display, Guy's truckbed became the speakers platform. A
dozen or so pallbearers rode on horseback one by one out of the barn, then the
Stoops' longtime friend and veterinarian, Dr. Andrew Currie, lead out the horse
that Guy had won the World on ("Impulsed By Gold"); the mare fully tacked, but
with Guy's chaps and bridle across the saddlehorn.
 It was a day filled with remembrances and deep emotions as several
of his friends stepped forward to share stories with those gathered. One of
those who spoke was his friend of 25 years, Dale Livingston, who trains in
Marietta, Oklahoma. "Like I tell people, he was a winner. If there was any
thing about Guy that stuck out most is that you could not discourage his
spirit, his attitude about things."
"He wasn't a complainer," Dale
continues. "I told people at the funeral that he would not ride some of our
'favorite' horses. And when they looked at Dale, not quite understanding, he
explained. "You know, that old horse 'woe is me.' He would not ride that
horse!" Dale adds that although Guy might get frustrated over things, his
answer was never to complain; attack or criticize. Instead, he'd just start
figuring out a solution. "He had what people that know the Lord call 'faith',
Mike explains, "...he believed it was going to get better."
"Guy had a
brightness about him, whatever the situation was," Mike notes. "First thing in
the morning, it was always, "Hey, good- morning everybody!'"
"He
lived the American Dream..."
Guy came to this country from Belgium
when he was six years old, and Mike believes that being an immigrant may have
given him a greater appreciation for things. "He lived the American Dream--all
the things that we take for granted, he appreciated. And he had a work ethic
that would kill most people!" Mike adds with a laugh. "He always considered it
a privilege to be wherever he was, doing whatever he was doing."
"Guy
was one of those people that you never saw him down, says Mike Moser, a
Gainesville, Texas, reining trainer and another of Guy's longtime close
friends. "He was always upbeat. He was always positive, no matter what would
happen."
"To me, Guy was the epitome of the professional horseman," he
continues. "He took his work and his career very serious, but yet at the same
time he always liked to have fun--he always made it fun to be around him." Like
so many others, Mike Moser describes his friend as someone you always looked
forward to seeing.
If Guy said he was going to do something, he did it.
If he told you he would meet you at a certain time, he was there. "My word is
my bond," Guy would say. And he meant it.
"He always had a lot of
excitement about him," says Cleve. Even if it was a 22-hour haul to a show he'd
been to many times before, it didn't dampen his enthusiasm. He'd just smile and
say, "Let's jump in that truck and make it fun!"
Cleve recalls a time
when Guy taught him to snow ski. "He showed me how to turn my skis in, and he'd
push me, and I'd stop. And Guy said, "Look!" And I said, "What?'" Guy's reply
was, "You can ski-- let's go to the top!" And they did, with Guy skiing
backwards all the way down beside Cleve, staying right with him, as he worked
his way along. It is easily a metaphor for Guy's life.
Friends Turn
To One Another...
Since the accident that took Guy's life, many of
his friends have grown closer...or perhaps are just more inclined to express
their feeling for one another. "I have never in my life seen so many grown men
just brought down to their knees in reality," says Cleve. "It's tightened our
circle a lot."
"You just kind of think, Guy woke up that morning and
had no idea he wasn't going to see that sunrise again. Or you just don't know
that the sunset the night before was the last. It makes you look around and see
little things...and think 'What if you don't get to see this anymore?'"
"I think more than anything," Cleve adds, "...it teaches you to express
your feelings. If you feel something, and you think it needs to be
said--especially if it positive--then I think that you'll say it."
His
friends take some comfort in knowing that Guy didn't struggle with a long
illness before his death; something that this truly active, athletic man would
not have wanted. He is survived by his wife, Kathy, who was always by his side
at the horse shows, and his son Brett, a professional roper. Guy had planned
for Brett to show one of his horses at the next AQHA World Show, and friends
say Guy was quite proud of that. "They're going to need our help and prayers,"
says Cleve. (Condolence cards and notes can be sent to Kathy Stoops at the
ranch at 26629 Laneview Road., Hempstead, Texas 77445.)
At age 51, Guy
was at the top of his game, as Cleve notes. "He was a judge; he was on the
Professional Horseman's Committee; he had the best horses that he ever had; he
had two guys working for him that were not really apprentices--they were
trainers; his sponsorships were going well. In one way it is sad, because he
just started reaping the benefits the last year or two from his labor, but in
the other hand...at least he got there."
Reflecting further, Cleve
adds, "You can't measure life in distances--it's not a race. Just because you
live to be a hundred, doesn't mean you lived the best life."
Guy Stoops
will perhaps best be remembered for that big grin-- his upbeat, positive
attitude--and his genuine friendliness that he extended beyond close friends
and family, to those he barely knew.
No question, those who had the
privileged of knowing Guy Stoops are better for having met him. Thanks, Guy...
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