WE WERE COWBOYS BEFORE COWBOYS WERE COOL

by Pat Chaney,
Visalia, Ca

I grew up in the small town of Corcoran Cali during the turbulent Sixties a sleepy secluded farming community.  I always had a love of animals but was especially enamored of Horses.  My Uncle Ford Chaney lived in Compton Cali at the time and I looked forward to spending my summers there as he owned three horses that he would let us ride.

I refer to Uncle Ford as the Original Horse Whisperer because he could train a horse to do just about anything and I was a witness to that during those summers in Compton.  It seemed that he and the Horses communicated telepathically on their own wave length…..they wanted more than anything else to Please him.  Owners would bring their horse early in the morning and Uncle Ford would get to it and more than likely by that evening he would have accomplished what the owner wanted.  It was Something to Behold! 

Understand that he Loved all animals not just Horses; dogs, cats, pigs, birds, fish.  He loved them all.  But to me it seemed that Horses Adored him.

Uncle Ford was also one of the first Black Singing Cowboys I had ever seen and he could Yodel with the best of them….something as a kid I thought was Hella Funny but now realize how Unique and Talented he was.  As an adult I learned that he had been pursued by a couple of record companies but somehow never found the time to pursue it….what a shame.

Uncle Ford long ago made his Journey to that Great Rodeo in the Sky but nowadays when I see all the young Black Cowboys and Cowgirls I think of Uncle Ford and how happy he would be because ‘We Were Cowboys Before Cowboys Were Cool.’