Coke Roberds and Si Dawson were both born in 1870, grew up on ranches and were life-long friends. They both moved to ranches in Routt County, Colo., shortly after the turn of the 20th Century, and raised cattle and horses. They were passionate about finding and raising the best possible horses for ranch work and racing. In 1914, 16-year-old Marshall Peavy acquired a nearby ranch and immediately shared his neighbors' passion for breeding the best to the best. He married the local school teacher, Mavis Caldwell, and she went on to become a famous horse breeder as well. Another nearby pioneer family, the Semotans, joined in with the neighborhood horse activities. In those days horses were important for transportation and work, for gathering cattle and sheep, and for supplying the U.S. Cavalry with mounts to meet their needs. To the families of that time and place, their horses were a source of income, but also a source of pride and entertainment--for racing, roping and polo. Marshall and Mavis Peavy hosted an annual "field day" on their ranch, which included a variety of horse competitions, picnic lunches and lots of visiting. Another important family, the Casements, moved to this area near Steamboat Springs, Colo., and also contributed greatly to the development of the Quarter Horse and Appaloosa breeds. These early-day breeders bought, sold and traded horses among themselves and created a nation-wide demand for their equine off-spring. Many of their descendants are still involved with horses today. The 148-page book includes 185 black-and-white photos, mostly depicting the pioneer breeders, their horses and lifestyles. Text was generated from family interviews and letters, plus researched material.
Holmes, Frank: - The late Frank Holmes was another horse historian who left his mark in the equine world with a wide variety of books, published with Western Horseman magazine and with his own Loft Publishing. Frank also planned to do a book on the early Routt County horse breeders and he did a lengthy series of taped interviews with Mavis Peavy in the 1990s. His former wife, and best friend to the end, is Carol Plybon. Carol carefully transcribed the Peavy interviews into reams of paper, stored them instinctively, and then offered them for our use when notified about "the book." The interviews proved to be invaluable to us.
Roberts, Ed: - This book took a long time to get published. Ed Roberts of Fort Worth, who years ago developed the youth program for the Appaloosa Horse Club and is now retired after a 26-year career as executive secretary of the American Paint Horse Association, started research for such a book in the 1950s. Ed is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and a life-long horse historian who began collecting articles on early-day horse breeders beginning the middle of the last century. He did a series of recorded interviews with the late Mavis Peavy beginning in 1964, and she and her ranching partner, the late Ned Snader, became lifelong friends with Ed. Meanwhile, Phil Livingston of Weatherford, Tex., retired horse editor of Western Livestock Journal and retired editor of the Paint Horse Journal, is a contemporary and friend to Ed. Both men grew up obsessed with the history and development of great horses, and it was inevitable that they would find each other and collaborate on a book: War Horse-Mounting the Cavalry with America's Finest Horses.
Witte, Randy: - Meanwhile, I was married into a branch of the Peavy family. Mavis was grandmother to my wife, Marsha Stees Witte. I am a retired editor, and later, publisher of Western Horseman. You'll notice that most everyone referenced so far is either "retired" or "late." It's obvious by now that we were almost "too late" in getting this out. Several years ago, Ed Roberts showed up on our doorstep with his son, Tim, a neighbor to us. Ed and Tim brought in a couple large boxes of material gleaned from years of following the Peavy family plus Coke Roberds, Si Dawson and the Casements.
