Salt of the Earth
The salt of the earth is the lifeline to all living things. It’s one of the most natural, replenishing, and appreciated elements we have throughout the land. There’s something unique about salt, it adds character and flavor to everything. You could say it makes each thing it encounters better than it was before. It’s good for everything, and everyone.
There are some people who seem to come from the salt of the earth. It’s what they’re made of. It’s in their blood and who they are. Down to earth, honest, humble, hard working people who do a lot to help others. They are just good human beings in every sense who have a knack for transmitting a level of reassurance, respect, and sensibility to others and it’s contagious.
Lately when I hear the phrase “Salt of the Earth”, I immediately think of my good friend Avery Bush. I’ve gotten to know Avery quite well in recent years through his farrier and horseshoeing work, and occasionally working young horses together.
We’ve shared a lot of stories about our experiences working out west, in some of the same mountains, and to our surprise even with a few of the same people.
The man is full of strong character and exudes positiveness… the glass is always half full. Avery’s the real deal, and his life story is both remarkable and incredibly unique.
La Vida Es Buena
“Life Is Good”
Arizona born and barely raised, he set out on his own at a very early age with nothing more than a saddle, a bedroll, and a clear destiny. With an innate passion for horses and a life without regrets he became a true rambler of the American west. His path of life began resembling that of the young men who traveled west to cowboy long ago during the heyday, the Charles Russell years. Drifting wherever the wind blew, he never passed an opportunity to ride with a top notch outfit, and never passed on an opportunity to learn something new from a fellow horseman. Humility is a virtue.
“Home is wherever your head lay’s down at the end of the day friend, it’s anywhere you want it to be.” ~ A. Bush
He had a natural sense for how to pick up good work with reputable outfits and quickly started cowboying, training, and shoeing horses anywhere from upper New York State to the historic ranch lands of Salinas, California. In between you could find him running cow camps in the mountains of Wyoming, starting colts in Arizona, branding calves in Nevada, riding with some great outfits in the Nebraska and South Dakota country, and working cattle spreads in New Mexico. Life was good.
El Rodeo
“The Rodeo”
When he wasn’t training horses or cowboying for a big outfit he was riding bulls and broncs in the pro rodeo circuit any chance he got.
~ “One Summer I got to Jackson Hole, WY with $25 in my pocket and a cowboys appetite. I plopped down $5 on an all you can eat meal at Sizzler and $20 on a rodeo draw.”
TomarÈ Otro
“I’ll Take Another”
In Minnesota a cranky bull managed to knock four of his teeth loose. A friend of his who was there learning to ride saddle bronc, was also a dentist by trade. He quickly set out a folding chair for Avery to sit on, gave him a few swigs of whiskey for nostalgia, pulled the remaining teeth, and then put in a permanent partial teeth implant right there at the rodeo grounds.
~ “I went to the dance later that night with impeccable teeth and a great smile. The next day I rode four more bulls, one for each tooth.”
Tres Victorias
“Three Wins”
Avery sometimes traveled the rodeo circuit with Jmijon Smith (pronounced Jimmy John) the Dodge Ram guy and former PRCA bronc rider. In Iowa Avery, Jmijon Smith, and Brant Smith went to ride the rough off the rough stock. Avery rode bulls, Jmijon rode Bareback, and Brant rode saddle bronc. They walked away winning first place in all three rough stock events. Just another day in the life I guess.
“Rodeoing was my life for a while, and I thanked God every day for the animals that buck”.
Q: “What is the key to success for riding the rough stock?”
Avery: “Eat a big candy bar before each ride, it’ll be alright!”
Muchos Caballos
“Many Horses”
Avery’s background, knowledge, and experience is truly remarkable and unusually diverse. At only 15 years old he worked with the Bureau of Land Management riding thirty mile days in the saddle gathering Wild Horses and Cattle on the open ranges of Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Texas and New Mexico. In Iowa he trained Class A Arabian horses for five years, where he also competed with and trained hunter jumper horses, trained polo horses, and went on many fox hunts while a member of the local and prestigious Moingona Hunt Club.
In 2006 the owner and trainer of the Year Heath Taylor honorably asked if Avery would shoe his horses in the Thoroughbred Race at Fair Meadows in Tulsa Oklahoma, a huge gesture of respect and trust. That same year he fixed the Speed Horse Derby Champion, ‘Hi Class La Jolla’, who arrived lame just 20 minutes before the race began and was mentioned in Speed Horse Magazine.
He shod eight different world champions of different breeds ranging from the saddlebred to the working cow horse, shod the Congress Champion in western pleasure and halter, and trained many horses competing in various Quarter Horse Futurity’s over the years.
S˙per Modelo
“Super Model”
“While in Virginia during the 90’s I was starting a filly on contract for a nice gal named Christie who competed in cutting horse competitions. We rode horses a few times, and I was able to put a real nice start on the filly, but didn’t think anything of it afterwards. I found out later that it was Christie Brinkley the Super Model, and the horse ended up getting 3rd place at the celebrity cutting in Oklahoma. I had no idea who she was.”
El Significado
“The Meaning”
You never know where life will take you when you follow your passion, but you’re guaranteed a good ride if you do. For the last 35 years Avery Bush has lived and breathed horses. His passion, dedication and care for the animal shows seamlessly through his work and shines through the horses he is able to produce. He has a way with them, no whispering takes place, nothing is needed. They already know that he is one of their own, and that it’ll be alright.
Q: “What is the key to life?”
Avery: “Smile during the storm.. it’ll pass.. it’ll be alright.”
Like the salt of the earth, each horse he encounters is left in a better place than it was before, replenished, cured to a degree, left at peace, viewing their water trough as half full.
DÛnde Est· Ahora
“Where Is He Now?”
Avery finally came to his senses and moved to Texas with his wonderful wife and two children and we are blessed to have them. They are based near Pipe Creek and Bandera where Avery is still training horses, doing some shoeing, and holds private clinics and lessons upon request. His clinics and lessons are designed around the customers needs and interests. They offer people the opportunity to study and practice their equine discipline or specific area of interest with Avery in a private and comfortable setting away from distraction or the pressure of outside spectators. His travel service area is the hill country north of San Antonio up to Kerville and Kendalia, as well as the general San Antonio Area.
Clinic & Lesson Concepts:
- Horse Safety and Understanding 101
- General horse care, feeding, and home veterinary skills.
- Foundational Riding Lessons: English & Western
- Trail riding techniques and safety
- Problem horse education and remedy’s
- Starting young horses
- General horse training
- Performance horse training:
- Reigning, cutting, roping, hunter/jumper, draft & harness, versatile ranch horse, trail riding etc.
A Note From Avery:
“‘Happy Horseshoeing and Training’, provides a wide range of services to our customers. Farrier service for all types of hoof care. We shoe show and performance horses including race, draft, gaited, barrel, rope, jumping, reining and more. We also shoe the working ranch, cow, and all around trail horse. We provide therapeutic and corrective hoof care for all lameness problems involving the hoof.
We train horses in almost every category; for jumping, barrel, cutting, reigning, working ranch, and all around trail horses. We also start young horses under saddle, do halter breaking, and train for trailer loading. We work on problems such as stopping, turning, backing up, bucking, dangerous ground manners, run aways, and condition horses that haven’t been ridden for some time. No matter what the situation or need we make sure our customers are satisfied before they take their horse home. We encourage you to come out and ride your horse while in training if you need pointers or have questions you can build your confidence and be informed before taking your horse home. If you need anything don’t hesitate to give us a call, we would enjoy meeting you and will help in any way we can.”
CONTACT:
Happy Horseshoeing and Training Pipe Creek, TX
United States
ph: 210-602-2810
averyb@happyhorseshoeingandtraining.com
Tyler Beach
Associate at Texas Ranch Sales, LLC
A fourth generation San Antonian, Tyler spent most of his young life on his family’s ranch near Helotes, Texas. Here he gained a strong foundation and passion for hunting, fishing and horsemanship which he carried along with him through his life and career. Tyler has worked in the Professional Outfitting & Guiding industry for the past 20 years.
