Duane Walker, Canton, Kansas, is a cowboy. The sweat stains on his cleanest dirty hat, the twinkle in his eye and the jingle in his spurs tell everyone he is most comfortable on horseback.
Duane, an American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame member, and his wife, Jo, own Tee Jay Quarter Horses—home of the celebrated Quarter Horse Jackie Bee. This cowboy, who turns 83 in December, and horses have a long and treasured history.
When heart issues kept Duane from being able to saddle his horse, Ace, his grandson, Trevin Prieb, also of Canton, set up an electric winch and pulley system suspended in the rafters of the barn.
Trevin halved a length of rope and tied bolt snaps to the ends. When Duane is done riding for the day, he threads the loop end through the hole in the front of the saddle and hooks it over the saddle horn. He then clips the bolt snaps to the cantle and, after engaging the electric winch, sends the saddle back up into the rafters.
This simple system gave his grandpa some independence after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2010. Shortly after, Duane was outfitted with a left ventricular assist device, or LVAD. The device pumps enough blood to meet the body’s needs when the heart is no longer able.
“It saved my life,” he said, adding that his LVAD is considered Destination Therapy, meaning it will be with him for the rest of his life. Destination Therapy is one of three applications of the LVAD and is for those patients not eligible for a heart transplant. Other patients can use the pump until a suitable heart transplant is found or until the damaged heart muscle has had an opportunity to rest and recover. Those two applications are called Bridge to Transplant and Bridge to Recovery.
When one road ends
Duane had surgery on his legs in April 2018 and was almost ready to start riding pens again. All he needed was his trusted partner, Ace, a 19-year-old gray gelding who had been recovering from his own health issues.
“I was waiting for him to get well enough so that we could ride,” Duane said.
Sadly, Ace didn’t recover and the beloved horse died in October.
“That was tough. I didn’t think there was another horse out there for me.”
Enter Sixes Sixgun
“We knew it would have to be a special horse for Grandpa to ride,” Kandee Prieb, Trevin’s wife, said.
Trevin and Kandee along with business partner Marty Vanier brought Sixes Sixgun to the Tee Jay Quarter Horse headquarters in late summer.
The 12-year-old gray stud has a successful history in the show ring and rodeo arena. While Sixgun’s main job will be breeding Jackie Bee mares this spring, his other job is to give Duane a steady mount as he rides the pens south of his house. Sixgun’s temperament is easy-going and friendly. He stands steady as Duane engages the electric winch that lowers and raises his saddle. The winch control is even laid across his withers without so much as an ear twitch.
“He helped me out emotionally and mentally,” Duane said. “I didn’t think I would get back on a horse again. I am truly blessed to have him in my life.”
Jennifer Theurer can be reached at 620-227-1858 or [email protected].
