Roy Johnston of Kisbey grew up around horses and developed a great love of the animal at a very young age. Roy in fact remembers his mother allowing him to sleep with his boots on as a youth so he would be up and ready to go in the morning to help the men with chores.
Born in 1925, Roy was the youngest of seven children. He would go on to marry twice and have two children with his first wife.
The ranch life resonated with him and he took over the family business with no questions as to what he wanted to do. Today his grandson, Greg Johnston and family, now operate the ranch.
Thinking about the years past Roy has many stories and many of them are of his prized possessions, the equines he raised and trained over the years.
One story, which still carries an air of mystery regarded being bucked off one of his favourite horses.
"I was chasing horses and these yearling colts got out on me one morning, so I road Bit o' Gold." Roy explained. "We chased them and chased them and finally got them rounded when he stopped and bucked me off and just stood there."
Roy picked himself up and looked at his horse wondering what had happened: "He just stood there and let me on again and continued with the ride. I couldn't believe it, to this day I can't figure out why he did that but there was a reason. I thought am I going to get bucked off again?"
Continuing with the stories, Roy explained fondly remembering his participation in gymkhana's with help from his daughter, Glenda, in one of the events.
"We used to go to Toronto Royal," Roy said "We used to ride and then somebody had to jump on behind me, so Glenda would do that and I'd be slowing down so Glenda wouldn't get hurt, "Speed it up, speed it up!" We were beating them with this little buckskin horse, we were winning over the thoroughbred horses."
Glenda, according to Roy, was quite the daredevil as a young child. Wanting to go faster and win in the gymkhanas, she was also confident in her own horse back home.
"She was standing on that horse hoola -hooping and this friend of mine came in and walked around, 'Young lady I could give you $300 for that horse!' 'Oh, no even if it was $10, it isn't for sale.'"
Laughing Roy explained, "That was the biggest bill she had seen then was $10."
The Toronto Royal came with many memories and although he didn't attend one year, one of his horses was sent along with a friend.
"A friend of mine was picking horses for Toronto Royal," Roy stated. "He came down and said 'Where's that Wheel and Deal Horse I've been told to look at him.' So, I brought him out, he looked him all over, and he said 'Would you be interested in selling him at Toronto Royal?' I couldn't get away but said, 'You can take him.'"
Sure enough Roy's two-year-old horse did very well and once at the Toronto Royal took second place.
Memories abounded and Roy relayed a rather tense situation involving his brother who had sold horses in Regina and the RCMP.
"My older brother drove this horse all winter and took him to the sale [in Regina], he got loose in the barn, and started wandering around," Roy laughed. "All the cowboys wanted to be the first one to catch that lead rope."
"Every time they'd go for it he'd pin it with his front foot, so the cops came in and someone heard about it and dragged my brother out of the beer parlour. They said, 'You better get out there! They're getting lined up to shoot your horse.'"
Roy's brother went out to the barn saying: "'Hello sergeant what are you up to today?' 'Well, I'm just getting lined up to shoot this horse before it hurts someone.' 'Not as long as I'm alive.' 'Well catch that lead rope for me and take him back to the barn then.'"
"He called him by name, the horse started towards him, my brother walked around you always start at the left shoulder reached up caught the lead rope. 'There you are sergeant.'"
Later Roy's brother was approached by someone looking for a rodeo horse: 'Do you think he'll buck?' 'Let him through his first rider and he'll only get better.' He ended up in New York at the Rodeo Finals that year."
Despite travelling through the United States custom combining, Roy always looked forward to coming home to his horses which he would spend countless hours training.
The ol' cowboy now lives in Stoughton, but enjoys the stories from his grandchildren and great-grandchildren of growing up on the ranch and riding horses.
"My great grandson, Cody, he always says he wishes he were born 20 years earlier so he could have trained horses with me," Roy explained and although he was never able to train horses with his great grandson the common bond of riding on the family ranch bridges generations.
