LewisWray 15SP

Lewis Wray Visits QHN

LewisWray 15SPLewis Wray • Photo by Stacy PigottOne cool thing about horse shows in Fort Worth, Texas, is that we sometimes get visitors in the Quarter Horse News office. During a cattle change or lunch break, our readers will stop by to see the magazine’s headquarters and meet the people behind the printed pages.

NCHA vice presidential candidate Lewis Wray was one of our most recent guests, and I had the pleasure of sitting down with him to swap life stories. He told me one about his son, Scott Wray, that really got me thinking, so I wanted to share.

Lewis was a football coach for the Russellville High School Cyclones in Arkansas. When Scott was a teenager, he played quarterback for his dad, and that was the catalyst for a personal space “understanding” between father and son.

“We had a rule that we stayed away from each other before and after an event for 10 minutes,” Lewis said with a chuckle. “We just stayed away because whatever we were going to do or say wasn’t going to be positive. His mother really loved that.”

Although Lewis has retired from coaching and Scott has moved on to a career as a professional cutting horse trainer, the 10-minute rule still applies. Considering Scott has garnered nearly $200,000 in cutting pens in the last eight years, it seems like the plan is working.

What special rules do you have with family, friends or trainers when it comes to competing at horse shows? Send your fun stories to [email protected] or drop by the office to tell me in person!

Kelsey Pecsek is the managing editor for Quarter Horse News. The 2010 American Horse Publications Student Equine-related Journalism Award winner began working for QHN in 2011 after graduating with honors from Virginia Tech. Kelsey enjoys showing her American Paint Horse “Lucky” in speed events at breed shows, while also exercising horses for her boyfriend, who is an assistant cutting horse trainer.