‘They’ve been good to me.’ Hall of Famer found life’s passion in training horses

Working with horses is a way of life for Kenneth “Sonny” Paul. That might be why a few months ago, the Missouri Quarter Horse Association inducted the 86-year-old into its hall of fame.

After working on farms in high school, he spent four years driving a truck, but even then, he still kept horses. Once he decided he’d had enough of that line of work, he built up his own business shoeing and showing horses.

Horseshoeing and training horses truly was his calling — one that he kept doing for 46 years.

“It was just something I liked to do. It was rewarding to start a horse that didn’t know nothing and teach him how to do something,” Paul said. “A horse trainer’s kind of like a schoolteacher. They wouldn’t stay with teaching children how to read, write and do arithmetic if wasn’t rewarding to see them do it.”

Paul appreciated a challenge, like when he had to “take a crippled horse and get him sound again. That was rewarding to me — getting his feet straightened up. … Horses have to have corrective shoes, just like people, and you got to trim the foot to correct the problem. Then you got to put the shoe on and hope it works. It don’t always work.”

He still has his old protective gear — with numerous holes in it from years of nailing shoes hooves.

In the mid-1960s, he and a friend built an arena in Greenwood next to his farm. Within six months, he was boarding 100 horses there. Keeping the owners satisfied was always harder than any work he had to do with the horses, Paul said.

The arena building still stands but has become a sports facility.

Showing horses in various disciplines, including halter and roping, was just part of the business of selling horses. He didn’t care too much for halter but loved roping.

Although now there are big money awards at rodeos, back then he’d compete at numerous events before getting a saddle as a prize.

He’s been a lifetime member of the American Quarter Horse Association for decades, as well as a lifetime member of the U.S. Team Roping Association, according to his daughter, Diane Paul.

In addition to working with horses one on one, Paul loves to teach young people how to show horses in various disciplines. That has included his three daughters — Diane, Denise and Chris — as well as his granddaughter and numerous Jackson County 4-H students over a period of 21 years.

“There’s so many kids in the community — I’ve always had kids here,” Paul said.

Two shows he especially enjoyed doing with his kids were the American Royal and the Missouri State Fair, but he showed horses all over the country. He credits his wife, Shirley, with “hauling the kids to hundreds of horse shows.”

Back in the 1970s, he taught several Chiefs players how to rope cattle — even though they weren’t supposed to be doing any risky hobbies.

Even though he’s technically been retired for eight years, Paul just can’t stay away from horses completely. In addition to his own four horses, he looks after 19 more that board in his stable in Greenwood.

Last year, he even competed in one last roping competition before deciding to stop. Roping isn’t without danger. Looping the rope while riding a horse and trying to catch a calf is a lot to manage. Paul knows some good techniques, but he’s seen others lose fingers doing it wrong.

He often goes trail riding with two friends who are both in their 90s. Paul prefers to ride an old quarter horse “that won’t make a mistake at doing nothing,” he said. “They’re quiet and easygoing — don’t get excited about nothing. That’s the ones that are a pleasure to ride anymore.”

Paul said he still gets calls for his shoeing expertise, but he refers everyone to people still actively in the business.

Horses have always held a special place in his heart. He keeps numerous photos of his horses throughout the years.

“I don’t ever take horses to the sale barn. They’ve been good to me. I’m going to be good to them until they can’t make it no more,” he said.