Western Horseman article on John Sharp
It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of John Sharp at his home in Prineville Oregon this February 2009. This picture was taken when Frank Bell and I visited John in 2005. It was a real privilege to finally meet John after years of reading about his horsemanship feats and further to learn that the majority of his adult life was spent near my childhood home in the high desert country of Oregon. Frank’s words say it best in that “I’ve lost a great friend but will retain wonderful memories forever”.
John Sharp is a somewhat unsung Oregon cowboy who is finally getting the recognition he deserves at age 92. John is featured in the December issue of Western Horseman beginning on page 100 and the article is a tribute to his contributions to the horse training world. He first perfected a technique back in 1936 of training wild mustang horses that never had human contact with the use of a 12 foot bamboo pole and this method is proving useful in other instances as well. His grand daughter is now carrying on the tradition taught to her by John and she has produced an excellent video in her own right. The article attributes John first gaining international recognition after he attended a clinic put on by Frank Bell in 1997 after which the two linked up to participate in several Wild Horse Work Shops. Frank then produced his own video with John using the pole technique and Frank has now passed on that information to his accredited instructors like myself. I participated in one of Franks clinics in Oregon at the grand opening of another of his AI’s in 2005 and then he and I visited John at his Prineville ranch where the above picture was taken. What a pleasure it was to learn from and listen to the stories of a true no frills but honest to goodness real life cowboy trainer.
