A tribute to George E. Rose by his friend, Tom Medeiros
George was raised in the Union District. At that time, a lot of work was still done with horses. Before breakfast and school, his chores consisted of feeding, watering and cleaning the stalls of the horses.
Like other ranch boys of that day, when George had playing time, much of it, no doubt, was spent riding and fooling around with the horses and other stock. With this background, he became a horseman with extraordinary skill in the breaking and showing of reined stockhorses.
The San Benito County Saddle Horse Show and Rodeo started in 1929. Like many of the other young people of that time, George started to take part. One of the first effects of this was that he and other participants observed fine working reined stockhorses. It started George on the road to becoming one of the best horse-breakers and showmen in the area.
After completing the first show at Bolado Park, George took part in all the following shows up to 1987 (58 years). Failing health was to blame for his withdrawal from competition.
George was well-known all over the horse world. He won many classes here. He additionally won at such shows as Salinas, the Cow Palace, Elko and many others like King City, Gilroy, Watsonville etc. Riding “Chiquita,” he also won the Bridle Horse of the Year award from the California Reined Horse Association.
Another “kudo” for George was that he trained kids along with their mounts in the art of horsemanship. Some of the contestants that you see here were beneficiaries of his training.
Finally, what has been said here about George fits in well with the stated purpose of the San Benito County Saddle Horse Show, which is to “improve the breeding and training of the stockhorses of the county.”
