W. A. "Wink" Chappell

On May 17, 1994, William A. Chappell, one of the last horsemen from the era of Early California tradition passed away at the age of 84, just hours before his 85th birthday--May 18. Bill Chappell, my step father, known to many by "Wink," was born into a family of superior horsemen. Both his father and grandfather were horse trainers noted for their well-trained horses. Bill mastered the understanding of the relationship between man and horse which resulted in a superbly trained horse in the tradition and methods of the vaquero.

He was raised on Roland Hill's Quarter Circle H Ranch (also called the "Bear Mountain Ranch") just west of Tehachapi, California, where cattle and Morgan horses were raised. Bill was on the backs of horses before he could walk. He was taught to train horses from a very young age. His father would sit him up on top of a post at the breaking corrals and let him watch the process. He sat there, ate his lunch, drank water and concentrated on the action. When he got older, he knew what to do. He was 13 years old when he officially started learning the business of training horses which became not only his life's work, but also his love of life. Between the ages of 13 and 16, he was given range-raised horses to ride and train. Many of these horses were 8, 9, and 10 year-olds who had been roped and branded as 2-year-olds, turned back on the range, and never caught again until they were aged. These "bucking broncos" taught him to ride anything and everything. This was the way in which prospective trainers were started to "get the hot-rod out of their system." If the youngsters of the day survived this and still wanted to learn the fine art of horsemanship, they were considered to be worth further training. After this initiation, Bill was taught the secrets of the vaqueros by some of the finest horsemen of that era. He spent 10 years learning from such great vaqueros as Pablo Apodaca, Joe Blanco, Emiliano Cordova, Rafael Quen, Garcia, Jesus Lopez, Frank and Pablo Martinez, Frank Olivera, Ortega, Catarino Reese, Juan Reyes, Tony Aroujo, Venezuela, and Valdez. Bill rode with other young men of and near his own generation who were also learning the fine art of the vaqueros' Early California traditional horsemanship. Among this upcoming generation of horsemen were Arnold Rojas, Charley Hitchcock, Abby Hunt (now famous for making fine, balanced half breed and spade bits in his later years), Billy Rose, Red Vega and, of course, Bill Chappell. Bill gave me two Abby Hunt bits that were made for him by Abby. They are wonderful working bits and my prize possessions.