Montrose - Daily Press

Mike Robuck

MONTROSE - Wild horses couldn't drag Linda Wood off of Menoken Farms. Indeed, almost any horse that sets a hoof on her turf will soon be at her beck and call.

Wood has owned and operated Menoken Farms since she came to the Montrose in 1975, but her passion for horses dates back to when she was a little girl living in downtown Littleton.

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"I started riding when I was 10," she said last week as she sat at a table in her house on Menoken Farms, which is on west Jay Jay Road. "My family had horses until I was about 5-years-old, but then my older brothers and sisters kind of lost interest so my parents sold the horses. From that time on I was relentless. I was like, 'We gotta have a horse. We gotta have a horse.' I was non-stop."

When Wood was in fourth-grade she informed her father that she was going to be horse trainer.

"My dad said, 'Well, maybe you ought to get an education too,'" said Wood.

Before leaving for college she won the National Little Britches Rodeo World Championship in pole bending in 1970, and also qualified in barrel racing and roping.

She earned a degree in microbiology and medical technology at Colorado State University, before making her own way in the world

"I always wanted to live on the Western Slope so I got a job at Montrose Memorial Hospital," she said. "My sister and my brother-in-law at the time came over here and we all went skiing. We had a few beers up in Telluride and we decided we would buy a horse farm. We started training horses, and here we are"

Wood, 53, spent the first 10 or 12 years at Menoken Farms training race horses, and while she still trains some 2-year olds- she has a 5/8 mile training track with a six-horse starting gate on the 220 acres she shares with her mom, Helen Wood-Wood switched her focus to breeding horses six years ago.

While Wood is far from the bluegrass of Kentucky, she has made quite a name for herself as a breeder.

Last year she won a trifecta of awards; 16-year-old Coverallbases was named the Colorado Thoroughbred Breeders Association's 2004 Champion Stallion while Cocoa Latte was named the 3-year-old colt/gelding champion and Java Jolene was the 2-year-old filly of the year by same organization.

Wood said her farrier, Roy Garnier, calls Coverallbases "Mike Tyson," because of his demeanor. Wayne Goin, who is Wood's partner in life, said Coverallbases, who is 16.3 hands of black thoroughbred stallion, has actually improved with age.

"He's gotten a lot mellower," Goin said. "You can actually pet him on the side when you walk by now."

As impressive as Coverallbases is, Wood thinks Oliver's Twist will eventually wear the crown as the state's champion stallion.

"Coverallbases is out of a Secretariat mare and a Seattle Slew stallion by the name of Capote who was a champion in his own right," she said. "Coverallbases is Colorado's leading sire for horses that have run in Colorado or been sired in Colorado. Oliver's Twist has the most money but so far all of his horses are running on the East Coast because they were born in Florida. Oliver's Twist may be the leading sire someday (in Colorado) but right how his colts are just 2-year olds."

Wood owns Coverallbases and breeds Oliver's Twist. Oliver's Twist was second by a neck to Timber Country in the 1995 Preakness.

Montrose resident Bill Ernst first met Wood over in Denver when he was attending the University of Denver and Wood was still in high school.

"I trained race horse for about 14 years," he said. "(Bob) Baffert and (D. Wayne) Lucas are some of my oldest friends in the world. I've been around the very best in the business for years, and I don't what it is, but Linda can do pretty much anything with a horse.

"It's interesting to watch her around a horse. Linda is just one of those people that God gave a gift to where horses are concerned, and dogs, and cats and just about any other critter. She's exceptional around animals."

While Wood has been honored as a breeder in the past, she's never won awards like she did last year, and she's quick to share the credit.

"I've been in this business a lot of years and you don't get this lucky every year," she said. "But mostly it's because we have such a good team working here and good customers. We're not located in central Kentucky; we're located in Southwest Colorado. It's a pretty big accomplishment to compete with all of the people on the Eastern Slope."

Wood still works up to 30 hours a week at the hospital, although she cuts her hours back during the spring foaling season. In addition to Goin, she's surrounded by friends and employees such as Kristen Taylor, Lea Carpenter and Michelle Downey. The mutual admiration goes both ways during an interview around Wood's kitchen table.

"I've hauled some horses in for Linda that hadn't been handled for a while, that had been turned out to pasture," said Carpenter, who drives a horse trailer. "She can take just about any horse and do she anything she wants with it. She definitely has a natural knack for dealing with horses."

With 80 to 90 horses on hand during breeding season and foals being born "usually after 11 at night," Wood constantly has her hands full, but she gets by with help from her friends and employees, including foreman Jorge Garcia and farm hand Nick Bravo.

"We have lots and lots of long hours, but bless these guys," she said. "If I have a big problem Michelle will come help me, Kristen will help me, Lea will help and Wayne will help me. If we have a sick foal, or any other big problems, I have a whole group of people that I can count on for support. Sometimes you have sick foals and they can be sick for five or six days and be on IVs. With stuff like that you need backup.

"I've worked some long, long days, but it's a passion."

For Wood, Goin and their friends it's a passion for horses and life that comes full circle each spring.

Contact Mike Robuck via e-mail at miker@montrosepress.com

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