|
|
|
|
Here is an article about Sam from the Billings Gazette, along with a picture:
PEGGY O'NEILL/For The Gazette
Sam Morton, horse dentist, horse trainer and author of "Where the Rivers
Run North," lives near Big Horn, Wyo., with his horse Beijing.
Horse aficionado draws fans to book fictionalizing history
SHERIDAN - Sam Morton settles in at a table at The Palace Restaurant downtown
and begins telling a story about a horse he bought on the same day as the
Tiananmen Square massacre.He named the horse Beijing because of the historical significance of the event and because his brother happened also to be in Beijing that day. It's a story that pours out, unsolicited, in response to the question: "So, how did you end up in Sheridan?" An hour later, Morton finishes the story and then takes the last bites from a plate of eggs and hashbrowns that have surely grown cold and gelatinous. Horse stories The narrative of Morton's life, which began 50 years ago in North Carolina, is full of dumb luck, Forrest Gump moments, being in the right place at the right time, chance encounters and friends in high places. It's also full of stories about horses, a subject about which he has written a nearly 600-page historical novel called "Where the Rivers Run North." The book was released in July, and, as Morton proudly points out, has sold more copies at local book shop Sheridan Stationery than "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." (A call to the store verified that up to that particular day, Morton's book had sold 519 copies and Harry Potter 297.) Underwritten by Skey Johnston, owner of The Flying H Polo Club near Sheridan and former CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, "Where the Rivers Run North" covers 100 years of horse history in an area that Morton calls Absaraka, which roughly includes a 30,000-square-mile area between Billings, Miles City and Kaycee, Wyo. "This is hallowed ground," Morton said. "I wanted to get people excited about the history of this place." Johnston shares Morton's passion for horses and the history of the Absaraka area. He was also instrumental in forming the recently inaugurated North American Polo League. Years of research The book took seven years to complete. Morton visited with families whose roots stretch back generations to some of the original horse breeders in the area, including names such as Gallatin, Wallop and Tate. He cobbled together oral histories, historical texts, old correspondence - and a little imagination. In the foreword to the book, Sonny Reisch, curator of the Fort Phil Kearny in Banner, writes, "Sam did massive research for this project, but he did not let the forest of facts block out the fun and legends that are the spirit of the people, animals and the land itself. There is much to be learned in this book, but read it for the enjoyment as well as education." At least 1,500 readers have taken that advice and purchased a copy of "Where the Rivers Run North." Tooth floater by trade Despite the novel and articles he's had published in horse magazines, Morton doesn't like to consider himself a "writer." "It makes me happy to write, but it's hard to call yourself a writer," he said. "It sounds pretentious. When someone asks what I do for a living, I say I'm a tooth floater." "Tooth floater" is another term for a horse dentist, a trade he practices during the winters in Florida. Morton has also been a dude ranch wrangler, a polo club manager and a horse trainer. "I've had the opportunity to ride some of the best horses in the world," he said. Which brings us back to Beijing. Morton trained the horse to rope, play polo and jump. "I could stick-and-ball him with no bridle," Morton said. He also sometimes jumped Beijing without a bridle. One day, Beijing and Morton caught the eye of a wealthy woman with young children. She offered Morton $30,000 for the horse. "It was my job to get a horse and make him better," Morton said. "So I sold him." Morton used the money to buy some property near Big Horn, outside of Sheridan. Several years later, the same woman called Morton and told him that she planned to sell Beijing and wanted to give Morton first dibs. "I told her I didn't have that kind of money to buy him back, and she said, 'No, I want to give him to you,' " Morton said. "Now, he's living on the land he paid for." Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
|
