November/December 2006

As the son of a career Air Force flight engineer, Jon Barry has lived all over the world. Carl Barry instilled many of his military values in his two sons, Jeff and Jon.  “Dad was a Senior Master Sergeant and the kindest, most easy going guy in the world, and big on discipline. The Air Force was good to us. I saw a lot of places and that was a valuable education,” says Jon Barry. Evelyn Barry’s parents had a farm and the boys spent summers there. “I always had a passion for horses and my grandparents had a pony for us to ride. I guess that was my earliest exposure to horses.”

Jon’s affinity for horses didn’t subside and at the tender age of 15 he went to work for a trainer named Jerry Vohsen in St. Charles, Missouri. Jerry hauled honor roll horses and Jon was with him for four years while he finished high school. Around the show scene, Jon met and made friends with Jody Galyean. Together they decided to go out on their own and ran their own training business for about a year.

“I met Jody and we hung out together and have the same kind of personality. It was Jody’s idea to work together and we went to Nixa, Missouri. A guy was going to build us a barn and when that didn’t materialize, I moved to where I’m at now in Advance, Missouri for a training job. Kathy, who I was dating at the time, lived here, too.”

Jon and Kathy met at a horse show and there was an immediate connection. Kathy showed hunt seat pleasure and, like Jon, was a horse-obsessed kid. The couple married in 1977 and ran their training business together for almost a decade until their daughter, Marty Kay, was born. Kathy cut back on showing to care for Marty Kay who is named for both her maternal and paternal grandmothers. “The show years were good years, but they were challenging. We were together 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Back when we were first married, we didn’t argue about what we were going watch on TV, there was only one channel!” laughs Kathy.

Marty Kay is twenty now and attends Northeastern Oklahoma A&M on a full rodeo scholarship. She has inherited her parent’s love of horses and more than a bit of their talent, too. Kathy calls her, ‘Little Jon.’ “Mom says I’m the spitting image of him, especially in a hat,” laughs Marty Kay. “Marty Kay has always been an easy kid and was exposed to other horse trainers. She wants to learn like a sponge and she has spent time with Pete Kyle and the Galyeans,” says Kathy.

“My dad is supportive of everything I do. I used to show pleasure and crossed over to the rodeo stuff and we have a lot of fun doing the barrel horses together. It’s been hard to get used to and Dad helps me in how I can ride better and apply the pleasure aspects to the barrels.”

Marty Kay’s earliest childhood memories take place in the family’s barn. “I can remember when I was little and I would be in a car seat and Dad’s dog would be on one side and Mom’s dog would be on the other.” She would sit on the fence and ask if the horse Jon was riding was a nice or mean horse.  If he said it was nice, she would climb on behind him and hold onto his belt loops. “That was when I was two or three and we would ride like that all day – mostly on the seasoned horses.”  When she was old enough, Jon and Kathy would turn her loose in the arena on her pony. That progressed to walking out hot horses. “I’d swing my legs at the walk and cool out the reiners.” Having a kid around helped with desensitizing the new prospects. “His horses were dead broke after I ran my little red wagon all around the barn,” she laughs.

“Dad can get on any horse and make it look easy and I work every day just to ride like him. I guess it is because it’s natural for him and when he gets on a new colt his seat will never move. He’s got a gorgeous leg swing that makes a pleasure horse look more ‘rocking chair’-like. I’d give anything to ride like him,” says Marty Kay.

Having a renowned horseman for a dad has been a unique experience for her. She first realized Jon was a big name in the horse industry when she was very young. “When I was little and going to the shows, he was always talking to people and we couldn’t walk five steps without someone stopping him. In one of my college classes, we were introducing ourselves and one girl knew right away who my dad was and that hit me pretty hard.”

Marty Kay is proud of Jon both as a trainer and a father.  “It’s always been an easy relationship and our daily conversations are school, life and then ‘let’s talk about your horses’. The last time I showed at Congress, they were on the last call and you had to drop your bit and everything and he was right there loping my horse for me. He is always there to help, preparing the horse to the last minute.”

Who is Jon Barry when he’s not on a horse? “He is a clean freak, you could eat from our barn floor,” laughs Marty Kay. “Jon has always been a perfectionist and anyone who knows him knows he is particular about his equipment and horses. He got that from his mom and dad I think – who were both very neat. I struggle with that standard,” jokes Kathy. Both the Barry women praise Jon for his flair for design. “He’s got a good eye for details and is very handy and creative. He decorated our whole house and he enjoys that kind of stuff,” says Marty Kay. From a family bar he covered in cowhide and matching coasters to his truck detailing, Jon has an artistic ability. He’s also not a person who sits around after a hard day of work. “He’s always cleaning, mowing, or working in the barn.”

The Barry’s are a close family and Marty Kay comes home about once a month. “All three of us have similar personalities.  We think the same things are cool and like to be different.  We’re kind of trendsetters. My dad is traditional and he’ll put on a solid pad and shirt with a plain dark fringe saddle. We like the cowboy kind of stuff,” she says. Marty Kay describes her dad as very strict, but kind. “I wouldn’t take my truck and trailer home if they are dirty, and if I’m late, I’d better have a good excuse. My dad lives by example and he wouldn’t ask you to do anything he wouldn’t do. We’re always joking and having fun.” Because of her classes and rodeos, Marty Kay can’t be there for every show, but she usually makes it to the big ones to support her dad.

Jon is equally enamored of his daughter. “She has a 4.0 grade point average and we are very proud – she’s a model child.”   In the summers Marty Kay helps out on the farm. “She probably can train a colt pretty good,” says Jon. She’s been Top Ten at Congress in the youth pleasure or barrels all through her youth as well as the cutting. She had a cutter with Jody and Gil and she likes those events.”

Kathy works for the Bank of Advance and has cut back on showing. She looks after the horses and farm when Jon is away and still enjoys going to the shows when she’s not at a rodeo helping Marty Kay.

About three years ago, Jon decided to scale back the amount of training horses he took in. He sold his large indoor arena and now works out of a fourteen stall barn. He does all the riding himself and has a groom to help saddle and do routine care.  “It was just the time to slow down. I had gone almost 20 years with 35 head or more and I do like this better,” he says.

Jon Barry is at the top of the horse industry and he has been for a long time. “I never had a lot of early success. I was just steady and I stayed that way for years.” There’s no big secret to his success. “Horse training is just hard work. You cannot do a thing without great horses and great customers. I was very fortunate and have been very lucky at buying and picking world champions.” Jon focuses on pleasure now and occasionally will show a reiner. “I like to win and the pleasure is what I want to do and what I’m best at.”

Jon has shown several breeds and finds all the top-level horses are the same. His main shows are the AQHA events and large breed events like the Appaloosa and Paint World. “I guess the biggest shows are the best,” he says.

Over the years, Jon has made many friends in the horse world. He remains close to the Galyean’s. “Gil and I are partners on a lot of horses and close friends, but I have many good friends.”

“I’ve known Jon for 25 years. We’ve been friends for so long because we have a mutual respect. I respect Jon for his ethics in the horse industry. In his business deals things are the way he says they are and he’s always honest about his horses,” says Gil Galyean. For fifteen years, Jon and Gil have had various horse partnerships.

What makes Jon so competitive is his “work ethic and his dedication,” says Gil. “He is good at it all and extremely good on an older horse. Our whole lives are horses and thinking about being out there and involved in the competition itself, mentally keeps you on top of the game. “

When they can, the two friends try to stall together. Jon and Gil catch up at shows at dinner and Gil describes Jon as an ‘entertaining person.’ “I would say Jon is one of my closer friends,” he adds.

Jon’s clients also hold him in high esteem. Dr. Ray Murphy, one of Jon’s customers, took up riding two years ago at the age of 68. A health scare was the catalyst that started him riding. Tests revealed he had blockages in three major vessels to his heart. After a triple bypass, he decided to try all the things he’d never gotten a chance to do.

Ray had been trail riding before and had been involved with showing horses through his children. “I said, hell, if they can do it, then so can I!” laughs Ray. His daughter, Molly Murphy, won the Youth World in Western Pleasure in 1981, and his son, Mike Murphy, won the horsemanship in 1978. This year, the next generation of Murphy’s will show at the Congress.  Molly Hibbits, age 6, and Brock Murphy, age 7, will be in the walktrot. Nick Murphy, who is 14, will show in the reining and three year-old Maddy Murphy does the lead line.

“I’ve known Jon since the 60’s. He has always been a good guy and someone we felt like we could trust. So, we gave him a couple of open horses,” says Dr. Murphy. The families stayed friends and when Ray decided to get back into horses after a hiatus, John bought him the horse Chocolate For Sure.

“Jon is tough and he expects you to work; and for someone who didn’t ride like me it was hard. He doesn’t mind hollering at you!” laughs Murphy, who had to start with the basics. The lessons paid off and the pair won the Congress in 2005 in Novice Amateur Western Pleasure and followed that up with a win this year in the Select Amateur World in Snaffle Bit Pleasure.

Jon is looking for a new futurity horse for Ray, who wants to try a new challenge. So far, showing has exceeded his expectations and his trainer has been a large part of that. “You get your money’s worth with Jon. I couldn’t have had a better year,” says. Murphy. Dr. Murphy is a working radiologist at 70 years-old. “When you have horses, you can’t retire,” he laughs.

“Dr. Murphy has been great this year. Both Jody and I have helped him over the years. He came to me after his triple bypass and we bought him ‘Chocolate for Sure’ from Andy Cochran.” Jon acknowledges that Dr. Murphy is not your typical 70 year-old. “He is very much into sports and reminds me of Wayne Hunt – another great client of mine.” They have the six year-old gelding for sale, but if he doesn’t sell at the Congress, Dr. Murphy will keep on showing him.

Jon’s dad is now a part of the Barry’s training operation.  “My father, who is 82, feeds for me, mows, and lives on the farm. Dad likes the horses and never did much with them before and it gives him a reason to keep going. We live in a new house two miles from the facility.” Jon is on his first horse by 8 o’clock and rides all day.  Most of his prospects are futurity horses.

After 25 years, Jon wanted to run some Longhorn cattle so they live in the back yard of his new house. “It’s a pretty place.  The cattle are not a business; but they pay the taxes. We have six mamas and a Longhorn bull. We bring the calves in and sell them.” Jon likes the look of the Longhorns and the fact that they are fairly self-sufficient. In the evenings, the Barry’s watch them off the big deck behind their home.

Another interest Jon has always had is restoring old cars.  He keeps one around to tinker with and has had everything from a pickup truck to a 70s muscle car. “I do the mechanical stuff and like to trade them around. There’s not much time for anything else with the horses.”

When did Jon first feel like he had made it as a horse trainer? His World win in 1991 in Junior Western Pleasure on  ‘Zippo By Moonlight’ was a sweet moment.  He says, “I think that, for the majority of people who show horses, that would be considered the Super Bowl. That was a great horse and went on to be Reserve the next year and won the Congress. He was inducted into the NSBA Hall of Fame.”

2000 was the first year riders were added to the NSBA Hall of Fame and Jon was one of them. He is one of the elite few who have earned over $250,000 in winnings. Jon has won over $330,000 in NSBA prize money. He is a former NSBA President and was involved in the organization in its formative years. Jon is an AQHA judge and judged the 2006 Congress. Giving back to the industry is important to him, so judging was a logical step. “Judging means long, mentally stressful days, but it’s an honor to be chosen by your peers to judge an event like the Congress.”

“Dr. Murphy winning at the Select this year probably means as much as any win as I have had. I get as much satisfaction in helping him and being a part of the process as riding myself. His wife was there with him and it was very emotional as his kids watched it on the internet.” Jon gets nervous for his riders, even with all the work he puts into getting them to the show pen. “I hope the horse does his job, but very seldom is there the perfect ride.”

Kathy credits Jon for his dedication to his craft. “To this day, he spends a lot of hours in the barn. Dinner is at 8:30. He is a workaholic. That’s the way the horse business is, the animals are always there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Everybody understands that it’s the nature of the beast and the business requires that they come first.” Kathy does her part and helps with emergencies and feedings when Jon is away.  “We scaled back so he can concentrate and do the horses himself. He has always been able to look at a horse and figure how develop it.”

The Barry’s accept and embrace the trainer lifestyle. “We both came from tight knit families and Marty has been an easy kid to raise. She helps when she can and is especially useful because she can stay a step ahead of Jon, since she knows him so well.”

“Jon also gives his horses down time in the pasture to just be a horse. That just helps their minds,” adds Kathy. Jon’s attention to order and cleanliness is something he practices in all facets of his life. Kathy says, “He is like that everywhere– everything is clean and picked up. If you get in his truck, you’d better knock the dirt off your feet.”

In addition to helping Jon and Marty Kay, Kathy works for the Bank of Advance in bookkeeping and secrecy. She enjoys banking, but misses the horses when the weather is pretty.  She makes it to as many shows and rodeos as she can. “His (Jon’s) showing still makes me nervous,” she says.

“We’ve been fortunate to have great customers and horses.  That speaks to Jon’s ability with people and to his honesty. He enjoys teaching and we talk about what the different horses are doing. He gets as nervous and as proud for someone like Dr. Murphy to win as he does for himself.”

Dr. Murphy can attest to that. “We were coming into the Select Pleasure and Jon was nervous as hell and pacing. He had to leave the arena because he couldn’t hear the scores.  When we won, he was really thrilled for us. He really likes my horse, maybe more than me, and that’s okay,” he laughs.

The hours spent training horses are hard, but like any great business you have to put a lot of effort into it and sacrifice, says Jon. For Barry, the payoff was worth it. “I get to do something I love and ride a horse every day. How much better can life get than that? I’m fortunate enough to stay competitive and have customers that support me. I try to stay current.  Everyone has peak years where you win everything and other years you stay in the hunt. That’s what keeps you in the business. I stay focused and don’t get too carried away with trends.”

The Barry’s are settling comfortably into this new chapter in their lives. “We have all the seasons here in Missouri and we are enjoying our new home and cattle,” says Kathy.

Jon would like his epitaph to say, “He was a good horseman. He could recognize and appreciate a good horse and treat it like one.” After all his years as a professional trainer, he still has a passion for his work. “Some of it gets to be old hat, but as long as I feel I’m teaching the horse I’m happy.” Jon strives to improve along with the horse business. “The trainers and horses are getting better and better. So is the industry as a whole.” Staying steady has worked well for Jon Barry so far, and that’s the way he’d like to keep it.

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