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We Lost A Character!!!

N

Northern Rancher

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 10, 2005
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12,247
Location
saskatchewan
I just found out that the old stock contractor from Coronach -Hartley Erquarht passed away. Hartley was a great poet and a fun old guy. My little band of highschool roughies thought the world of him even though "I told those boys I'd buck all of them off at the finals" and he did. I have no idea exactly how old he was but I told the boys he remembered when Gabrial Dumont used to ride Jr. Steers lol.
 
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Here's 'watermelon wine' giving Tyler a grade one lesson-Hartley's favorite trick was telling the boys 'This one used to be a well broke saddle horse-better throat latch him'. Ty got along a bit better on Hartley's ponies at the finals last year he won a round of bareback on one of them.
 
Hartley was the same age as my Dad. He was half the population of Canopus Sk. He was our meat horse buyer for many years and supplied rodeo broncs . I sold him a couple Brangus bulls at one time. Every deal with Hartley was a learning experience. It's sad to see him go. :(
 
The phantom on our fine site has a good Hartley story he should share-I've got Hartley'
s poetry book here somewhere-I'd like to share his horsehair poem with everybody if I can find it.
 
Northern Rancher said:
The phantom on our fine site has a good Hartley story he should share-I've got Hartley'
s poetry book here somewhere-I'd like to share his horsehair poem with everybody if I can find it.
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We heard that "Horse hair poem the first time at Wood Mountain when we had our Aussie friend with us. I thought poor Thelma was going to faint.
 
We knew him too. Sad to hear that he is gone. He was a character worth knowing that was for sure.

My favorite poem of his was the milk cow one. I'd post it, but don't have a book.
 
There is a pencil sketch of Hartley done by Ash Cooper that is dead on. You have to have known Hartley in order to appreciate how good it is. Ash captured every wrinkle and crinkle that the old boy had. Nothing he liked better than to talk rodeo. If you mentioned #29 Jelly Beans to him he could go on for an hour straight. I'll miss the old boy.
 
It finally clicked in what Hartley story that Northern was talking about. I was 17 and spent easter in the Hospital with Hartley. I had head butted a bull and had my nose migrated all over my face.
I learned how to play cribbage and listened to some awful entertaining stories. He lived in Canopus and went on to tell me he had slept with half the women in town. I thought that was fairly impressive til I found out there was only two families in the whole damn town.
 
He reminded of the fellow in the song Faster Horses , Younger women, Older whiskey and more Money.

Some one asked me one time if I knew the price of meat horses. I told them I had just sold some to Hartley but I still wasn't sure if I knew what meat horses were worth. :shock: :D
 
I got thinking about Hartley today while doing chores. One time he was here he teasingly told my daughter that he wanted to buy her gray horse. Of course she refused but ever since then when ever they saw each other Hartley had to try to buy old Spook and Britt would refuse to sell. :-)
 
The other side of that coin is that every time he saw my wife, he's have the next Scamper that my wife should try out. (for those of you not connected to barrel racing addicts) Scamper is famous.
 
Every wrinkle had a story
Every story had a smile
One look at Hartley Urquhart
You knew he'd seen some miles

Dealing horses across the southland
With a twinkle in his eye
Flinging cowboys off at rodeos
Even those who had some try

When you climbed up on a Hartley horse
There always was a catch
"He used to be a well broke saddle horse"
"Make sure you boys throatlatch"

Well they weren't all well broke pomies
They sure enough could buck
But Hartley always helped the boys
When they were cursing their bad luck

I remember at Wood Mountain
Talking bout the kids
"I said I'd buck them all off at finals"
Sure enough he did

Well Hartley got called up by the man above
He won't see grass this spring
But deep down in all our hearts
we can be sure of this one thing

When our own steps grow heavy
And we walk our own last mile
Hartley will be waiting up there for us
Trading angel horses with a smile.
 
Northern Rancher said:
The 'old' boy wrote it-we haven't got that book started yet-I was going to ask Hartley to come up to the rodeo and do some poetry but guess I was a year late.
Click to expand...
Well then the old "boy" needs to add his work to the book too!!!!!
 

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