Services & Businesses
Wayne Boyd:
One of the largest ranch-based horse sales in America this past year was held in Redmond, Ore. And the task of managing the sale is in the hands of a Princeton business, West Kentucky Horse Sales, owned and operated by Wayne Boyd and his family — wife Diane, son Bradley (with his wife, Rachel) and daughter Alaina.
Wayne, who also owns West Kentucky Real Estate and Auction, has been conducting horse sales for 35 years, and his firm has risen in reputation to become one of the nation's top five quarter horse auction management companies.
The traditions, Boyd says, are deep-rooted. "We grew up with horses and raising horses from the get-go," he said.
Boyd was barely a teenager when he bought his first farm, at about the same time when his career as a horseman began. Now, he and his family travel regularly, handling production, dispersal and consignment sales for horse owners across the country.
"We leave most every Friday," he said, "sometimes Thursday nights, and we get back here about daylight Monday. We spend a lot of truck time." If the sale is in the eastern half of the U.S., the Boyds will load up and make the drive.
The Oregon sale, though, they flew themselves and their crew (about a dozen altogether) and shipped their equipment separately.
They arrived a week in advance to set up the facility for the auction, which Boyd described as "something between a concert and a circus. "A good auction is great entertainment. We try to make all ours entertaining and fun."
After more than three decades in the horse industry, Boyd continues to tout its merits. "The quarter horse business is probably one of the best family-oriented hobbies that you can have," he said.
And the industry's presence in Caldwell County continues to grow, he noted. The county regularly fields national show champions and rodeo finalists, and four new horse farms
have located here in the last three years. Being a horseman has helped Boyd sell those
properties to others in the industry. And those farms, combined with those that have
been here for decades, are drawing tourist interest to the community, he said.
"By having the farms here within 5 miles of each other, it gives people an opportunity to come see several nice horses in one area without having to drive very far," he said.
"And the variety is different — roping, reining, cutting, barrel racing — they're not just one kind here. That brings a large group of people to Caldwell County to visit."
NOTE: Wayne Boyd has been a KEEP Team Leader in Caldwell County since the inception in 2004.