Alvin was barely 11 years old when his family moved onto a
ranch in Circleville, Utah. The family
moved there from Parowan to allow Alvin’s father Jorgen Peder Jensen to assume
the role of Bishop to a congregation of members of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. Leasing some land
from Mr. Ambrose Thompson, Jorgen took on 500 acres of farmland. Alvin resumed his duties on a farm caring for
animals and milking the cows. Alvin’s
older brother John had been hired by Mr. Ambrose to work with his horses. As Alvin got older and stronger, he began to
work with his brother John. Alvin showed
such prowess with horses that Mr. Thompson hired him to also work with his
horses.
Ambrose, or ‘Brose’ Thompson knew horses well and wanted to have
the fastest horses in the valley. He had
John and Alvin train a set of ‘Sulky[1]’
horses differently than the norm:
Instead of training the horses to stop when pulling back on the reins,
they were to increase their speed. To
stop them, one should let up on the reins, which normally caused horses to
accelerate. These differences, among
others, allowed these horses to only respond properly to Alvin and John, and
somehow made a difference in their racing techniques.
Although John and Alvin were only teenagers, using these
techniques and spending hours working with this particular team of horses,
these young men won several races in the first Iron County Fair. The horses won Mr. Thompson first prize and
top money in the white-top buggy team races, top money in the buckboard races,
and they also won all the Sulky races, both for the trotters and the pacers. Alvin remembered, “John and I were the
drivers, and needless to say, this brought us a slight increase in wages. You should have seen the monkey suits we
wore—bright shirts, tight britches, purple neckerchiefs and goggles! We were really dudified!!”
Hard work, determination and different training techniques
had made winners out of these horses.
But the story doesn’t end here; it also caused problems. Once when Alvin’s father needed to pick up a
gentleman, he mistakenly took one of the Sulky horses. Somehow he managed to get where he needed to
go, but when he tried to stop by pulling back on the reins, the horse took off
in a gallop. He rode around in circles
in the Kingston town square several times unable to get the horse to stop. Finally in exasperation, he let up on the
reins and the horse stopped.
Another time John and Alvin had hitched up the Sulky’s to a
wagon and were working in a field. When
their dad came to call them into dinner, the boys asked him to take the wagon
and horses into the barn for them. As
Jorgen climbed up into the wagon, he tried to warm himself in the chill by
jumping up and down and beating his arms about him. This was a signal to the horses to run, which
they did. Alvin laughed, “Poor father
was somersaulted to the back of the wagon and John and I had to walk all the
way back to the barn.” More than once,
Jorgan said to his sons, “You crazy kids—how can you train them like this? No one else knows how to handle them.”
Their unusual training and speed came in handy when church
leader and Prophet Lorenzo Snow died in October 1901. Church leaders and dignitaries were called
back to Salt Lake City to participate in his funeral. Needing a fast ride to Marysville, three
gentlemen (Apostle Frances M. Lyman, Professor Howard Driggs and Professor
Ward) were brought to the Jensen home looking for conveyance. Church leader Mahonri Steele had brought them
to the Jensen home knowing that Alvin, although young, could bring them to
Marysville in time to catch their train.
Alvin was at a dance when he got word of the situation. Stopping at the Thompson farm to retrieve the
Sulky horses delayed young Alvin in getting home, making the gentlemen worry even more about missing their train. Alvin
hitched up a good buggy and settled in his passengers, who all seemed a bit
skeptical about this young man’s ability to get them there on time. Alvin vowed to get them there EARLY. After all, this was the team that took all
honors at the county fair! Alvin rode
the horses hard, delivering the passengers a full 50 minutes early to the train
station. Driving that fast caused one
seat spring to break and the passengers to have to hold on tightly to their
seats. Professor Driggs, who sat in the
front with Alvin, said it was the best ride he ever had.
Training these horses using different techniques gave Alvin
and John the edge to win many races in the county fair, but also gave them
unintended challenges. Fortunately, with
good humor and hindsight, one can laugh about the challenges.
Source: Jensen, Alvin
Moroni. “My Life Story.” 1974 pp. 4-7. Found at http://johnsonfamilyhistorystories.blogspot.com/2013/08/alvin-moroni-jensen.html
[1] A
Sulky is a two wheeled cart pulled by horses like a chariot. Alvin called these specially trained horses ‘Sulky’s.’
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