American Paint Horse Association mourns
death of legendary horseman Walter Merrick

FORT WORTH, TEXAS— The American Paint Horse Association mourns the death of legendary horseman Walter Merrick, formerly of Sayre, Okla., who died on Friday, Feb. 3, at the age of 94.

Merrick was born on Oct. 5, 1911, in Wheeler County, Texas, grew up the youngest of five children. He had two brothers and two sisters.

An equine breeder of more than 60 years, Merrick spent his time producing horses for varying abilities through his breeding program. He was associated with many great foundation Paint Horse mares and stallions through the years. The most notable to the Paint racing world, though, was Easy Jet Too.

The 1981 bay tobiano stallion, who was sired by Easy Jet AQHA and out of Indian Music, earned more than $35,000 on the track and had 11 wins in 17 starts as a 2- and 3-year-old. His progeny, which include about 250 starters, have earned more than $1.5 million. In addition, Easy Jet Too sired five APHA World Champions.

“Walter Merrick was truly an icon to the racing industry and to the American Paint Horse breed,” said Karen Utecht, APHA director of racing. “He has been an integral part of developing our breed and the racing program through the years. He will always be remembered.”

Virdin Royse of El Reno, Okla., who is also well-known in the Paint racing industry and long-time friend and partner with Merrick, actually partnered on Easy Jet Too for a couple of years with Merrick. He spoke highly of Merrick and his contribution to the equine industry.

“He was a great ol’ cowboy,” Royse said. “I think so much of him. I really respected and admired him for what he knew. I truly learned a lot and bought a lot or horses with race blood from him through the years.”

Royse wasn’t the only one to notice Merrick’s talents or to respect him as a person. He touched a lot of lives during his life. In fact, less than a year ago, he was awarded APHA’s Distinguished Service Award for Racing—the Paul Harber Award.

On June 2, APHA caught up with Merrick in Sayre and captured some video when he received the Paul Harber Award. He also discussed his involvement with APHA and the Paint Horse breed. To hear what he had to share and read about the award, hit the play button below.

Merrick’s wife, Tien, died in December 2005. He was also preceeded in death by a son and grandson. He is survived by two daughters, one son, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law, 15 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren and four great great grandchildren.

More about APHA
Currently, American Paint Horses are being registered at APHA’s Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters at a rate of more than 40,000 horses each year. APHA has registered more than 845,000 horses in 49 nations and territories since it was founded 43 years ago, and now serves more than 100,000 active members around the world.

Among its many activities, APHA works to preserve bloodlines and maintain the outstanding characteristics of the American Paint Horse breed. For more information about APHA, contact the association at (817) 834-2742, or visit apha.com.