Boyd Rice’s Turnback Horse ‘Paint’ Dies After Accident, Rice OK

Deltas Color, a 13-year-old Paint gelding that helped Boyd Rice get his start as a cow horse competitor, and who helped many cutting horse riders earn large limited-age checks, died suddenly on Monday following an accident while traveling home from a cutting in Abilene, Texas, with Rice and several cutting show horses.

Rice and the show horses traveling with him apparently avoided serious injury as the trainer lost control of his rig on a slick roadway, but “Paint” died at the scene.

“Paint,” (Color Me Smart [PT] x Delta Flyers Bueno [PT] x Delta Flyer [PT]), earned a combined $57,797 during his own dual careers as a cow horse competitor and cutter. He then became much better known among many cutters as Rice’s go-to turnback performer.

No slouch in the cutting pen himself with $21,146 in career cutting earnings, “Paint,” bred by Butler Bobby/Ladyhawk Deb, Santa Rosa, Calif., helped many cutting horses and riders earn really big checks. Rice described his longtime partner as “an ideal turnback horse” and an invaluable part of his program during an interview last year.

“It’s an important deal when I’m helping someone,” Rice said. “I might be in the wrong place, but I don’t want it to be because of my horse.” That was seldom the case when he helped someone while aboard “Paint.”

Deltas Color was also the first horse that Rice ever competed with at the reined cow horse world’s premier event, the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity. They competed in Reno, Nev., during early fall of 2002, when “Paint” was a 3-year-old. They also competed quite well. They placed sixth overall in the Open division to earn $25,875 and picked up and extra $6,759 by taking third in the Limited Open that year.

Rice and the same horse had won a 3-year-old cutting title a few weeks before that, taking top honors at the Oklahoma Early Bird Futurity event. That same summer, they also placed fourth to earn $3,200 in the Futurity Open at the West Texas Cutting Futurity.

“Paint” ended up earning nearly $40,000 as a cutter and cow horse during his first season.

While he’d only add about $18,000 more, his prowess as a turnback helper played roles in many other horses securing huge checks. "Paint" and Rice also helped One Time Royalty and Lloyd Cox set a new NCHA Futurity record as the 2007 stallion (One Time Pepto x Royal Serena Belle x Shorty Lena) won the 2010 event with a 230-point finals run to earn $250,000. He also carried Boyd’s son, Tarin Rice, now also a trainer, to a tie for second in the youth division at the 2006 Snaffle Bit Futurity in Reno.

Boyd Rice bought “Paint” at a sale in February of 2002, recognizing him as a winner.

“I had kind of been hunting for something that I could take up there [to the Snaffle Bit Futurity] and show,” Rice said. When he saw the 15-1 gelding, he thought, ‘That might be the one.’ “He really fit the bill,” Rice said.

“Paint” will be buried near other great horses at 6666 Ranch in Guthrie, Texas.