Rodney's gone :(

[BAC]

@sixteenhands

@nutmeg- Same memories except I was lucky enough to watch Idle Dice in real life many times. Norman was in the group you mentioned and always smiling.

I saw him many time on Idle Dice but long before that too when he was riding lots of hunters as well. What a great loss, he was one in a million.

[Bluey]

@Maythehorsebewithme

Was at the Garden way back then. Sitting behind the ingate. He came down a diagonal toward the ingate, directly toward me, with his eyes glowing like lasers. The degree of concentration/focus was astonishing.

Me too, watched him warm Idle Dice up for the jump-off he won, of course, in the dark hallways.
Such a smooth pair, not a hair out of place on either while jumping an incredible set of hair turns twisting in the air for the next one.
He was a true horseman, on the ground, he had such a soft hand with horses, they melted under his touch.
Sad that he is not here any more.

[chestnutmarebeware]

What a loss to the sport!

I had a poster of him on Idle Dice hanging in my bedroom as a kid. Kick on, Rodney…

[Laurierace]

I had the pleasure of getting to know Rodney a little bit when I was stabled at Laurel. Such a wonderful horseman. Godspeed

[gradytb]

So sad—what an icon. Remember watching him at the Chagrin Valley PHA in the 1970s and the Cleveland Grand Prix. What great times.

[libgrrl]

I also had the Rodney and Idle Dice poster on my wall. I was in Southern California, and only had the opportunity to watch him ride once. There was a big invitational in Ramona, and Ike and Rodney were there, as well as Conrad and Balbuco, and so many others (I kept the program with the start list in it for the longest time.) Rodney didn’t win with Ike that day, but he did with Number One Spy. I was just a kid, but I was on cloud nine just seeing these horses and riders I had read about for years. I’m so glad I was there.

[Tackpud]

Growing up in Northern Virginia I often had the chance to watch him. Yes - I consider myself privileged for that honor. The horse world is a lesser place without him.

[Zonderpaard]

What an amazing horseman. Vale.

[gradytb]

“George droning”

[MHM]

Terribly sad loss.

I was a bit sorry when he retired from showing and went to work with the race horses, just because I’d always enjoyed watching him ride and show so much.

But somebody on Facebook did the math about how many jumps Rodney had jumped just in the show ring over the course of his life, and that made it more understandable. I forget the exact number, but it was in the millions. And that did not include any of the jumps at home or in the schooling ring or in the hunt field.

Show ring great Rodney Jenkins has passed away - Nancy Jaffer - Equestrian...

[MHM]

I had forgotten how young he was when he retired from the show ring.

https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/rodney-jenkins-dies-at-80/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2CuHEbAyW_eIO22XKwQkrCqNgEj6-8lc-NNnqjLL9gtHpj3sYckc1aJNs_aem_vOIpRNnh-SUuqqPRTN3FQA

[NaturallyHappy]

@Elliot12

Tried to learn key points from his tape selecting hunters & jumpers.

I still have this tape and still watch it, I also have The Three Masters. He was truly a genius.

[CuriosoJorge]

My sincere condolences to Unjin and his children.

[OverandOnward]

Rodney Jenkins had a huge profile in the sport that it even penetrated to the backwoods where I grew up, far from the big national shows.

I probably found out about show jumping from articles about Rodney in magazines, as a kid back in the prior century.

We knew nothing about top level horse showing, but we knew about Rodney Jenkins! There was something out there worth finding out more about, because of Rodney.

I remember reading discussion about how much the U.S. Olympic team needed riders like Rodney. But in his heyday the Olympics were amateur-only. Rodney embodied the top-tier professional athlete who couldn’t afford to live and compete at the top level as an amateur. He was clear that remaining amateur for the Olympics was in no way an option for him. As it wasn’t for many other pro athletes. He and they needed to make a living at the sport, if they were to participate at the top levels. Examples like his eventually led to a reconsideration of what the Olympics should be in sport generally, and helped open the door to pro athletes in the Olympics.

Rest in peace, Rodney Jenkins.

[cph1957]

An excellent article, thanks so much for posting, it says it all and describes him perfectly - RIP good friend, thanks for the memories, you left the horse world a better place than you found it. Our Lord blessed you with special talents to share with the rest of us and to care for his creatures, and you “ran your race”.

[MHM]

[MrsFitzDarcy_amp_Feliks]

@BrownDerby

That comment by De Nemethy is pretty stunning.

What was the quote? I couldn’t find it.

[BrownDerby]

Here is the quote (bolded) in context:

When the FEI changed the rules so that professionals could compete in non-Olympic events, Rodney and Ike were invited to join the USET for the indoor circuit in 1973, becoming the first professional to do so. Coach Bert de Nemethy said adding Ike to the team was “like adding Secretariat to your racing stable.”

Yet when Rodney first joined the team, people told Bert, “You and Rodney just won’t make it.”

They were wrong.

“Bert,” says Rodney, “was the nicest man that ever lived. He and I got along so well. When we were in Europe he asked me ‘Do you mind if I ride your horses in the morning?’ I said, ‘You can ride them every morning.’ He kind of looked at me and grinned. Then he got on them. He came back and he said, ‘These horses are broke better than any of the other horses.’”

[MHM]

@BrownDerby

‘These horses are broke better than any of the other horses.’”

Many years ago, I rode a couple of horses that had been with Rodney early in their careers.

They were both beautifully broke, and so soft and light and balanced, with great attitudes.

Coincidence? I think not.

[BrownDerby]

You are invited to share your stories about Rodney.

A Tribute to Rodney Jenkins