A Cowboy's Guide to Aging — Madeleine A Cook

Jim learned to ride a horse in 1954, when he was 13, and his father put him straight to work. Jim would feed, water, and work dozens of American Saddlebreds with his father and sister. The Simmons family would build a legacy of horse breeding and training in Mexico, Missouri, a town once known as ‘the Saddlebred Capital of the World’. A legacy that Jim continues today as the patriarch of Simmons Stables at 78. The horses he raises go on to perform in exhibitions across the country. A recent diagnosis of arthritis hasn’t slowed Jim down — it can’t, he 44 horses to keep healthy with only 2 other trainers to help — but sometimes he wants to.

Jim’s world is shrinking. A once vibrant generation of horse trainers in Mexico has “died off”, according to Jim. Even the vet that cared for Jim’s horses for decades recently passed away, and Jim finds it difficult to navigate the modern way of running a business. “I just put an ad in the paper for help, and whoever shows up, shows up,” he said. While this strategy has brought him a hardworking local farmers in the area, it also often leaves Jim short-handed. In by 5am, Jim likes to get home to his wife around 5pm, but often has to work later than that. Jim wants to leave the stables to his daughter, when he retires, who is a property lawyer in St. Louis. His son is a local family physician. But they haven’t had a conversation about it, he just hopes that “she knows” she’ll be handed the family legacy.

Jim works a horse, an exercise in pace, trust, and control, on June 19, 2019. Jim said there were days when he was younger where he'd work 54 horses in a day, "and I didn't half-ass it," he assured. Today, he hitches up around 10 horses a day.

Jim poses for a portrait at the stables he’s spent decades building, creating a safe haven for himself, on June 19, 2019. The two-barn compound, over 200 acres of land, runs exactly the way Jim likes it to.

Jim locks the stall door behind him as he goes to water two mares on June 20, 2019. His calming presence usually keeps the horses relaxed as he moves in between them to feed, water, and brush them. He speaks quietly, clucking and "woahing" in a rhythmic, soothing tone if a horse seems uneasy.

Storm clouds roll into the town of Mexico, over damaged corn fields due to excessive rain this spring, on June 21, 2019.

Jim tosses around a 50-pound bale of hay, from the hay loft to his golf cart to be transported to the other barn, on June 21, 2019.

A kitten stands alert after being found in its hidey-hole, on June 17, 2019. Dozens of cats and kittens wander around Jim’s stables, waiting impatiently for 10 and 2, when Jim diligently tosses out Meow Mix. Jim is constantly shooing away small kittens who run too closely to horse hooves.

Jim hunches over to grab a water bucket on June 17, 2019. There is no uniform at the stables, but Jim wears some variation of a checkered shirt, suspenders, and blue jeans daily.

A trophy from the Simmons' riding legacy sits on the windowsill of the Graceland Museum Complex in Mexico on June 15, 2019. The Simmons family is well-known throughout the community, and the museum has an entire exhibition celebrating their many achievements in horse breeding and showing.

Two horses munch hay on June 18, 2019. Horses from around the country are sent to Simmons Stables to be cared for and trained by a staff of 3 trainers, including Jim. The horses then compete in shows, some even internationally.

In a quiet moment, Jim takes a nap in his office, which has been proudly filled with pictures of he and his family competing on horseback, on June 18, 2019. "I used to not have to take naps," he said.

The tracks of horse hooves, carriage trails, and footsteps litter the training track at Simmons Stables on June 19, 2019. A team of 3 trainers are in charge of the horses, and about 4 others care for the property, including turning the track soil twice a day.

The “farm barn”, the older of the two, is reflected in a puddle after overnight rains on June 17, 2019. Jim carries dozens of water buckets a day, shuffling back and forth between stalls to make sure all horses are fed, watered, and hayed. He does it twice a day -- once around 6am and again at 3pm.

A chair is silhouetted in Jim’s empty office on June 16, 2019, at Simmons Stables in Mexico, Mo.

Jim does one last trip around the barn, before heading to lock-up the horses for the night, on June 20, 2019.