Windy Ratchford Lattin is a third-generation rodeo cowgirl known for highspeed trick riding.
OK Black Panther was bred, raised and trained to be a high-stakes racehorse.
But several years ago, the two discovered a kindred spirit of sorts in each other, after Panther contracted a neurological disease called equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), which resulted in his retirement from racing.
“Horses can get it from possums. It affects their nervous system, but it’s treatable if it’s caught in time,” Windy said. “In racehorses, sometimes it will affect their speed. They may not always get all the way back to where they were, but they are usually able to come back.”
Panther’s owner and trainer at the time, Toni Fry, nursed him back to health, but ultimately decided to retire him. When her own health began to fail due to a battle with breast cancer, Toni called her dear friend Windy to see if she might be able to take him on, perhaps as a barrel racer.
Windy, who was raised in the Wynnewood-Davis area and began performing professionally in rodeos in 1992, agreed to take Panther on.
Windy said while does barrel race occasionally, it’s really not her thing. She prefers trick riding. And it turned out barrel racing wasn’t really Panther’s thing either.
“He could do it, but you could tell his emotions just changed when he got in the arena. He fretted the barrels,” Windy said.
So, she started working with him, training him to do tricks and to work at liberty, a discipline where horses perform without the use of tack such as halters, reins or rope.
“He went to picking that up pretty fast,” Windy said. “He wants to do that, and he likes it.”
Trick training and at-liberty performing require a whole different skill set than what is needed to be a successful racehorse, and Windy said she isn’t aware of many horses who make that transition, part ly because there aren’t that many trick riders out there to take them in.
As Windy worked with Panther over the next year, spending hours in the practice pen learning each trick and new maneuver, it was obvious to her that he was a performer. He was a natural at “dancing” and loved the crowd.
Windy guides Panther through his liberty routine using only voice commands and hand signals. One of the tricks Panther seems to enjoy the most is jumping at liberty, so the pair have recently introduced a classic stunt to their act – the car jump.
It’s a trick Windy said was performed by a handful of riders in the 1920s and ‘30s, and as far as she knows, Panther is the only horse currently performing it at-liberty.
Now in their third year of performing together, Windy and Panther are scheduled to perform between 65 and 70 shows across the country this year. Panther’s biggest event to-date was his appearance at the 2022 Nascar All Star Race last month.
Toni Fry lost her battle with breast cancer in early 2021.
“She did get to see him perform a couple of times before she died,” Windy said. “And that’s what she really wanted – for people to see his talent, his natural ability and how special he was.”
Windy and Panther now perform their shows in honor of Toni and Breast Cancer Awareness.
Windy and Panther will be performing at the 77th Annual Heritage Days Rodeo in Pauls Valley on June 24-25. The rodeo starts at 8 p.m. and $5 advance tickets are available at Sharpe’s Department Store, 208 S. Chickasaw, Pauls Valley.
