James Tidwell
Some men tell fish tales, but James Tidwell prefers to spin tales of the equine variety. He spent years training Tennessee Walking horses and remembers every horse and every show.
James was born in 1933 at El Dorado, Arkansas to a part-time preacher and sawmill owner who died from a kidney infection when he was only five months old. His mother then moved the family to Plain Dealing, Louisiana to live with her unmarried brother before settling in Springhill.
While attending high school in Springhill, James was a member of the 1952 Class A State Champion Football Team with future Heisman Trophy winner John David Crow. Taking a page from the storybooks, he married the football sweetheart, Jane Harper.
“I married a very smart lady. She was valedictorian, won the American Legion Award – won everything there was,” he said, then joked: “She just made one mistake – she married me!”
He and Jane remained in Springhill and raised two children there – Jay and Nancy. Jane received her Masters degree and became a school teacher. James eventually joined her in that career, after a few years as an electrician’s helper at International Paper, then a stint in the Army and deployment to Korea.
“I was in Korea after the war was over. I patrolled the 38th parallel in a jeep for 13 months, then was stationed in Hawaii for six months,” he recalled. “When I came back I decided I wanted to go college to be a veterinarian. Jane supported that idea so I enrolled at Louisiana Tech.”
After taking all the science courses to be a veterinarian, he had some difficulty with being accepted to medical school. So he decided to be a teacher instead. Beginning in 1964 he taught biology for six years at Springhill. Because he had minored in English he also taught Freshman English. He went back to Tech, got his Masters Degree in English in 1972 and taught Senior English for 19 years He also served as yearbook sponsor for 11 years.
“I was in my late 30s or early 40s when I started with the horses,” James recalled. “I learned to train them from a book. I charged $600 plus 25 cents a mile and fees per horse, and I made 10% commission to help sell them.
“The most important thing to know is: A poor horse and a great rider can’t win. Conversely, a great rider and a poor horse can’t win. Takes a combination of good and good.”
One of his memories is of his daughter, Nancy, who passed away a few years ago. She began competing in horse shows at an early age.
“Nancy was a quite a lady rider. By the age of 16 she was doing exceedingly well,” he said. “When she was 14 there was a horse show in Sarepta. Now, Sarepta is a very small place, but on this particular Saturday people were everywhere. The lady in charge did a remarkable job putting the show together. People came from all over.
“So the juvenile class came out with 14 riders – eight of them from Texas. They had the best trainers and the most expensive horses. My little $10,000 horse was the cheapest one of the bunch,” he continued. “When Nancy won I was so elated. Then the lady asked me if I would let Nancy show in the elite class. I thought people will think I’m crazy, so I just flat refused. After her third time asking, I finally gave in and let Nancy compete against these gentlemen professional riders. She beat the whole bunch!”
The trophy that Nancy won that day adorns the coffee table in the sitting area just outside of James’ room at Wesley House. Displayed in front of a window is an old ornamental western riding saddle handmade by famed designer Ted Flowers of California – a surprise gift from his wife years ago. Covered in alligator hide, it weighs about 100 lbs.
When Jane died in 2016 after 62 years of marriage, James remained at their home until just a few months ago when he moved into Wesley House to be closer to son Jay Tidwell of Atlanta.
“Jay and Susan live about seven miles down the road here,” said James. “He has for about 40 years now. I’ve driven by here many a time and never dreamed I would spend my last days here.”
If you have a few minutes, stop by Wesley House and sit a spell with James in “his” sitting room. Ask him about his days as a trainer of champion horses – he would love to tell you all about them and show you photos.