WHO IS JACK AUCHTERLONIE?

Jack Auchterlonie is Fran's Grandfather and it is in his memory that J.A.M.E.S. was named. Jack lived in Dunfermline, Scotland and was a well-known farmer and a widely recognized authority on horses throughout the United Kingdom.

After working with his father on Leckerstone Farm, Jack became the farm manager for the Earl of Elgin at Primrose Farm in 1910. In 1927 he took over Primrose as tenant farmer on his own behalf. Recognized throughout Scotland and England as a horse and show jumping judge, he introduced the Percheron breed to the county of Fife as a strong and dependable work horse and it was not long before neighboring farmers were also purchasing these magnificent horses to work their own fields.

After WWI, machines, proving to be a more practical and efficient means of working the land and the crops, soon replaced the draft horse, but Jack loved his horses and was one of the last farmers in the area to stop using them. For many years after, he kept a good number of his Percherons for breeding and showing purposes.

Jack was an active member of the West Fife Agricultural Show for more than 50 years and judged at most of the important shows throughout the U.K., including the Highland and Royal English Show. He also served for a number of years on the panel of the British Show Jumping Association and spent considerable time on the Council of the Percheron Horse Society.

Although Percherons were his pride, horses in general were his passion. There was very little Jack didn't know about horses and was on more than one occasion accused of thinking like a horse. He not only knew the history of a horse, he knew the breeder, the owner, the rider, and who should have ridden or jumped the horse in order to bring in a first place standing at a show. Clydesdale teams, as those seen in the Budweiser commercials, are perfectly matched sets of two and by looking at the horse, Jack could tell you without hesitation, who to contact and where to find an exact match when it was necessary to replace one horse in a teamed set.

In the mid-fifties, failing health forced Jack to finally let go of the last of his beloved Percherons. In a newspaper article applauding his lifetime accomplishments, the author writes, " It is a sign of the mechanised times that Mr. Auchterlonie, who has been a notable breeder of Percheron horses over many years, has, this year, sold his last Percheron. He introduced the breed to Fife and it must be a personal sorrow to him that with the demand for horses growing less each year, this fine breed is now no longer required in Fife."

Small in stature, big of heart, Jack spent his entire life appreciating and respecting the horses that helped him sustain a comfortable livelihood during his farming years. His love of horses didn't pass with him - it has spanned a hundred years, traveled half way around the world and settled in this small, high desert community. We hope that through our efforts to reduce the unnecessary mistreatment and demise of these beautiful animals, we've made him proud to be our namesake.

Thanks for passing it on, Grandpa.