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I am saddened to announce the loss of my dear friend and endurance  
mentor, Jim Kinder, from a heart attack last weekend.  He was that  
rare sort of person, hard working, super ethics, epitome of the family  
man, generous and loving.

He accumulated most of his miles before records were kept on computer,  
bred some great horses some of whom were the foundation for other  
peoples' breeding program.  He stood at stud HCC Shosk, his greatest  
pal--he and Shosk did Tevis at least 3 times, finishing in the top 30.  
Shosk developed ringbone in his old age, which Jim carefully managed,  
and eventually it all fused and he was comfortably sound--he died only  
in this past year, in his 30s.

Jim was an executive with Albertsons, which involved a ton of travel-- 
he'd be the guy pulling into ridecamp in the wee hours of the morning,  
and having done his homework, finishing in the first handful of  
riders.  Riding was a family affair with them and their 3 daughters,  
they lived in Norco, "Horsetown USA".  The youngest, Lezlee, would  
ride endurance with her dad, as well as do gymkhana.

Jim would pick me up on weekday mornings, my saddled horse would hop  
into the trailer for the short ride down to the riverbed.  On weekends  
we'd go someplace else, our favorite place was Chino Hils State  
Park.   By then he was mainly riding Dillon, (Candy Dansin AAN), a  
talented Quarab he'd found as a colt in Oregon and his homebred  
Kinders Bullet.  Lots of indelible memories like once in early  
December crossing the river when we both got into quicksand on our  
15.2hh mounts, up to the hip. Or training all day at hilly Caspers  
Park in the rain, I had a brand new RP saddle (the leather did fine)  
and getting off at the end to see the girth with a fist's distance  
between it and my girl's belly.  When bringing along my younger horse,  
it was more challenging for me to keep up, because pace was Jim's  
forté!  He had a lot of patience, waiting for me to find a missing  
Easy Boot in the tall grasses or convincing my pony that running away  
WITH me was nice but not socially acceptable.  I wish I'd written down  
some of the stories he told about the old days and the riders.

Jim had a lot of injuries to overcome along the way, and he never gave  
up.  His horses appreciated his consistency in handling and riding.   
I'll never forget his skill in balancing an absolutely full cup of  
steaming hot coffee while driving OR riding.  His always immaculate  
property, Barb T, you'll remember his parklike one on Hillside, and  
then the smaller one they did from scratch over on Center Street.

When I got the idea to revive a ride in Norco, Jim was indefatigable,  
finding new trail, offering tons of tips.  Each year he'd lead one of  
the 4 teams marking the ride only a day or two before (due to constant  
vandalism of markers), then compete in the ride, finishing near the  
top.  His section was the first part through the many river crossings  
and up through the hills, down to the now-filled-with-houses "Pedley  
Field" for the first vet check.  In the last few years of the ride, he  
mapped and established new trail in those hills for us.  He came up  
and helped us with Bar H Boogie, too.  The only sad thing about taking  
my horses out of Norco to live with me was losing that constant  
contact with Jim and Jeanene.

Jim was computer-savvy in the old sense such as how to better run a  
grocery empire, but not at all oriented towards personal computers as  
nearly indispensable devices, grist for many a conversation especially  
during my peak times as a computer and then Mac only consultant. You  
can imagine what he thought about smart phones!  He was a staunch  
supporter of my early photography efforts progressing into a profession.

I put a video of their 50th anniversary party up on my website just,  
and there's some older shots too.  Shots of Jim are mostly in the 2nd  
half of the video. <http://www.photo.lynnesite.com/Clients/Humans/Jim-Kinder 
>

I'm guessing that many of his old friends are not internet savvy, and  
would ask that if you know anybody of that era you might pass on the  
news of his loss.  His widow Jeanene's address is 4288 Center Street,  
Norco CA 92860.

Services are at the LDS church in La Sierra, 11 am Saturday.  5480  
Mitchell, Riverside.  If coming from Norco, California Ave to  
Arlington, past La Sierra and the jr high to Mitchell, right and it's  
about a block and a half down.

Lynne



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