The Mount Rushmore of Draft Horse Hitch Drivers

(According to Jim Poole)

A QUESTION I HAD TO ASK MY DAD

One of the things people quickly realize when they spend time at JFP Equine is that my dad, Jim, has seen just about everything there is to see in the draft horse world.

He grew up with Belgians on the family farm. Showed horses competitively across North America for many years. Spent 25 years managing the most famous horses in the world — the Budweiser Clydesdales. And then returned to run his own successful Clydesdale business, JFP Equine.

Over the course of that career, he’s stood on the rail and in the ring with some of the best draft horse hitch drivers around.

So one day I asked him a simple question:

“If there was a Mount Rushmore for draft horse hitch drivers, who would you put on it?”

It's a personal question. Quite possibly no two people in the draft horse world would have the same answer.

Now, most of the people who follow JFP Equine probably won’t recognize the names on this list. But for those well schooled in the industry and its history, most (if not all) of these names will be very familiar.

After decades around draft horses, these are the four men my dad would carve into that mountain ...

BILL HUGHES

Among draft horse drivers, Bill Hughes built a reputation that commanded respect the moment he stepped onto the lines.

Hughes had an ability to present a hitch exactly the way it was meant to be shown. Every horse in its place. Every turn deliberate. Every line in the hitch balanced. Watching him drive was like watching someone conduct an orchestra where every note landed exactly where it should.

In the show ring, details matter. Hughes understood those details better than most.

For other drivers watching from the rail — including Jim — it was a reminder that the smallest adjustments often separate a good hitch from a great one.

KEITH HOBDEN

If there’s one thing great horsemen recognize in each other immediately, it’s feel.

Keith Hobden had it.

Some drivers manage horses. Others truly communicate with them. Hobden had the rare ability to make a hitch look almost effortless ... as if the horses simply wanted to do exactly what he asked.

Behind that smoothness was a deep understanding of horses: how they think, how they move, and how to bring out their best in the pressure of a show ring.

Drivers who watched him closely could see it. The timing. The softness in the lines. The way a hitch flowed around the ring instead of fighting it.

That kind of feel can’t really be taught. It’s something a horseman earns over a lifetime.

HAROLD CLARK

Some drivers are known for their presence in the ring. Others for the quiet consistency that comes from years of understanding horses at the highest level.

Harold Clark had both.

Clark carried himself with the kind of calm confidence that comes from deep experience. When his hitch came through the gate, you knew you were about to watch something well prepared and well driven.

What stood out most was the way his hitches worked together — steady, balanced, and responsive. There was a professionalism to the way he presented a team that other drivers respected.

For people watching closely, including Jim, it was a reminder that the best hitch drivers aren’t just competitors, they’re horsemen first. The success you see in the ring is built long before the hitch ever enters the arena.

Over the years, Harold Clark earned the kind of respect that only comes from doing things the right way, consistently, in a sport where the smallest details matter.

FRED POOLE

And then there’s one more name that belongs on Jim's mountain.

Fred Poole, his father.

Fred wasn’t just a hitch driver. He was a horseman through and through ... a man who spent his life working with draft horses both on the farm and in the show ring.

He raised them. Trained them. Showed them.

And along the way, he passed that knowledge down to the next generation.

For Jim Poole, watching his father handle horses day after day was the original education. Long before big shows and famous hitches entered the picture, the foundation of what it meant to be a horseman was already being built.

Patience. Work ethic. Respect for the horses.

Those lessons stayed with Jim for the rest of his career.

And in many ways, they shaped everything that came after.

THE REAL LESSON FROM THE MOUNTAIN

The draft horse world has seen a lot of talented hitch drivers over the years. Many names and faces could be on this mountain.

But when Jim Poole looks back across decades in the draft horse world, these four names rise to the top for one reason or another.

Different styles. Different personalities.

And all of them represent true craftsmanship in the art of driving a draft horse show hitch.

And in their own way, each helped shape the standards that today’s drivers — including Jim — carry forward.

So if there were ever a Mount Rushmore carved for draft horse hitch drivers…

These are the four faces my dad, Jim Poole, would put on it.