May 6, 2021 
Each week on #HallOfFameThursday, Horse Network recognizes members of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame with an inductee’s plaque, historical photos and, on the first Thursday of every month, an article written by a Show Jumping Hall of Famer. This week, we recognize Idle Dice with an essay by famed horseman Rodney “The Red Rider” Jenkins, Show Jumping Hall of Fame class of 1999.
In my career I was fortunate to have ridden an awful lot of really nice horses, but Idle Dice, or Ike as we called him, was without question the nicest of them all. He was brave, he had scope and he was ridiculously careful. Most horse shows he wouldn’t even have a rub!
Before I ever rode him, I had seen him in the hunters with Bernie Traurig. Harry Gill wound up buying him for, if I’m not mistaken, $12,000! He went on to win almost half a million dollars which, back then, was an awful lot of money. I was so young but Harry put us together. Ike really showed me the ropes. I’d have to say that he was my mentor.
A lot of horses, when they’re that brave, they don’t mind if they have a rub; but as brave as Ike was, he was so careful. A lot of people didn’t think he had the scope because he was that careful, but believe me, he had scope. He was a big horse, 17 hands, and he had huge hips. That’s where his power came from. He was definitely the most powerful horse I ever rode. He had so much power that when you rode him you were just in awe.
At the same time, he was also very laid back. Nothing ever bothered him. He’d get up in the morning, do his job and then go back to the barn feeling exactly the same. A lot of horses you have to settle them after they show, but not Ike. He just loved doing his job and then chilling out. I called him “The Businessman” because of the way he went about his business.
There were no tricks with him. He would do whatever you wanted one day and then do whatever you wanted the next day. There was never a problem. He loved going to the paddock. He didn’t run around, he’d just hang there and eat grass. Like I said, nothing bothered him.
He was so smart and so versatile. He could jump a Puissance, a Grand Prix, a speed class; it didn’t matter to him. One year on the indoor circuit (Washington, New York, Toronto), he jumped seven feet at all three shows and also won some speed classes and a Grand Prix. He just loved to jump. After he’d had time off after the end of indoors, he’d come back at the start of the Florida circuit and clear the jumps by two feet!
He also was always sound. I don’t think he ever really was lame. He won his first Grand Prix when he was four and kept on winning ’til he was 21. He won a big Grand Prix at Lake Placid when he was 18 and didn’t stop there; he even won three smaller Grand Prix in his last year when he was 21!
I remember when we retired him in a special ceremony at the Gold Cup, the ringmaster started to blow his horn. Ike heard the horn and thought they were starting the class. He started cantering to the starting marker in front of the first fence! It took some effort to convince him that his career was actually over.
Ike really loved Harry who was so good to him and he also loved his groom, a wonderful guy named Luke. Ike would always follow Luke around wherever he went. He was also very close with Number One Spy, another horse in our barn that Harry owned. The two of them were such good buddies. When they retired, they were inseparable and they lived a great life together in Harry’s field. When Ike died, Number One Spy missed him terribly and wound up dying just six months later.
It’s really hard to describe just what a special horse Idle Dice was. In my opinion, however, there’s never been, nor is there likely to be, another one like him!
About the Author
Rodney Jenkins was a dominating force in American show rings during the 1960s and 70s. He won the American Gold Cup five times, four of them consecutively (1972–1975), and both the Presidents Cup and the National Horse Show Grand Prix three times. Jenkins’ professional status prevented him from riding in the Pan American or Olympic Games until rule changes in the 1980s. He went on to win team and individual silver medals with Idle Dice at the 1987 Pan American Games, but never had the opportunity to compete at the Olympics.
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