A Million-Dollar Smile: Remembering Bruce Walquist

If you look at any photo of Bruce Walquist, you will notice that he was almost always captured beaming from ear-to-ear. Bruce had a million-dollar smile, and it reflected the light that his bright spirit brought to this world. On May 6th, 2023, the world tragically lost this beautiful smile. Bruce Walquist left this world much too soon, and his passing left a hole in the hearts of everyone throughout the horse industry.

 Born October 15th, 1954, in Topeka, Kansas, to parents Harvey and Roberta Walquist, Bruce fell in love with horses at an extremely young age. He started riding around his family farm in Lyndon, Kansas where he got his start in saddle clubs and 4-H. He did a lot of self-teaching early on in his riding career and quickly gained a reputation as a talented and dedicated horseman; and as a result he was first hired to work for trainers Mark Chestnut and Jim McKillips.

 In college, Bruce was a sports enthusiast and played baseball on a scholarship until an injury ended that career. After graduating from Emporia State University with a degree in business and a minor in psychology, he started to train horses for the public in 1979 and was hired by MBJ Quarter Horses as the in-house trainer and ranch manager. While working for MBJ, he was given the opportunity to work with great halter horses such as Mr. Impressive, Mr. MBJ West, Tardee Too, and others such as the great pleasure mare, Some Kinda Mutt. In no time at all, Bruce began to earn quite a name for himself in the horse industry, earning his first two AQHA World Championships with Mr. MBJ West in 1981 and 1982.