J. R. is no stranger to the leather and equine business. He auctioneered his first sale at the age of 12 at Palmyra Horse Sale. In 1986, at the ripe old age of 13, J. R. began working in his family’s harness shop in rural Paris, MO. He logged many miles as a sophmore in high school traveling with his Dad, Jim to build a herd of draft mares to export to Japan. He even traveled with the herd and loaded them on jets at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. J. R. was a partner in Horse Sales in Mexico, MO and Kingdom City in the mid to late 1990’s into the early 2000’s.