A true cowboy

‘Ivor the Driver’ found his calling in the ranching life

By: Aaron Epp

Ivor Asham’s family couldn’t have picked a better image to accompany his obituary. There he is, riding Flash, his beloved brown and white quarter horse, a black cowboy hat on his head and a drink in his hand.

Asham owned and operated Birds Hill Park Ranch for nearly 35 years, where he shared his lifelong passion for horses with thousands of visitors. He moved hay, harnessed horses and drove the wagons, introducing himself as “Ivor the Driver.”

Over the years, Asham built a reputation as the quintessential cowboy.

There’s a restaurant at the ranch filled with memorabilia that he collected over the years. Calgary Stampede posters, cowboy boot-shaped shot glasses, a child’s rocking horse, a wagon wheel and numerous photos of legendary actor John Wayne are just some of the items that line the walls.

The collection includes a framed copy of a 10-stanza poem called Cowboys Never Die. It tells the story of a son who is concerned about his elderly father riding his horse alone, lest something go wrong and there’s no one around to help him. The father tries to reassure his son, and the poem ends with him saying, “Old cowboys never die. They ride off into the sunset, and someday so will I.”

Asham rode off into the sunset on July 15. He was 74 years old.

Ivor Rupert Asham was born on May 4, 1952, near Alonsa, some 200 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. His father Norman was a commercial fisherman and his mother Evelyn was a homemaker. They named him after Evelyn’s brother, and raised him and his seven siblings on a farm that included horses and chickens.

From the very beginning, Asham was happiest outside. He grew up roaming the countryside with his brothers and sisters, and helping his parents on the farm.

“He just liked to be out (and) adventurous,” recalls Asham’s brother Garth, who is two years his junior. “He would work when required and he was a real good brother. He had a good attitude and that’s the way we grew up — we all grew up with respect and manners, and we appreciated the teachings from our mother and father.”

The family moved to Portage la Prairie when Asham was a teenager. He became an accomplished baseball player, and at one time was teammates with future Manitoba premier Brian Pallister.

Some years after graduating high school, Asham landed a job as a tax assessor. In the summer of 1978, he met Carol, the woman who would become his wife, at a social in Portage la Prairie. They spent the rest of the summer together until Carol returned to Winnipeg for university.

In 1983, they bumped into each other at a bar and reconnected. Asham was working in Winnipeg by this time with his brother Arnold at Asham Curling Supplies, where he became well known for crafting sliders.

Ivor and Carol were engaged at Christmastime in 1984 and got married the following June. Their family grew to include three children: Sean, Evan and Cara.

In February 1992, Asham found his calling and made his dream come true when he purchased Birds Hill Park Ranch. Located 20 minutes east of Winnipeg, the 10-acre ranch specializes in offering scenic trail rides, as well as wagon rides and sleigh rides. The ranch also boards horses.

Asham became known for his deep equestrian knowledge, which he shared with new and seasoned horse owners alike. He also offered the opportunity to be with horses to those who would otherwise not have had the chance, welcoming anyone and everyone to participate in a way of life he had enjoyed since childhood.

“We were all raised with horses, so that basically developed our love for them and our respect for them,” Garth Asham says. “When you’re raised with them, you always have that attachment as far as I’m concerned. Horses always pique your interest. (Operating the ranch) was right up Ivor’s alley.”

Asham had a special talent for matching pairs of horses, recalls Larry Carefoot, a friend of nearly 30 years. Some people match horses by their size or colour, but Asham didn’t care about that. He wanted them to travel the same speed.

“Not everyone can match a team, but he was excellent at matching a pair of horses to the same speed,” Carefoot says. “It was a hell of a talent.”

Asham’s involvement with the ranch led to opportunities to work as a horse wrangler on local TV and film productions. He worked on everything from the 2007 Western film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford to the recent television adaptation of Little House on the Prairie. Asham and his three employees also provided horses for special events around Manitoba, such as Festival du Voyageur.

Today, Birds Hill Park Ranch includes around 50 horses and receives more than 15,000 visitors annually, Evan Asham says.

Ivor Asham’s passion for horses was rivalled only by his love for his family and friends. His breakfasts were famous, he always had bannock ready in case someone was hungry, he adored his children and two grandchildren, and he always extended a warm welcome to those with whom he crossed paths.

He enjoyed drinking Coors Light and listening to country music — George Strait, Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks were a few of his favourite artists — and he always had the TV turned to sports. He took special pleasure in watching his beloved Toronto Blue Jays compete in the World Series last year.

“You could always be guaranteed that you would enjoy his company,” Garth Asham says. “He lived life to the fullest. He liked his social activities. He liked to tell stories. He loved to just sit around and visit. He was a social butterfly.”

He was a great role model who helped people and always had a one-liner ready to go, adds Barry Sanderson, who worked alongside Asham at the ranch for more than 25 years. “He made all of us into the cowboys we are today.”

Evan Asham says that one of the best parts about his father was that he was a people person.

“He always was able to bring smiles to people’s faces. He was my dad, but he was a dad to a lot of other people. He was a friend to a lot of other people. He was a grandpa to a lot of people. He was everything. There’s no one word that you could use to describe him.”

Ivor Asham died following a short illness, during which Carol stayed by his side and took care of him. The family is planning a celebration of life that will take place on Thursday afternoon at the ranch. More than 400 people are expected to attend.

“Ivor was a real good-hearted cowboy,” Garth Asham says. “That’s how he lived his life and that’s how he’ll be remembered.”

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca