Biography
Born and raised in Southern Alberta Canada, Reo was thrust into the world of horses at an early age as his father Joe King was in the WPCA (World Professional Chuckwagon Association). At the ripe age of 12 Reo became an outrider and began travelling with his father on the WPCA tour. Unfortunately tragedy struck when Reo was just 14 years old as his father passed away in Grande Prairie.
Being a two sport athlete the following winter Reo joined the AJHL (Alberta Junior Hockey League) playing for the Calgary Royals, Calgary Canucks, and Grande Prairie Storm. It was around this time that Reo had the privilege of meeting a man by the name of Larry Jones. Larry took Reo on the road with him and taught him all about the world of horse massaging. Given the nicknames the “Thumpers” Reo and Larry toured around working on different breeds of horses using a large equine massage machine. The machine would work to help relieve sore muscles in these performance athletes. Over the years, Larry and Reo discovered that although the thumper massage system was of great help to sore horses, they could use a little extra something if they were chronically sore. So through the knowledge and experience they already had they put together some other techniques along with the massaging, including stretching, adjusting, and even horse handling. The results were amazing! Horses responded in ways that neither of them had ever seen before. Besides major improvements and most often a 100% turnaround in sorness, these horses coats changed, they trained better, and overall were a happier horse. Reo has perfected this practice gaining trust from owners, trainers, and horses around the globe. Watching Reo work you can see the technique requires the horse’s trust and cooperation and it makes one feel comfortable knowing that in all his years of work he hasn’t left one unhappy.
Reo has worked on some of the most famous horses in the world in all parts of the industry. To name a few: Ian Miller’s Big Ben, California racing hero Lava Man, Kentucky Derby contender’s Hesabull, Notional, Liquidity, Great Hunter, and many many more. He has worked on the Prince of Wales polo horses, George Straits roping horses, and has worked for some of the most famous horse trainers in the business like hall of famers Charlie Whittingham and Jack Van Berg.