H.E. Sutton Forwarding Company was established in 1957 by the late Halford Ewel Sutton. Born in Lamesa, Texas in 1921, Mr. Sutton was fondly referred to by his nickname “Tex”.
Tex became enamored with horses and horse racing at a young age. His inherent horsemanship put him on the fast track for a career in racing. Just 11 years old when he left home, Tex hopped a train and journeyed west to California. After working odd-jobs to get by, Tex found himself on the backstretch with his foot in the door to his dreams of working with horses. His racetrack career included stints as a hot-walker, groom, exercise rider and jockey's valet.
Tex first ventured into the horse transportation industry in 1954, arranging the shipment of horses by railcar. His business continued to thrive over the next 15 years, until shipping by railcar started to become cost prohibitive, ultimately providing the impetus to venture into shipping horses by air. Although not the first to transport horses by plane, Tex quickly established his company as the foremost authority on equine air transportation and has been credited with revolutionizing horse air transportation practices. Tex insisted on employing experienced, capable horsemen to load, unload and attend to the needs of horses during flights - a practice that our company continues to utilize today.