Joe
Heim

From Kentucky to Oklahoma — A Career Built in the Cutting Pen

Joe Heim is an American cutting horse trainer, clinician, and competitor best known for his accomplishments in National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) competition during the 1980s and 1990s. He was born in 1949 and raised in Kentucky.

Heim eventually established his training operation in Thackerville, Oklahoma, where he developed a reputation for training elite cutting horses. Throughout his career, he worked primarily with American Quarter Horses competing in western performance disciplines, particularly cutting and reining.

Heim's first major national success came in 1981 when he won the NCHA Open Futurity riding Colonel Lil. The NCHA Futurity is considered one of the premier events in the cutting horse industry and showcases elite three-year-old horses competing at the highest level of the sport.

The NCHA Triple Crown — Only the Second Horse in History

The defining accomplishment of Heim's career came through his partnership with the stallion Docs Okie Quixote. Riding and training the horse himself, Heim won the 1983 NCHA Futurity, the 1984 NCHA Derby, and the 1984 NCHA Super Stakes. Those victories completed the NCHA Triple Crown — which consists of winning the futurity, derby, and super stakes consecutively with the same horse. At the time, Docs Okie Quixote became only the second horse ever to achieve the feat.

Docs Okie Quixote was especially notable because the horse was owned by Heim's wife, Joice, while Heim trained and showed him — making him the first NCHA Triple Crown horse owned, trained, and ridden within the same connections. Industry records noted that the stallion earned more than $599,000 in NCHA competition before his death in 1985. Despite a relatively short life, the horse became one of the most recognized cutting horses of his era and was later inducted into the NCHA Horse Hall of Fame.

• 1981 NCHA Open Futurity Champion — Colonel Lil
• 1983 NCHA Futurity Champion — Docs Okie Quixote
• 1984 NCHA Derby Champion — Docs Okie Quixote
• 1984 NCHA Super Stakes Champion — Docs Okie Quixote
• NCHA Triple Crown — second horse ever to complete it
• Docs Okie Quixote — $599,000+ NCHA earnings; NCHA Horse Hall of Fame
• 1989 NCHA Riders Hall of Fame inductee
• 1991 NRHA Limited Open World Championship — Okie Paul Quixote

Versatility, Longevity, and the NCHA Riders Hall of Fame

Throughout his professional career, Heim continued competing successfully in major NCHA events while also training futurity and aged-event horses for clients. In addition to cutting horse competition, Heim also participated in reining — winning the National Reining Horse Association Limited Open World Championship in 1991 riding Okie Paul Quixote, demonstrating versatility across western performance horse disciplines.

Heim was inducted into the NCHA Riders Hall of Fame in 1989, recognizing his accomplishments and contributions to the cutting horse industry. Beyond competition, he became known as a clinician and horseman associated with practical cutting horse training and futurity horse development. Joe Heim remains closely associated with one of the most important achievements in cutting horse history through his work with Docs Okie Quixote.