Jimmy Jim Balls

Life Story That best portion of a good man’s life, his little, nameless, unremembered Acts of Kindness and of Love. ~ William Wadsworth Jimmy Denton Balls was born in Great Falls, Montana to Maurice J. Balls and Florence (Sharp) Balls on March 3, 1954, 5 minutes behind his identical twin, Johnny Quentin. Johnny only lived for one day. Jim always missed his twin and we take comfort that they are now together again. Dad was in the Air Force and the first 6 years of Jim’s life found him traveling about the county with his parents and siblings in an 8X40 trailer house pulled by a 1956 Ford pickup truck. Jim began first grade in Lake Charles, LA. This was known as Cajun Country and the lunch time entertainment for the older boys was getting the little ones to fight each other. Jim learned quickly that he would rather win than lose and became quite the little scrapper. When the family settled in Kuna, the teachers and principle had to keep telling Jim that he couldn’t just go around beating kids up even if he thought he had a reason to. He spent a lot of time sitting along the wall at Indian Creek elementary waiting for the principle to get back from lunch. One day when I was in second grade, I decided I wanted to ride the third grader’s merry go round. Some third-grade boys told me I couldn’t ride it because I was only in second grade. One of them said “Oh, let her ride, she’s kind of cute. Besides, she’s Jimmy’s sister!” In spite of this, Jim was always very well-liked by his classmates and enjoyed his school years. In his senior yearbook, there was a history given by the teachers through the years. Of course, Jim was at the top of the list as a memorable student and I quote “Mrs. Mary Wardle stated that Jim Balls was a ‘little guy with big ideas’ and evidently wished to make them known for Mrs. Laura Gibson said she could never shut him up.” He was a state champion wrestler under coach Jim Gormley and enjoyed playing on the football team. He graduated from Kuna High School with the class of 1972. In his younger years, the highlight of Jim’s summer was the week we all got to go visit our Grandpa Balls in the mountains surrounding Logan Utah. Grandpa lived in a sheep-herder’s wagon and spent his days on one of his seven horses tending his sheep and cattle. This was Jim’s first experience with horses and he was a natural right from the beginning. Grandpa gave Jim his first horse Mickey. She was a spunky little Mustang Arabian mare and Jim rode her everywhere. He had a Gritt newspaper route and rode her 25 miles every Saturday to deliver his papers. The sight of them running as fast as Mickey could go (with no saddle or bridle, just a rope halter) was a familiar sight around the neighborhood. One day our neighbor gave Jim a saddle so he would not have to ride bareback. Jim put the saddle on Mickey twice then said the heck with this and continued to ride bareback. He said Mickey preferred it that way too and he was right. They were an amazing pair. When Jim hit his teenage years, he decided he wanted a car. Mom told him he had a horse to get around and cars were expensive. Jim’s rationale was that he had to feed his horse all the time but only needed to put gas in the car when he drove it. He got his car and of course the faster the better. For several years, he drove a black Trans-Am just like the one in Smokey and the Bandit. Jim made Burt Reynolds look like an amature in that car. He had a peculiar habit of not stopping when being pursued. (He still can’t drive through the state of Oregon or Washington.) Friends and family finally caught on that when Jim was asking to put his car in their barn or garage there was going to be some police cars or a helicopter not far behind. And if he asked if he could take your car on from Elko to Idaho Falls and you drive his car home, you’d best say NO. After he was hit by a driver running a red light, the car was totaled, but I suspect there are some lawmen that are still looking for that black Trans-Am. Jim’s love of horses was with him all his life. He began working race horses for Louie Lowe when he was still in high school. He had a full ride wrestling scholarship when he graduated high school, but decided he would rather ride horses instead. And he did for the rest of his life. He had an amazing touch with horses and was often asked to ride “the wild ones”. He did and more often than not turned them into winners. He lost some rides because he would not run a horse when it was sore or would pull up in a race to avoid injury. He would rather the horse go home to his barn than win the race. He could tell exactly where a horse was sore just by riding it and the track vets were known to seek out his opinion. Jim had been riding a few years when this young kid by the name of Gary Stevens showed up. The other riders gave Gary the business so Jim, always one for the underdog, took Gary under his wing. Since he still liked to fight, this worked out well for Gary. As anyone interested in horses knows, Gary went on to become a very famous jockey. Jim was always proud of Gary and that he had a part in his career. Jim’s riding career spanned from 1971 to 2012. He has thousands of wins under his belt and in his glory days was one of the most sought after riders. He was honest and fair, and his reputation as the enforcer when a rouge rider was putting others in jeopardy was well known. The racing stewards were known to occasionally say “let Balls handle it” when they had a need for some jockey discipline. As he got older, he found it hard to keep his riding weight and was always the biggest on the track. Several years ago, Jim had the opportunity to meet the great Willie Shoemaker. He was introduced to him as a leading jockey from the state of Idaho. Willie took a look at him and said “Dang, Idaho must have some BIG horses!” Over the span of his jockey career, Jim lost many beloved friends. Each one left a mark on his soul, especially his good friend Harold Peterson. Jim and Harold had many good years as a very successful racing team. He also deeply mourned the loss of his good friend Johnny Hoak. I hope they are all reunited and have horses in heaven. Four years ago, Jim got himself an iron horse to ride, a Harley Davidson Sportster. Of course, again, the faster the better and he spent many happy hours riding around the country side as fast as he could go. He had just returned home from a ride on Monday, April 3, 2017, when he died suddenly. Jim was bigger than life and our grief is great that we lost him way too soon. The love and support from his friends and the horse racing community has been amazing and a great comfort to his family. *See "Service Information" tab for service details. Jim was preceded by his grandparents, mother and father, twin brother Johnny and beloved younger brother Doug. He is survived by his daughter Marie Rogers, brother Steve Balls, sisters Pam Keller and Laura Howard and half brother and sister Bobbie Jo Wiggins and Dennis Schmillen, as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his very special Aunt Ilene Balls. We would like to thank the Ada County Paramedics and Sheriff’s Office. A very special thank you also goes out to the horse racing community and Jim’s good friends that have been so supportive in our time of loss.