Micheal C. “Mike” Carlson

MICHEAL C. “Mike” CARLSON

It’s been said, “The measure of a life well lived is how many people love you when you die.” By that standard, Mike Carlson was without equal.

Mike died quietly and with dignity in Kansas City Wednesday, August 27, from kidney cancer with his wife Carol by his side. He won’t be forgotten quickly. 

Mike drummed to a different marcher. Unlike his four siblings who knew little more than how to work hard, Mike worked to live. He was always curious about and kind to life’s parade of characters. It was trait he inherited from his mother Shirley combined with a double dose of compassion from his dad, the veterinarian “Doc” Carlson.   

He built a career as a farrier and breeder of American Saddlebred and Thoroughbred race horses, traveling the back roads from Maine to California in his Ford F-250 pickup to shoe horses at the top barns in the country. Wherever he went, he left behind tales of his skill in improving the gaits of the horses he shod, his random acts of kindness and his stories.

Oh yes, the stories.  There was always something that revealed a facet of each person’s personality and offered a glimpse of the soul within. More often than not, they were funny, too.

Then there was his unique version of generosity.  

“Mike would give the shirt off his back to someone in need — or the shirt off your back,” his brother Tom recalled. “One time I came out to the barn to ride my horse and asked Mike where my saddle was. He said, ‘I gave it to Mary Kay; she needed it more than you do.’”

Likewise, his wife recalls:

Mike and I had been friends for years and years and I benefitted from his knowledge. He shod world champions all over the country. We loved hanging out together. I thought I knew him through and through but not hardly. When a farrier was hurt and not able to work, Mike would either do their horses himself or rally the farriers like no other person could. His example was to keep the injured farrier’s customer base intact but instructed trainers and farriers to send the money to the injured one. He would also send checks out of his account to them.  He once told me he didn’t care about having money, but he was proud he never overcharged or “gouged” anyone, and he didn’t see the use in saving money if he could help others.

Recognized across the country by the United Professional Horsemen’s Association, he received many professional honors — including UPHA/American Royal Horseperson of the Year (2015), “Mike Carlson Day” in Kansas City (Nov. 10, 2015), the UPHA Chapter 5 Lifetime Achievement Award (2017), and induction into the UPHA Chapter 5 Hall of Fame (2023). These outward signs of success seemed to mean little to him though. He would deflect praise directed to him and turn the conversation in another direction. There was always something new to learn or to be surprised by. 

He was deeply loved. His wife, Carol, a lifelong equestrian, made his later years especially joyful at their farm in Lone Jack, Missouri, and their bond ran strong and deep.  The perfect partnership: Carol’s level head and business acumen blended with Mike’s unique spirit. Together they had a lot of fun.

He had his regrets as well.  

Toward the end, he told Carol, about his three brothers and sister:

One of us will see four funerals. 

One of us will see none, 

And one of us will have none of us at theirs.  

His postscript to this was he would rather be the one that sees none. 

He is survived by his children: Michael Harris (Troy), Erin Newberry, Rachel Kufeldt (Kevin), and Andrea Dundee (Loren); grandchildren: Blake (Josie), Wyatt, Joe, Emrey, Sam, Sydney, Aubrey, Braden, Drake, Henry, and Addy; his brothers Tom (Chandler), Bob (Teresa), and Krist; his sister Liisa Carlson Reeter (Joel); and “many, many friends,” along with his loyal dog, Dottie.

Mike requested no funeral or memorial service.   

Memorial donations may be made to:

The American Royal Association (for the new blacksmith shop)

c/o Tim Carrol, 1701 American Royal Court, Kansas City, MO 6410