FORMER HORSE TRAINER WARNS YOUNG RIDERS ABOUT DRUG ABUSE

In his drug-using days, Joey Dorignac was shot at, stabbed in the chest
with an ice pick and hacked with an ax.

But it took losing his left forearm to get the former renowned horse
trainer off crack cocaine.

Dorignac, 56, says he has been clean since 1990.

Although he no longer trains thoroughbreds, he now travels the saddle-bred
show circuit, talking to young riders about the dangers of drugs and
alcohol as part of the United Professional Horsemen's Association's "Just
Say Whoa" program.

Dorignac, of New Orleans, and his teen-age sons are in Kansas City this
week for the United Professional Horsemen's Association/American Royal
National Championship at Kemper Arena. The show continues through Saturday.

"Doing drugs is a no-win situation, so I have to have the hope that it is
possible to help someone," Dorignac said. "It tears me up to talk about all
the time I missed out on with my sons. But helping these youngsters (in the
Just Say Whoa program) actually helps me."

Just Say Whoa was born from a round-table discussion Dorignac and a few
others conducted for young riders, said Jimmy Robertson, the association's
president.

Although a few years old, the program still is in its infancy, Robertson
said, because momentum has been slow to build.

"We're reworking the program now, and we hope for it to extend beyond just
saddle breds," Robertson said. "We're not sure where all we'll go, but we
know this is something we need to do for our kids. They're the future of
our business."

In addition to Dorignac's presentations at the association's annual
convention and a few shows throughout the year, Robertson said the goal was
for the program to offer fun, alternative activities for youths.

"Sometimes these kids are around trainers more than their parents, so we
have a real opportunity to help kids in our industry," he said.

It's not just teens who are vulnerable, Dorignac said, citing himself as
the example.

He started smoking marijuana in his mid-20s, and it escalated to snorting
and then smoking crack cocaine, he said.

"I thought I could handle it, but you just can't," Dorignac said. "I was
even loaded working with the horses, and I can't explain why I never
realized that I could get killed. I enjoyed it, so I didn't want to realize
that I was missing so much of my boys growing up."

It wasn't until Dorignac, a diabetic, burned his left hand on a cigarette
and let the resulting infection eat through his hand that he realized he
would die if he didn't get help. He was 44.

"They amputated my arm, and I hit bottom," he said.

Dorignac, who now has a prosthesis, said he'd been clean since he left the
hospital.

Since then, Dorignac has transferred his love from thoroughbreds to
saddle-bred horses.

"Maybe because I was with thoroughbreds when I got so bad," he reasoned.

His two youngest sons, ages 18 and 15, are showing in this week's saddle
horse show at the American Royal. And both know about their father's past.

"He's courageous, and he's doing a good job raising me and my brother and
being supportive," said Jon Paul Dorignac, 18.

Jon Paul said that as a child he knew something was wrong with his dad,
although at the time he didn't know what. And although he said he knew his
father felt guilty, he said he shouldn't.

"When he says something, I just comfort him, tell him how much I love him,"
Jon Paul said. "He's a big part of my life now, and that's what matters."