Stan Sours could lead a lobbyist to the brass rail at the state Capitol as easily as he could lead a horse.
Sours, who died Jan. 30 at 70 in his hometown of Littleton, was practically born on a horse, but his career centered on lobbying the state legislature – often on bills that would affect horse owners, racers and riders.
He was a patient, low-key lobbyist “who made you feel you were talking to a friend,” said a colleague, Danny Williams, who shared clients with Sours. “He was very disarming.”
As other lobbyists do, Sours often put an elbow on the brass rail at the Capitol while talking to legislators.
“People trusted him,” Williams said. “He was concise and the epitome of honesty and integrity. He believed no issue was as important as the process.”
Williams added that Sours told newer lobbyists that it never worked to bend the rules.
But he loved horses “and could probably ride better than he could drive a car,” said his wife, Betty Sours.
“He had some exceptional horse wrecks,” said Williams, recalling a horse that began rearing and coming down on Sours. “It almost killed him.”
Stan Sours made sure his daughters and grandchildren learned to ride. He often said horses minded him better than his kids did, said Sours’ daughter Vyonne Sours of Littleton.
Sours won numerous awards for horsemanship and for his dedication to horse organizations.
Born in a log cabin near Rifle, Sours rode a horse to school and sometimes boarded in town because weather was too bad to go back to the ranch each night.
After serving in the Marine Corps and attending classes at Mesa Junior College in Grand Junction, he worked on newspapers in Grand Junction and Golden and for a newspaper and television station in Joplin, Mo. He joined Mountain Bell, working as an auditor and lobbyist.
He later had his own lobbying business with such clients as US West, Associated Builders, Qwest, the Colorado Horse Council, the Colorado River Water Conservation District and racetrack owner Wembley USA.
He married Betty Sullivan on March 11, 1959. In addition to his wife and his other daughter, Shirlene Foster of Littleton, he is survived by five grandchildren and his nephew, Rod Zang of Rifle.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-820-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
