Sidney Wood "Butch" Kennedy was born September 29, 1938 in Utica, New York. The son of a horse trainer, he literally grew up on horses. His adolescent years were spent moving between southern training farms and northern racetracks. As a teenager, from September through May he lived and worked on Walworth Plantation at Eutawville, South Carolina. Here his horsemanship was the foundation for his becoming a skilled southern cowboy as he helped tend 3000 head of cattle from the back of a horse. His summers were spent helping his father at the racetracks in New York State.

Butch enrolled in Animal Husbandry at Clemson College in 1958. He went to work full-time as the Clemson sheep herdsman in 1961, and graduated in 1962.

In 1968, Clemson began to develop a small horse breeding operation with about four mares. In the following six years that operation grew to a research-sized herd that ranged in size from 80 to 100 head, and included 20 horses used for teaching a course in horse management. Butch was an integral and critical component in the initiation, growth, and success of Clemson's equine research, teaching, and extension programs.

Butch's contributions to Clemson were not limited to his work at the horse and sheep farm. In 1961, he began to explore the Clemson Experimental Forest for pleasure riding trails. In 1970, he began using these trails to teach students to ride in an environment that had less predictability than did a ring. Out of these experiences, the students developed a higher level of confidence in both themselves and the horses that they rode. In addition, from 1970 to 1985, he used the trail system for training young horses that would either be sold by the University or used for teaching or research purposes.

Working with the Clemson Experimental Forest Director, Butch was responsible for establishing at least 75 percent of the Fants Grove portion of the Clemson Experimental Forest Trail System. Numerous students went on their first trail rides on these trails and discovered previously unknown abilities under Butch's supervision.

Butch retired from Clemson in 1994 due to health problems, but he continued to assist in the horse farm teaching and research programs until 1997. He continues to assist periodically at the T. Ed Garrison Arena.

Butch was a critical component of the Adaptive Management Planning Team for the Clemson Experimental Forest Trail System. He currently serves on the Recreational Advisory Council for the South Carolina State Forests, and he serves on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Horsemen's Council. Butch is a charter member of the Southern Blue Ridge Back Country Horsemen, an affiliate of Back Country Horsemen of America.