DECEMBER 1963
Anne & Burt Daugette , Juvenile Riders of Tenn . Walking Horses
Occasionally , a person can express in his own words a story that needs no editing . This is the case of 14 year old Anne Daugette . The personal story of her family and their love for the Tennessee Walking Horse was so well written , we are sending it to our readers , as she wrote it , in the first person .
“ My story would not be complete if it did not include my sister , as it was Burt who inspired my interest in riding . From her “ colorbook ” days she has loved horses . She has drawn them in art class , hung pictures of them in her bedroom , and in our library at home she has a large number of books on the various breeds of horses . When we were ages 6 and 7 , as a surprise for Christmas , we received a Shetland Pony which was kept near our home ; and we took turns riding him with our brother , Clarence . Toby was sold and replaced by another Shetland , Walnut , which we still have with a Welsh Pony whose name is Scout .
When Burt outgrew the ponies , Daddy told her she might have the horse of her choice as a gift from her Grandmother Daugette . She chose the Tennessee Walking Horse Mare , GO BOY ’ S DREAM , which our father purchased at the April , 1962 Lewisburg sale . This mare was sired by the famous MERRY GO BOY . The horse is stabled at Valley View Farms , Attalla , Alabama , which is owned by Dr . J . D . Bush . Burt ’ s training began immediately under Valley View ’ s trainer , Peck Stone , and she has shown GO BOY ’ S DREAM two seasons . She won seven ribbons , including two Blues , during the 1962 season ; ten ribbons during this season which included four Blue Ribbons ; and she placed sixth at the Celebration this year . She is now also training with an 18-month old filly , GO BOY ’ S MELODY MAID , which was purchased for her at Shelbyville this
fall .
My Walking Pony Gelding , four-year-old SIR HENRY ’ S MAS TERPIECE , sired by SIR HENRY ALLEN , was given to me in June this year and is also a gift from Grandmother Daugette . I had shown him only five times in Alabama shows prior to the Celebration winning one Blue Ribbon and placing the other four times . Since the Celebration he placed fourth at Selma , Alabama horse show . I was very thrilled to place fourth at the Celebration in my Walking Pony Class .
Our family enjoys a great many things together , and we are all enjoying the horses . Although my twelve-year-old brother , Clarence leans a little more toward Science and the space age , he will probably want a horse of his own soon . Right now he still rides and cares for our ponys , WALNUT and SCOUT . My father , Colonel C . W . Daugette , Jr ., is president of Life Insurance Company of Alabama in Gadsden and president of the First National Bank of Jacksonville , Alabama . He does not have time to follow all the shows but goes when he can , mostly on weekends . Our mother is always with us at the shows and during our training sessions she usually knits or does needle point . However , she shares our enthusiasm for the horses and probably will be riding soon .
Burt and I have both been cheer leaders at Disque Junior High and she was in the Honor Society at Disque . She is 15 and a student this year at Gadsden High School in the Tenth grade . I am now 14 and attend Disque Junior High in the Ninth grade . Clarence is in the Seventh Grade at Disque Junior High . We are members of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter where Burt and I sing in the Youth Choir and Clarence is an Acolyte .”
READER SEEKS TRAINING ADVICE
“ I would appreciate it very much if you could give me some advice . I have a 3-year-old filly that my parents and I are attempting to train . She has all natural
TEWESSEf ; WALKING H I 5 ' RSE
gaits and looks good but she lost her nodding of the head while training . Are there any aids I could buy that would help the situation ?”
Various people might give varied answers to this letter — and most would want to see the horse in action before offering a concrete recommendation . But as a general practice it is suggested that the loss of the nod by the Tennessee Walking Horse indicates that some error has developed in the training . Essentially , the nodding results from the various other movements of the body — ■ especially the legs — and the head nods naturally . That is one of the big differences between the breed of the Walking Horse and that of other horses .
We have been told by trainers that usually the best way to bring about the nod is to start training the horse anew , at a slower pace , and regain the body motions that bring about the nod naturally . It may be that excessive , speed has caused the nod to disappear .
Even among the best trained horses there is considerable variation in the extent of the nod . Some horses naturally have a very pronounced nod and in other instances you may find that the horse has
a relatively slight nod . But it is generally held that a Walking Horse cannot perform its true gait without the nod , and the absence of the nod indicates the absence of something else in the gait .
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How To Measure A Pony
A young reader who leaves off her name wants to know how to measure a pony . It ’ s easy . Take a string and measure the animal from the “ withers to the ground ” and if the string does not exceed 58 inches you have a pony — not a horse — regardless of the animal ’ s age . The “ withers ” of a horse are the high point above the front leg just before it joins the neck . A total stranger to a horse might have to ask a more experienced individual to designate exactly where the “ withers ” are .