1963-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1963 July Voice | Page 3

Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse
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High School Honor Student Aims High
jimmy Ellis, 18-year-old high school
honor graduate at Orrville, Ala., will
also graduate from Celebration Juve­
nile Class competition this year—rid­
ing Sun's Glory Boy who took him
to the reserve championship in the
pony class for older juveniles in 1962,
and also in the stake event.
The Alabama farm boy will “go
for broke” in an all-out effort—as tlie
time clock pushes him into the older
age bracket lor later Celebrations.
Celebration class competition will
be nothing new for Jimmy, who has
ridden in 12 Celebrations and has
finished “in the money” every time.
His frequent appearances have served
to develop a throng of followers who
are on hand every year to cheer for
this son of Mr. and Mrs. R. F. Ellis.
The Ellises owned Black Angel when
she won the Grand Championship
Walking Horse Stake in 19-13 with
Winston Wiser in the saddle.
Two years later, Jimmy was born.
At age 6 years he began to ride Ten­
nessee Walking Horses and Ponies.
At the 21st and 22nd Celebrations
he rode his Merry Little Lady to third
place in the preliminary and also in
the pony stake.
Two years ago in the 23rd Celebra­
tion he placed fourth in the stake
on Sun’s Glory Boy, then 4 years old.
He advanced to second position in the
class and in the stake last year—and
many who have seen the boy on his
pony this year say an advance to the
World’s Pony Championship may
well be expected.
Jimmy has “tuned up” for the 25th
Anniversary Celebration by taking
part in a number of Tennessee horse
shows this summer. He placed first at
the Columbia Spring Jubilee held in
June. Last fall he won top honors
with Sun’s Glory Boy in the Southern
Championship show at Montgomery,
Ala.
Sun's Glory Boy is in training un­
der Doug Wolaver of Giles County,
who rode Mack K’s Handshaker to the
World’s Grand Championship in 1960
and rode Cotton Queen’s Go Boy to
the 2-year-old and 3-year-old world’s
titles in 1961 and 1962.
Jimmy entered the fast-breaking
show season after closing out his high
school career in championship style.
He was graduated on May 29, 1963
at Orrville High School—and at that
time received the Balfour Award—the
highest honor possible for a student
on the basis of scholarship, achieve­
ment and loyalty. He attended the
1963 Boys’ State—sponsored by the
American Legion—as a Dallas County
representative.
in sports he starred as football
quarterback, high scorer in basketball,
and leading hitter in baseball. He was
voted the “best athlete,” served on the
Student Council and was a member
of the Beta Club.
I\Text September he will register at
Middle Georgia College, in Cochran,
Ga. After completing the two-year
course there—aided by a basketball-
baseball scholarship—Jimmy will en­
ter Auburn University at Auburn,
Ala., to study agriculture. He is also
a talented singer although he has
never taken any voice training.
This summer when not away from
home to compete in horse shows,
Jimmy is working on the farm with
his father. He works his horses early
in the morning and late in the after­
noon. He often shoes his own horses.
This summer he has worked Go Boy’s
Flowing Star, Big Rooster, a pony,
and also a 3-year-old who have placed
well in Alabama shows.
Jimmy is an expert motor mechanic
and does much to keep motorized
equipment in shape for operation over
the 5,000-acre Ellis farm. Large acre­
age is planted to cotton, corn, and
other field crops and pasture is pro­
vided for plenty of Tennessee Walk­
ing Horses.
For 12 years Jimmy has been travel­
ling this furrow—with his eyes con­
stantly set on a World’s Champion­
ship Pony Blue Ribbon at the Cele­
bration as his great goal. On the basis
of past competition, his 1963 showing
should be his greatest ever.
Eddie Wiser, 26,
Dies In Airplane
Crash In Miss.
Edward O. (Eddie) Wiser, 26, wide­
ly known Tennessee Walking Horse
trainer-rider, was instantly killed July
11 in the crash of a freshly refueled
small single-engine airplane near Pas­
cagoula, Miss. He was the son of Mrs.
Katherine Wiser of Shelbyville, Tenn.,
and the late Winston Wiser, world-
famous trainer and rider to five world
grand championships at the Shelby­
ville Tennessee Walking Horse Cele­
bration.
Surviving in addition to his mother
are a sister, Judy Wiser, winner of the
pony world championship in 1961, one
brother, Bobby, both of Shelbyville;
his widow, Mrs. Sonja Arnold Wiser,
and two children.
Wiser was a passenger in a T34 Air
Force trainer plane piloted by Capt.
Guy E. Enabnuc, 30, of Turner Air
Force Base, Albany, Ga. The plane
was reportedly owned by a flying club
at Turner Air Force Base. The plane
caught fire shortly after takeoff. Wiser,
who formerly trained with his father
and later at H. C. Bailey Stables, Jack-
son, Miss., has for months been train­
ing at a dude ranch establishment at
Ocean Springs, Miss. Funeral services
were held July 13 at Shelbyville.
Wiser has not only been training
and rid ing in competition but also has
been judging a number of shows this
year.
The airplane reportedly had been
for a trip to McMinnville,
Fayetteville Term. Show cleared
Tenn. where another landing was con­
Has 9 Walking Classes
templated enroute to Lexington, Ky.
Nine classes with Tennessee Walk­ to attend the horse show under way
ing Horses eligible are listed for the there in its final stages.
Fayetteville, Tenn., Lions Club Horse
News of the tragedy came as a great
Show on July 20 at 7 p.m. in the show to the Tennessee Walking Horse
Lincoln County Fairgrounds. A. E. World—especially in Middle Tennes­
McEwen of Williamsport, Tenn., will see where the family has been promi­
judge the TWH classes.
nently identified with Tennessee
Top prize money in Walker classes Walking Horse History since its earli­
is $30 with trophies and ribbons also. est stages.
Pioneer In Nevada
Willard Hamlin of Fernley, Nevada,
certainly qualifies as a TWH pioneer
in that pioneering state. “I bought
my first Walking stallion 18 years ago
and have raised a few ever since,” he
writes. “For years I owned the only
ones I could hear of in this state.
There are still a very few of them.
"I own a stallion with the following
foundation animals in his pedigree:
Bramlett F-9, Hunter's Allen F-10,
Roan Allen F-38, Dr. Hal F-39, Bu­
ford L. F-ll, Allan F-l, Earnheart's
Brooks F-25, Allis F-85, Mitch F-5, and
Merry Legs F-4.” (We feel sure Friend
Hamlin has an 8 -generation pedigree
or better, anti has studied pedigrees a
lot.)