PROFILES
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E . L . BURGESS . . . PIONEER BREEDER AND EXHIBITOR STILL ACTIVE IN WALKING HORSE BUSINESS
Mr . and Mrs . E . L . Burgess of Sherill , Arkansas . Pictured on a recent visit ( o Harlinsdale Farms in Franklin , Tennessee .
Our “ Profiles " subject this month is one of the most interesting and illustrative figures in the Walking Horse business . He is a man who has been active in almost every phase of the business since 1939 and has owned , raised and ridden many well known and famous horses of the Walking Horse kingdom .
Mr . E . L . Burgess of Sherill , Arkansas is truly a credit to the breed . He and Mrs . Burgess are the proud owners of Jonquil Acres where they carry on their current Walking Horse operation . In discussing his background in the horse business , Mr . Burgess ’ lifelong love for horses was so evident that it is no wonder he has achieved such heights of success and respect by all who know him . He began his riding career on a mule when he was 6 years old . He graduated to fox trotters and race horses and in 1939 saw his first Walking Horse . A . J . Blanchard was showing a roan mare named BOOGER BOO and Mr . Burgess immediately liked what he saw and decided to enter the Walking Horse business . He purchased three horses for a starter . . . ranging in price from $ 250 to $ 400 . He soon decided that at best these were just good pleasure horses and with a little training by him were sold at a reasonable profit to satisfied customers .
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His next adventure was buying what he terms a “ drove ” of horses consisting of 10 head . In the group was a WILSON ALLEN ’ S stallion , several good brood mares and a two year old colt by SIR MAU GRAY . This was indeed the beginning of many great horses to be purchased and developed by the “ gentleman farmer ” from Arkansas .
Mr . Burgess and his lovely wife Irma , formerly of Mississippi , appear unusually adept at locating and buying good horses and selling them at a reasonable profit . Of course Mr . Burgess has a distinct advantage over many others in the business in that he has the background and experience in dealing with all types of horses that enables him to know what to look for in a colt and to determine which particular trainer could best develop it to it ’ s finest . He also has done much of his own training with top horses and has shown them successfully .
Some of the horses owned or shown by Mr . Burgess are : GLO RY ’ S BLACK ALLEN by ROAN ALLEN AGAIN , the horse that made an impressive record in three years with Mr . Burgess in the saddle . Together they won the Amateur Stake and the Gelding Class at the Celebration . After winning many classes Mr . Burgess sold this horse and acquired his brother GLORIOUS ROAN AL LEN . Mr . Burgess was later informed by his trainer that this horse was not quite show material and sold him for $ 750 . This horse was later re-named CONFEDER ATE RAIDER and has since become a renowned champion . He is now owned by Crown Point Farms and is shown by Shirley Schlicker .
Mr . Burgess showed EBONY GO BOY to beat some of the Champion horses of his day . SUN ’ S PRINCESS PAT , another prize mount died last year of a hip injury . Mr . Burgess raised KING ALFRED by SIR MAU GRAY that won every yearling class in which he was ever shown . He also owned the famous SIR MAU GRAY from 1949 until the horse died in 1958 .
Ranked among Arkansas ’ largest cotton growers and cattle raisers , Mr . and Mrs . Burgess have 2300 acres planted each year and have beef herds with hundreds of cattle . They now own about 8 brood mares , a two year old filly named MERRY BLACK GAL II , who is in training with Doug Wolaver . She won the yearling filly class at the Celebration Futurity last year . The filly that tied second , BAMA GO GIRL , was also purchased by Jonquil Acres and along with a 3 year old , SILVER SULTAN , is now in training with Harold Kennedy .
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