1964-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1964 February Voice | Page 38

TE^^wimNG h (385RSE FEBRUARY, 1964 JOE BILES,.. NATIVE TENNESSEAN TAKES WALKING HORSE FEVER TO WEST COAST PROFESSIONALS on PARADE By Gloria L. Spencer The Tennessee Walking Horse is well represented on the West coast. This is a established fact for the VOICE has a growing readership (approximately 300) in that terri­ tory and western stables are well represented at the National Cele­ bration each year in Shelbyville. However, this is a comparatively new breed to the western riders. Joe Biles of Beaverton, Oregon is responsible for much of the Walk­ ing Horse activity in that area. Just sixteen years ago Joe was deter­ mined to prove to the “horsey set” of Yakima, Washington that the Walking Horse should have a place in their horse shows. At the time Joe was manager of the Sunshine Fruit Farms and persuaded his em­ ployer, Mr. F. E. Devoe to pur­ chase and import some horses from Tennessee. These were the first Walking Horse of any caliber to arrive in that part of the country. Soon Joe was training and buying The Joe Biles Family — Joe, Hazel, Stanley, age 11 and Stephen, age 21. horses for others and showing in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Although there was much interest in Washington, Joe found that in Oregon the interest was the greatest, so, Joe and his family moved in 1948 to Beaverton where he started his present Walk­ ing Horse Stables. Joe Biles was born in Viola, Ten­ nessee in 1918. He started riding and showing ponies, his own and those of his neighbors, at the age of six. Many times he rode these ponies to school rather than wait for a bus. Joe says he “can remem­ ber the days when he showed in all parts of Tennessee and slept in the stall right beside his horse.” In 1939, Joe left his native Ten­ nessee to go into the freight and produce truck business with his brother in Yakama, Washington. Even after a year of running daily services between Yakima and Los Angeles, California, he could not forget two things in Tennessee, his horses and the girl back home. He persuaded Hazel Dunham of Mc­ Minnville, Tennessee to “go West,” but the war soon intervened with his hope to return to Tennessee and his horses. After the war, Joe was deter­ mined to take Tennessee Horses West rather than return to Ten­ nessee. He felt that this was a new area and there was a real need for the Walking Horse breed in the al­ ready established horse world of that territory. Soon thereafter, Mr. Devoe of Yakima imported some Walking Horses to Washington and Joe also began training for Mr. Mylor Treneer and found interest rapidly growing. In 1948 Joe, Hazel and Stephen, then six years old, moved to Beav­ erton, Oregon, and opened a Walk­ ing Horse stable. Immediately, all stalls were filled and since then he has continually added to his stable. At present, he has 30 stalls, an in­ door arena, a nine stall van and (Continued on Next Page)