WALKING HORSES in MONTANA
by Ethna Friesen Belt , Montana
The Tennessee Walking Horse Association of Montana held its regular meeting at the Salish House in Poison on January 15 , 1966 .
The following officers were elected for the coming year : President , TED MEFFORD ; Vice President , GLADYS FERREE ; Secretary , PEARL TOMPKINS ; Treasurer , BOB KEYSER ; and Directors ROY CUR RIE , PREACH GRAY , and FRED PLUMMER . The association is only four years old but it has grown unbelievably fast . " To ride one today is to own one tomorrow " was just about proved true at this meeting . A young couple from near Poison just happened to wander into the banquet room and were invited to stay and see the movie , bought from a firm in Indianapolis , showing the 1965 Celebration . Later the news got around that they were going to sell all their horses and buy Walkers ! Until they saw this film they had no idea such horses existed .
This is just more proof of the task that we in the north have to do to bring this horse to the attention of the horse-buying public .
ART HARLOW gave an interesting account of the winnings of his show mare , Joe ’ s Little Queen . She is a mare we are all very proud of , as she is a Montana-bred mare , foaled on the ranch of BOB KEYSER in the Bitterroot Valley , sired by the good stallion Hey Joe . CHUCK COURT , well-known trainer from Kirkland , Washington , trained Lil and rode her to her victories in Washington and Oregon this past summer . On the West Coast she was Grand Champion Mare at Seattle . She won the trophy in the mare class of the Pacific Internation at Portland , Oregon . She won the Open Class at Oregon City and then went on to win the Stake . At all these shows she was competing with the best the West Coast has to offer , and was never out of the ribbons in any class she entered . Lil was high point mare at home in Montana in 1964 and 1965 .
We are planning to have a small show at Kalispell this summer to work in with the Montana circuit .
We took advantage of a nice day to visit the Larson Training Stable at Kalispell and watched ROY and DIANE LARSON work out some of their horses . High Hat Sunday Silk , the gorgeous black mare brought up from Tennessee last spring by Dr . and Mrs . FER REE , was given her daily workout while we were there , and she is surely a beautiful sight to see . She in not in training , as she is expected to foal this spring . Art Harlow has a very promising chestnut filly , Chevrolet Belaire , just being started in her training , and Roy has a beautiful black , four stockings and a blaze colt he plans to start soon .
Dr . and Mrs . Ferree are just downright happy , they are counting the days until the foals begin arriving this spring , and a good crop they ought to be with many of the top stallions in Tennessee for their sires .
This part of Montana has been blessed with a wonderful winter . The temperature here at the Bar Seven T Ranch has reached zero only twice this winter and then only for a few hours . For this we are very grateful , but we also realize that spring is a long way off .
HELP WANTED
An experienced Ground Man and Stable Helper for full-time employment . Require sober man with good references . Age no factor . Ours is one of the most successful major Walking Horse Stables in the South . Located less than 150 miles from Middle Tennessee . Send complete resume of background and experience with snapshot and salary requirements . Write :
DEPARTMENT BS c / o VOICE Publishing Company P . 0 . Box 6052 Chattanooga , Tennessee
26 VOICE of the Tennessee Walking Horse