BALKY HORSEMAN GETS HIS RIBBON
( EDITOR ’ S NOTE — The following article was sent to us by an interested reader . It was taken from a June 1968 issue of THE ATLANTA JOUR NAL-CONSTITUTION and is a fair representation of what a lot of us would like to do at times .)
Horse shows can be a problem for the man who doesn ’ t win but knows he has the best entry .
W . C . Rhodes had that problem . But he solved it with a stubborn streak , not his , but his animal ’ s .
In an interview Mr . Rhodes told how he retired his best horse and became a blue ribbon winner .
" Best Tennessee Walking Horse in the show , that ’ s what I had , and I ' m not bragging . But the judges gave the blue ribbon to a horse from a big stable . A little stable-owner can ’ t win . So I went home and told my family , ' That ' s the last time I enter a horse of mine in one of these shows .’ " But when the next show rolled around , I thought , ' I ’ ll just enter my mule .’ So I did . I took HATTIE , our plow mule , and decked her out like a walking horse . I put a false tail on her , a humane tail , and roached her ears nice and clean , and put walking horse boots on her . Then I put a country saddle on her back , a croker sack , and used country reins , a plow line .
" Joe Morris of Grovetown rode her for me in the Augusta show- . He is little and a good rider . We en tered her in the Costume Class , and Joe wore a country-style riding outfit ; overalls with patches , a broken-brim straw hat , and bare feet .
" We changed HATTIE ’ s name for the occasion , too . You know , around here all these fancy walking horses have GO in their names or GO BOY , such as GO BOY ’ S FANCY , or GO GO ’ S SHOOTING STAR , such as that . Well , we entered Hattie as GO GO ’ S NO GO .
" When Joe trotted HATTIE into the ring , you could hear the crowd begin to buzz . You could hear the kids — half of them had never seen a mule — ask , ' What ’ s that ?’ Then the crowd went wild . Well , we got the Blue , and when we trotted HATTIE from the ring , everyone crowded around and wanted to touch and pet her . We were the most popular thing at the show .
" Yes , HATTIE trots . She has three gaits : walk , trot , and canter . Of course , her trot will about jar your teeth loose . She ’ s the most intelligent thing on the place , too . I ’ ve got half a dozen horses , but HAT TIE ’ s the only one can open all the gates . She does it with her mouth . She watches you twice , then she can copy you . We ’ ve got to keep everything chained and padlocked against her .
" Next time we showed Hattie was at the Evans show . Joe rode her again . Same thing again . We got the blue and the most applause . Everyone in Georgia who was raised on a farm has ridden mules , and HATTIE reminded them of it , I guess . And that ’ s what she is : My plow mule . She ’ s 13 years old , and I ’ ve had her 11 years .
" Next time HATTIE was entered in a show was in Washington . That time I rode her , and I ’ m not as good as the others and only won a red ribbon . Still and all , we got the most applause . I dressed country style , too , and used a country whip : An oak switch . " By the way , Wilkes County — where Washington jS _ is where I was raised . I was born in the north end of Lincoln County , but my family moved to Wilkes when I was little . I went to school in Tignall .
" Right now I work for Fidelity Maintenance at Co lumbia Nitrogen in Augusta , and train Walking Horses after hours and on weekends . I ’ ve got four horses of
my own right now .
" Right now I am thinking of putting my Walking Horses to plowing and leaving HATTIE in the barn , because she ’ s doing the best of the lot .
" Up until a few years ago , you know , walking horsemules were a serious thing . At the big Celebration in Shelbyville , Tenn ., they had a special class for walk ing horse-mules , mules with walking horse gaits . It was very popular . Then they did away with it . I don ’ t
know why . " Horse shows are getting too serious . People love
to laugh . It ’ s one reason I enter HATTIE .”
MIDNIGHT SECRET & PIDDLEY TO STAND THE 1969 SEASON AT RED BRIDGE STABLES
Dr . Ralph E . Baney recently announced in a news release to the VOICE that PIDDLEY , the popular Walking Horse stallion from Fayetteville , Tennessee , would stand the 1969 breeding season at Red Bridge Stables in Kansas City , Missouri . PIDDLEY was the headline attraction of the recent Mid-West Walking Horse Sale in Kansas City and , while creating a lot of interest , he did not bring the figure that a stallion of this stature should demand .
In discussing his decision to stand the horse in the mid-west , his owner , Dr . W . D . Jones of Fayetteville , stated , " While no one was interested in purchasing a breeding stallion of this calibre for the Mid-West area , there was a great deal of interest on the part of mare owners to have him remain in Kansas City for the 1969 season . It was as a result of this interest that we decided to leave him at Red Bridge Stables .”
The facilities at Red Bridge Stables are excellent for a major breeding operation and PIDDLEY will stand beside the famed MIDNIGHT SECRET during the coming year . Dr . Baney pointed out that he has studied the backgrounds of both stallions and feels that they will offer diverse bloodlines that feature the two most prominent lines in the Walking Horse breed , namely MERRY GO BOY and MIDNIGHT SUN .
The stud fees for both horses will be within the reach of the vast majority of breeders in the mid-west and will provide breeding that should nic well with al most any mare regardless of her breeding . With the popularity of the Mid-West Sale increasing each year , breeders with MIDNIGHT SECRET and PIDDLEY colts will have a ready-made sales outlet as their colts reach their weanling and yearling age .
PINE HILL FARM OXFORD , MICHIGAN TRAINING AND SALES SHOW AND PLEASURE HORSES HOME OF SHADOW ’ S ROVER
Owner : Trainer : R . B . CHAMBERS H . JOHNSON MCDONALD
3765 Matermora Road — Phone 313 / 628-1887
48 Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse