1968-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1968 January Voice RS | Page 94

1/2 and was sold to Mr. Rockefeller by John Bostwick
for $8,000. It was found that she had upwards of two
pounds on her front feet, and little was heard of her later.
I can recall but one other record horse in which Brooks
figured, and that was the double gaited mare, Mary
Gracie 2.22 1/2, once owned by the writer. It also hap­
pens that this same mare brought the blood of another
Pilot horse brought in by the McCrorys, Bull Pup Jr. He
is given as by Bull Pup, son of Heihnson’s Pilot.
Brooks with his elaborate white marking was bred on
the different shades of roan so prevalant here in his day,
and the result was .skewbalds and piebalds of every de­
scription. And as there was a concerted effort being made
to get away from the mixed colors, he may not have been
perpetuated as he deserved. There yet remains the op­
portunity to prove this point, but it will have to be done
by one who is willing to risk a smalloutlay.
Bedford County did not take so much to the harness
horse, and this blood of Brooks drifted over there, where
it is today manifested in the greatest and showiest type
of saddle horse in existence. These white markings were
inbred and magnified, and until about 20 years ago no
outcross was used. At this time a Mr. Allen brought in
a solid bay trotting horse by Allandorf. And strange to
say, he doubled up the white markings on his colts
from these mares. In the past 10 years they have used
four or five of the sons of this horse, and line bred them
with each other until some of the yearlings and two year
olds are almost white.
(Editor’s Note—Like many of the best informed horse­
men of the time, it was generally believed that a Mr.
Allan had brought the stallion Allan to Tennessee. Proof
now shows Mr. Mankin was responsible for Allan being
in Tennessee. See Mr. McGill’s article in Volume 1 and
2 of this publication for proper data.)
In the fall of 1924. when judging at their fair, I saw
in the ring one pure white two year old colt and a yearl­
ing filly that was white with a few chestnut spots about
the size of a quarter in her skin. Her sire -was a bay,
with bald face and stocking legs; while her dam was a
bav-roan with exaggerated white markings. Nearly all
these horses can pace fast naturally, but for generations
none of them has been used much in harness. Would like
to see them given an opportunity in this direction.
General Hardee was a chestnut' roan horse foaled in
1862, and as referred to above was one of the impossible
paternal descendants of Kittrell’s Tom Hal. He was like­
wise bred at Cornersville, and was out of a noted saddle
mare by McMeen’s Traveler. He was known as “The
Fighting Roan.”
Of course most of the get of Gen. Hardee were pacers,
but they could be made to trot with less weight than any
of the other Hals. There being a great scarcity of trot­
ters here in their day, some of them became our foremost
local trotters. These Hardee trotters were the principal
dependence in the stable of the McAdams Bros., Luther
and Joe. The former is here often and it is a pleasure to
hear him expatiate on the gameness of these little roan
Hardee horses.
Bay Tom 2:23 was another of the prominent old
pacers given as a lineal descendant of the mythical Kit-
trell’s Tom Hal. Major Brown's data shows that he was
by Knight’s Snow Heels, out of a mare by McMeen’s
Traveler. Judge Thos. H. Malone of Nashville, who
made some inquirires at the request of Major Brown,
verifies this breeding. Mr. Geers told the writer that
when he was campaigning Bay Tom, a Mr. Weeks told
94
him at Columbus, Ohio, that he saw Knight’s Snow Heels
serve the dam of Bay Tom.
Bay Tom was one of Mr. Geers’ all time favorites, and
we seldom met for any lengthy talk that he did not men­
tion him. He had quite a lot of natural lick on the trot
and Mr. Geers often said if he had known as much as
he did later he would have made a great trotter of him
He was foaled in 1870, and had a striking color, which
he often handed down. He was a rich bay, with a buck­
skin belly so pale that it looked almost white. About
six inches of the root of his tail was tan. He was a great
sire, but came into the stud during a lean period, and
few of his colts were trained. However, he has left some
distinction that will live.
Locomotive, gray horse, foaled in 1870, by Gibson’s
Tom Hal, dam by McCrory’s Rock, a famous quarter
horse, was the most powerful horse ever produced in this
section. And regardless of the great records we now have,
or those to come, he will ever remain the fastest horse that
ever lived, so far as our older citizens are concerned. Lo­
comotive was 15 hands 2 inches and weighed right at
1,300 pounds. He was as long as a fence rail, abnormally
muscled, and on short legs; but withal he was clean-cut
and breedy. There are now living many men who will
swear that a quarter in :30 u nder the saddle was easy
for him.
He was owned by a great crank, who would swim him
in the river and creek to cool him off after his exhibitions
or racers with Joe Bowers, himself quite a pacer. Loco­
motive had scant opportunity in the stud, and like Bay
Tom his colts came on during a slack period. As it was he
sired some real pacers, but as a rule they were too mus­
cular or closely made. Could he have had access to some
outside blood there is no doubt he would have become a
great sire. He was a straight-shouldered, rapid-fire
horse, and on that account he was not patronized liberally
by those seeking saddle horses. However, his blood,
though now remote, is very likely to figure in the pedigree
of a great pacer.
The two most prominent sons left by McMeen’s Trav-
ler were Prince Pulaski and Joe Bowers. And while com­
ing ahead of some of the horses aforementioned, I have
reserved them for later mention in accord with their
combined influence on a more recent family of pacers
springing from this section.
Prince Pulaski sired our first great pacer of note,
Mattie Hunter 2.11 3/4. While Ella Brown 2/11 1/4
(dam of the World’s greatest pacing sire, Walter Direct
2.05 3/4, as well as five others), was a combination of
the blood of Prince Pulaski and Joe Bowers. In the
opinion of those who knew her and were familiar with
her permanent suffering and lameness, Ella Brown will
ever remain the gamest pacing mare that ever lived.
Through all her racing career she was so lame that it
looked hardly possible that she could keep this foreleg
out of her way; her spirit was never daunted, and in a
close finish her eye had the fire of a demon. Walter Di­
rect had a great sire, but a much greater dam.
For years Maj. George Lipscomb had as a partner Mr.
Horace E. Kenedy, who owned and rode a bay mare pur­
ported to be Thoroughbred, and to have come from Vir­
ginia. She has been described as a beautiful mare that
slipped along in a fast flat-footed walk and then into a
canter. After losing his wife and daughter Mr. Kenedy be­
came so downhearted that he sold out his land holdings to
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse