1969 Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1969 July Voice RS | Page 36

merry go boy 3S
In March. 1968 the VOICE issued a 25th Anniversary edition dedicated to
MERRY GO BOY. Now . . . just a little over a year later . . . we are faced
with the task of writing the obituary for this great stallion. MERRY GO BOY
was quietly put to sleep on July 7, 1969. at the Beech Stables in Belfast,
Tennessee, after a career that spanned twenty-six years. His contributions to
the breed "Tennessee Walking Horse” will remain legend. He will forever be
known as the first of the truly big-lime” show horses, and as a sire of
champions. Wherever and whenever the outstanding horses of this or any
other breed are discussed, the name of MERRY GO BOY must rank with the
best. With great regret at the passing of this noble steed, we reprint here­
with the story of MERRY GO BOY.
Few horses have etched their names in the annals
of history to become living legends in the short span
of twenty-five years. Whenever we think of famous
horses, our attention turns to such well-known favo­
rites as DAN PATCH, MAN O’ WAR, TRIGGER,
WING COMMANDER and BLACK BEAUTY. Some
of these are famous for their performances, while
others are part of the heritage of American folk lore
and the world of entertainment. There remains a pin­
nacle of recognition, however, that is reserved for the
few in the equine world who achieve stardom in all
areas of excellence. Such a horse is our subject.
MERRY GO BOY is considered to be the '’nation’s
leading Walking Horse Sire”. He has made a notable
contribution to the horse business for a quarter of a
century and herewith we present his story and the
lory of the many people involved in his illustrious
career as a show horse and a breeding horse. Silver
is the honor and Silver it has been. ... for MERRY
GO BOY has won every honor in the Walking Horse
World.
Wartrace, Tennessee - May 4, 1943. The United
States was two years directly involved in the Second
World War. The world was split in a conflict that car­
ried American soldiers to Europe and the Far East
to fight for freedom and "our way of life.” Amid all
this conflict and confusion there was little to take our
minds off the major issues of the day. On this day
however, something took place in a little hamlet of
Middle Tennessee that did indeed take a few minds
off world conditions. It was a beautiful, balmy spring
day and there was a bit of a haze in the air. . .pro­
bably coming from the charcoal pits over at the Mot-
low Distillery in Lynchburg. A mare had just had a
colt and he was described as "something special” by
all who saw him.
Just one week later a group of Walking Horse enth­
usiasts gathered at a farm of Mr. Archi Wiser in War-
trace to look at this colt. He was by old MERRY BOY
and out of a fine mare named WISER’S DIMPLES. He
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was black as the ace of spades and the morning sun
glistened on his fine coat as he moved about the pas­
ture in complete independence. The only time he was
concerned with his dam was at dinner time. Among
those present were Archi Wiser, who owned him and
his dam, and his brother Winston Wiser. It was Win­
ston who made the first notable comment about this
colt; and he turned to his wife Katherine and said,
"I’ll bet I can win the Celebration with him!”
One week later Winston Wiser bought this colt for
the grand sum of $350.00, which was a tidy amount
to pay for a three-week-old black stud colt in those
days. He took the mare and the colt to his farm and
turned them out. Katherine Wiser took a special inter­
est in this colt and it was she who later called the
Celebration office in Shelbyville, Tennessee, to find out
when the entries closed for the Weanlings Cl