1962-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1962 May Voice | Page 10

May, 1962
8
Only Riders On Walking Horses
Get Fun Out Of Following Hunting Dogs
“Dogs can hunt birds at field trials
but it takes a Tennessee Walking
Horse to make a hunter enjoy it," said
the man from North Carolina.
And the man from South Carolina
agreed with him 100 per cent.
The North Carolina visitor (in the
Voice Editor’s living room) was James
C. Richards, P. O. Box Morris Field,
Charlotte, N. C. He wears a 10-gallon
hat with a Texas flair but a N. C.
accent. He operates a furnace com­
pany that heats up his area for the
wintertime.
The South Carolina comrade is an
educator, Cowan Rhodes, P.O. Box
512, Georgetown, S. C. He’s real smart
too—got within 6 months of his PhD
before he ran out of money, now a
school principal.
Sitting on the sidelines was a
plumber, Zeb M. Rea, Rt. 1, Box 226,
Matthews, N. C. Zeb didn’t say
much—probably adding up plumbing
bills in his head. Must be quiLe a
mathematician.
“The Tennessee Walking Horse can
be liked by every man who likes to
ride cross-country," began Jim Rich­
ards — talking into the dictating
machine. “Cross-country must be done
when you are following bird dogs at
a terrific raLe of speed.
“While attending a field trial in
South Carolina 1 met another person
(Cowan Rhodes) with a Walking
Horse. Of course we were interested in
the dogs. But when you combine two
sports in one, riding a horse and
watching bird dogs, sometimes the
tail wags the dog.
“The average speed of a dog in an
open stake is such that it takes a good-
gaited horse to follow so the rider is
comfortable and can see the dogs. My
Iriend and I got more interested in
talking about our Walking Horses
than in watching the dogs for the time
being. First thing we knew we were
riding in front of the marshal so he
called us about it.
“Since then Cowan and I have been
fine friends, using our own Walking
Horses on bird dog trials. The Ten­
nessee Walker is superior to any
other horse we have been on—that is
hor