1963-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1963 April Voice | Page 4

April, 1963
2
Greatest Roofed
(Continued from page I)
New York — from which Tennessee
Walking Horses for years have been
barred because of the custom that
calls for cut tail horses in Walking
Horse shows. Right here—friends—
within easy driving distance of 50,-
000,000 people—we can stage a winter
show on any dale we set—and we will
have the horses in Pennsylvania to
put on a Tennessee Walking Horse
Show.”
These remarks approximately con­
cluded the public announcement
made by Ferguson.
He did point out that the new Fed-
eral-financed Expressway of four lanes
—designed to link Pittsburgh and Phil­
adelphia—bisects his properly near
his barn that he plans to expand to
threefold its present 15-stall capacity.
This ‘1-lane highway with 150-foot
wide right-of-way is expected to be­
come one of the most heavily travelled
East-West arteries in the nation —
when completed: It will replace a
route where hazardous rocks roll onto
the roadway, and slow down traffic
sometimes to 15 and 20 miles pet-
hour. Rocks were still rolling here
today on this route, as melting ice
and snow loosed their hold.
To Populate The Hills
Ferguson also said the area—with
beautiful Allegheny hills in the dis­
tance — is big enough to develop a
modern community with every facil­
ity— ranging from a Post Office build­
ing to a Drug Store. Quiki Tree
Farms owns 87 acres in the immedi­
ate vicinity, and Farm No. 2 seven
miles away has 190 succulent acres
where eight Quiki broodmares now
graze with colts by their side, and
the mares are in foal for another coll
crop.
All persons connected with Quiki
Tree Farms and Quiki Tree Stables
— plus the integrated Quiki Tree
Lumber Co. operations — express
full confidence that "anything the
Boss says he will do—he will do—and
we will help him in every way pos­
sible.”
Bill Ferguson also confided to Edi­
tor Green the belief "we will popu­
late these hills with Tennessee Walk­
ing Horses, we will make a brand
new market for the breed in this area
of the nation — and we will breed
horses that can be sent to Canada and
all over the world, where the Tennes­
see Walking Horse will become
known and be appreciated.”
He went further — in private con­
ference with Green. "We are going
to show the world that a real good
horse, with a real good trainer, and
clean forefeet as clean as any in this
land—can win the World's Grand
Championship at the Celebration.
"From what I have seen and
heard,” Ferguson continued, "some­
body has got to prove that a Tennes­
see Walking Horse can be developed
naturally in such a manner to win the
Grand Championship without treat­
ing the horse with training ‘aids’
that tend to reduce hint to just horse
—and make him or her no good for
a pleasure horse alter his or her show
days are over.
"I gained from your book,” Fergu­
son continued in his talk with Creen,
“that in the earlier days of the Plan­
tation Walking Horse the true-gaited
horse could be brought slowly and
surely to a peak of performance that
does not handicap the horse in his
later years.”
Predicts 1965 Champion
"i believe that I have today the 3-
year-old horse that can become the
5-year-old Grand Champion of the
World, f believe that my Indian train­
er—George Warner—who was practi­
cally born in the saddle, and whose
father is a trainer also—can ride Our
Citation to that championship in the
1965 Celebration. Right now Our Ci­
tation is a superior 3-year-old and we
will enter him in the classes for this
age horse in our area. We do not plan
to enter him in the Celebration until
two years hence.
"To tell the full truth,” the former
U.S. Cavalryman and U.S. Air Force
Major continued, “1 do not believe
in these fast training methods for 2-
year olds that so often make them
win at age 2, then to disappear for
the rest of their lives. It cannot be
done successfully without what I
would call over-training of a young
horse. I believe the age limit for jun­
ior horses should be changed to read
4 years of age, and that a new 3-year-
old class should be recognized. Then
we can compete with 2-year-old horses
under halter—like Nature suggests that
they do. I am told that the American
Horse Shows zVssn. has already done
this with Walking Horses—like they
do with Saddle Bred horses—but so
far 1 have not seen an official an­
nouncement.
“Ben, you understand me and I
understand you, what do you think
of our project?” asked Ferguson.
“Bill, you are a man of vision,”
Green replied. "You are fulfilling part
of the vision 1 put into Chapter 10
of my book. You are pulling into
action a program that will help the
Tennessee Walking Horse Breeder’s
& Exhibitor’s Assn, of America win
its continual fight for clean horses
in a clean breed.
"J wish you well in every feature,”
Green continued. “Here in Pennsyl­
vania you will actually do what peo­
ple in California have thought of
doing. You will vastly increase the
supply and demand for properly
trained and properly appreciated
Tennessee Walking Horses in this
world.
“You tell me that your indoor facil­
ity for shows—with a sliding roof on
top—will make it possible for Penn-
(Continued on page 3)