1963-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1963 January Voice | Page 5

Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse
3
Your Roving Reporter
Charles R. Goldswig
Dateline: St. Petersburg Beach, Fla.
From My Mail Bag:
I am so very appreciative of the
many Christmas and Holiday Greet­
ings. One letter from Sue and Bob
Fahrendorf of Zenia, near Dayton,
Ohio was so clever and timely that I
want to share it with you. (By the
way the Fahrendorls play a major
part in putting on the Dayton Horse
Show which also features many Walk­
ing Horse classes) :
Thornhill Farm
R. R. 6
Xenia, Ohio
Dec. 15, 1962
Dear Charlie and Della Darling:
It is really Bob’s turn to write the
letter this year but, while I'm wait­
ing for him to gel started, I’ll just jot
down a few things.
We have been living in this house
for four years now and we have spent
most of the time in the kitchen. Oc-
casionally newcomers will come in and
sit down in the living room but then,
somehow, Sue will start to play the
organ and they gradually drift back
to the kitchen. This place is sort of
a hodgepodge of more or less the
usual sink, stove and ice box arrange­
ment, plus a fireplace, the television,
the record player and an assortment
of beat-up furniture. At any rate,
everyone eventually settles here and
that leaves the living room entirely
to the dog—who wouldn’t dream of
sleeping on the gold velvet Victorian
settee.
It has been quite an eventful year
here at Thornhill. The greatest of
these was the arrival of the colt on
April 27th. His dam, Stonyridgc
Souvenir, failed to accept him and, in
fact, tried to kill him. So, at midnight,
Susie Fahrendorf and Susie Fallang,
our veterinarian's wife, were scouting
the countryside in search of a baby's
nursing bottle. Susie Land, a neigh­
bor, produced a Dr. Pepper bottle
with a lamb's nipple and, from then
on through August, Susie Fahrendorf
made formula for this rascal. Al­
though his registered name is Erin
Bloom, we call him Didy Pins for
obvious reasons.
Bobby (a son) graduated from Cha-
minade and entered Ohio State Uni­
versity with the intention of studying
veterinary medicine. With the kind of
stock we have on hand, he can make
a fortune right here at home.
The newly formed Miami Valley
Hunt comes through the farm some­
times and they allow us to tag along
behind. We found, to our surprise,
that our saddlebred horse, Where’s
The Fire, can jump the creeks and
ditches with the rest of them. He does
this not so much to join in the spirit
of the thing, but simply to keep his
feet from getting wet. Bob is about to
become a turncoat and is hankering
for a hunter. You can be sure that my
next one will be a Walking Horse—
an old gelding, naturally.
We found an antique surrey, which
had been completely renovated, and it
became ours for Bob’s birthday. It is
black with scarlet running gear, up­
holstery, carpet and the top, which
folds down, is also lined in scarlet.
This rig has afforded us much
pleasure, with the possible exception
of the night that Bob took the Bos­
wells and Maggie Thomson for a
moonlight ride. What he didn't know
then is that the moon does not light
up the woods at night. This unfor­
tunate group became hopelessly lost
in the dark and, instead of letting the
horse bring them out, they disem­
barked and tried to lead him. Now if
there is one thing the Boy Genius
knows for sure, it’s the shortest and
fastest way home. Indignant at being
led, he soon took matters out of their
hands and the result was more or
less what one might expect . . . smash­
ed the wheel, tore up some harness. .
you know. The repairs involved two
trips to the Houghton Sulky Com­
pany, plus the new wheel, making
the overall cost of this trinket one
whale of a birthday present.
We have grass now. Or, shall we say
that the ground is covered. The man
at the hardware store assured Bob
that it was a rapid growing, broad
leafed variety. We don’t have to tell
you what it was. We will say this: We
now hold the undisputed distinction
of being the only people who de-
tConlinued on page 5)
The City Of
WINTER HAVEN, FLORIDA
extends a
most cordial welcome to all
exhibitors and spectators to attend
The Imperial Charity
Horse Show
scheduled for January 23 through 27
At The Imperial Show Grounds