1963-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1963 July Voice | Page 7

Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse
5
California Walking Horse Interest Centers in Organizations
By VIRGINIA LAMB
May 16th was the date for a dinner-
meeting between the Morada Tennes­
see Walking Horse Club of Stockton
(Sponsor) and the Northern Cali­
fornia Tennessee Walking Horse As­
sociation here in Sacramento. This was
an annual dinner, to be sponsored
next year by the NCTWHA, and was
held at the Del Prado, one of Sacra­
mento’s leading restaurants. My hus­
band, Ted, and J had the pleasure of
attending this and meeting some very
fine Walking Horse owners. A few of
those attending were: Mr Mitch Mc­
Clure, Mr. Bill Oakford, Dr. Carl
Bishop and wife, Florence, all of the
greater Los Angeles area. Mr. and Mrs.
Don Harrington, Mr. and Mrs. Jack
Casper, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Beards-
lee and several others from Stockton.
From the greater Sacramento area:
Mrs. Kenneth Morris, Mr. and Mrs.
Lester Porter, Mr. and Mrs. J. D.
Landers, Mr. and Mrs. Art Kiefer, Mr.
Leonard Dunn, Mr. Larry Jines, Mrs.
Jan Tabares, Mr. Harrison Cutler and
Miss Beulah Capers.
Mitch McClure gave a nice talk re­
garding pleasure horse owners be­
coming future exhibitors and of the
satisfaction and enjoyment being an
exhibitor brings to the individual. He
also made the statement that if he
had to make a choice of being a pleas­
ure horse owner or a show horse own­
er, that he would sell his pleasure
stock.
Harrison Cutler, horse show chair­
man of the California State Fair, made
a speech that is sure to be of interest
to all horse owners. While I cannot
give the whole speech, I can certainly
pass along some of the information.
He spoke of the reasons why the horse
show had been changed from the State
Fair program in September to be part
of the County Fair in the spring dur­
ing May.
May, for the past three years, has
been colder than blue blazes and
windy enough to blow a fella clear
into the next county. The attendance
during this time has just not been up
to the expected. During September,
however, not only were the entries
tremendous, but the attendance at the
horse show went way beyond standing
room only and many had to be turned
away at the gates. Now, after finding
out by trial and error that warmer
weather brings out the crowds, the
next horse show will possibly be
moved into June of next year. This
should, in my own opinion, bring the
attendance up to a more normal aver­
age and give more entries. It is up to
the State of California, however, to
change the future, date, and if all
horsemen, both spectator and entrant,
get behind this, I am quite sure it
can and will be done.
This was one of the nicest dinners
I have ever attended and was not only
entertaining but quite informative. I
did not have the opportunity to meet
everyone there, but to those I did
meet, it was a real pleasure, and to
those I didn’t meet, I hope to meet
at a later time.
NCTWHA By-Laws Read
At the last meeting of the
NCTWHA, the by-laws drawn up by
Leonard Dunn were read. Section 2
dealt with why the Association was
formed, and since it was of such great
interest to me, I want to pass it along
to you, it goes like this: “The object
of the Association shall be to encour­
age and promote the breeding, show­
ing and riding of the Tennessee Walk­
ing Horse in the show ring as a show
horse, pleasure horse and trial horse
and also as a ranch horse. To help
develop a statewide system of the
Walking Horse in all fields, to support
legislation that may effect and benefit
horsemen and horses. To encourage
the spirit of good fellowship and unity
among all the people that are inter­
ested in Walking Horses. To promote
a feeling of goodwill of all people in
Northern California and the sur­
rounding States, and a rekindling of
the pioneer law, abiding spirit of our
forefathers and their love of fine
horses.”
1 believe in this firmly. To me, one
of the greatest inheritances our fore­
fathers could leave us is the love of
fine horses. They have served us well
in the past. They pulled the pioneers
in covered wagons, plowed fields,
herded cattle, and even went to war.
They were there when needed and
served man well. There is no longer
much need for a horse to pull a plow
or a wagon, but that is no excuse for
us to forget they exist and what they
have done for us through the years.
The horse is as deeply rooted in Amer­
ican history as the Indian, the May­
flower, and Custer’s Last Stand.
Although the horse is no longer as
useful as he was a century ago, he is
still, and should always be, a perma­
nent part of our lives; to be enjoyed,
loved and cared for well. Our children
should grow up with the knowledge
that a horse can be a trusted friend.
The love of a child for his horse can­
not be put into writing. You have to
see it, to feel it, to know it. Let’s not
let the horse die out, but promote
him to your fullest. Let him become a
part of your life and you will find he
can become a family affair. He may
even prove to be that “something"
your family is missing.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Every so often I receive questions
that might possibly benefit all Walk­
ing Horse owners or prospective buy­
ers. Here are a few and my answers
to them.
Q—I notice you have formed the
Northern California TWFI Associa­
tion. We do not own Walkers at the
present, but are interested in learning
all we can about them. Cotdd we do
this in your Association without being
high-pressured into buying an animal
we are not ready for? Could we also
voice an opinion without fear of being
cut short? This is important as it has
happened to us before!
A—I am quite sure that if you joined
this Association, or any other for that
matter, that you should not have to
be worried about being ‘high-pres­
sured’. If the people in the Association
membership are truly interested in
promoting the Walking Horse, they
will wait and let you do the deciding.
You should, by all means, be allowed
to voice an opinion without fear of
reprisal. If you are right in your opin­
ion, the members will more than likely
go along with you. If you are wrong,
they should show or tell you why with­
out being to ‘know it all’. I would
definitely say “Yes” to both questions.
Q—We are interested in purchasing
a couple of good pleasure horses but
have a difference of opinion as to
whether or not we should buy a colt
or a settled horse. We know nothing
about the Walker except what we have
read. What do you think?
A—Well, the best way to answer this
would be to have you answer these
questions for yourself. Do you have
proper facilities to raise a colt? How
familiar are you with horses in gen­
eral? Can you afford to raise a colt? Do
you feel you can afford to have the
colt broken and trained by a profes­
sional? If you can’t honestly say “yes”,
then I will try to tell what I would
do in your place.
It is not as easy as some would like
to think when it comes to raising a
colt. Without proper feed and care
they will not develop or grow prop-
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