1965-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1965 January Voice | Page 9

The Tennessee Walking Horse
type has the look of good breed­
ing. With sleek coat, sturdy and yet
graceful lines and temperament
matchable with that of the “family
horse” of a generation ago, the
walking horse answers a variety
of purposes. It is ideal for riding
over the farm; it serves admirably
as a buggy horse; it can draw a
wagon with the best of them; it
can even pull a plow. Some of the
best and handsomest of the walk­
ing horses have work marks on
them.
Burt Hunter and Jim McCord
were talking on a Lewisburg street
corner a few months ago. They
were discussing the qualities of the
Plantation Horse and one of them
suggested that there should be a
register. The other agreed, and so
they prepared a circular letter ask­
ing interested people to gather at
Lewisburg on April 27 for an or­
ganization meeting. The response
was better than Hunter and Mc­
Cord had anticipated — for 200
from all parts of Middle Tennessee
and some from Mississippi were
present. The Tennessee Walking
Horse is a favorite in Mississippi
where its value is fully appreciated
by the owners of the large planta­
tions. Mississippi is a good market
for them. The idea of organizing
an association caught on quickly.
The fame of the walking horse was
already established over most of
the country, and soon after that
first meeting applications for reg­
istration were in from Pittsburgh
to New Orleans. One request for
information has come from Cuba.
French Brantley, trustee of Cof­
fee County, sat on the veranda of
the spacious house at Crieve Hall,
Herbert Farrell’s famous farm off
the Franklin Road. Mr. Farrell, the
venerable Joel O. Cheek and the
writer were hearing how the Allen
strain of walking horses was start­
ed in Middle Tennessee. Mr. Brant­
ley’s father has had much to do
with the development of the Allens.
John Mankin of Rutherford
County bought the original Allen
at a Kentucky farm in 1889. He was
a coal black stallion with a blazed
face, and could either pace or trot
a mile in something close to 2:20.
Mr. Mankin sold or traded Allen
to somebody, and that somebody
traded him to somebody else. Al­
len was owned a year or two later
by J. A. McCullough of Viola,
Tenn.
walks into his own!
Colonel Joel 0. Cheek up on BEN ALLEN. At the time Col. Cheek
was eighty-three years old and described the stallion as stylish with
striking color and a gentle disposition.
The Whiteface Persists
In the Allen Line
French Brantley’s father, J. R.
Brantley, was a stock breeder at
Beech Grove, between Murfrees­
boro and Manchester. He bought a
fine jack from Mr. McCullough for
$400, but before Mr. McCullough
would deliver the jack he insisted
that Mr. Brantley must buy Allen.
Mr. Brantley bought Allen for $110,
and before very long discovered
that he had come into possession
of a marvelous sire. The white
faced characteristic of the original
Allen is still a marking of the Al­
len horses.
Mr. Brantley’s Allen sired Roan
Allen and Hunter’s Allen. In the
first generation the roan strain
which distinguishes many of the
Allens now established itself. The
color is not an ordinary roan shade,
but has a golden quality by which
a horse may be identified as an
Allen at first sight. The original
Allen died in 1910, at the age of
thirty-four. Among horses now
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JANUARY, 1965
9