1965-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1965 November Voice | Page 10

“News from the Capitol of
the Walking Horse World"
Midnight Sun is dead.
As is true with all things, the Lord
giveth and the Lord taketh. Such
was the case Sunday morning, Nov­
ember 7, 1965, as the greatest Walk­
ing Horse that ever lived passed on
to greener pastures.
His death was apparently caused
by a severe attack of colic. Mr.
HAYES had made his regular Sun­
day morning check of all the studs
on his way to church about 9 AM.
Midnight Sun was standing in the
comer of his stall eating hay and
feeling good,’as usual, at the time.
Mr. McARTHUR arrived shortly af­
terwards and had been there only
a brief time when the attack set in.
Dr. DEWITT OWEN, already in
the vicinity of the farm, was con­
tacted by two-way car radio and
rushed to the scene. Treatment was
administered and the horse was re­
sponding well. He got up and con­
tinued walking around in the hall­
way of the barn until about noon,
when the twisted intestine from
which he had been suffering finally
ruptured. From then on, it was just
a matter of minutes.
Even though he had just passed
his 25th birthday, he appeared all
season long to be in the best of health.
Few days went by that he wasn’t
ridden as a means of exercise for
the day, and he rarely missed a meal.
But colic is just one of those things
that will strike at any time in any
age horse, and when it does it is,
in many instances, fatal.
Midnight Sun leaves behind a rec­
ord as a proven sire that will prob­
ably never be equalled in Walking
Horse history. Being by Wllson’B
Allen and out of Ramsey’s Rena
(by Dement’s Allen), he was, first
of all, bred to be a champion. He
was a direct descendant of both
Roan Allen F-38 and Hunter’s Allen
F-10.
He proved his ability as a show
horse in 1945 with one of the most
impressive wins in Celebration his­
tory. He was the first stallion to be
crowned Grand Champion Walking
Horse of the World. He came back
again in 1946 with FRED WALKER
up once more, and scored another
illustrious victory. This credited Wil­
son's Allen with siring the Grand
Champion Walking Horse of the Ten­
nessee Walking Horse National Cele­
bration in 7 out of the first 8 wins.
Everyone then turned to Midnight
Sun as the likely successor to this
great producing horse. And in the
final analysis, a truly great horse
must be able to pass on his charac­
teristics to his offspring. This has
been Midnight Sun’s most outstand­
ing achievement.
He started his reign as the all-
time great sireofTennesseeW'alking
Horses with retirement to Harllns-
dale Farm in Franklin. The victory
of Midnight Merry In 1949 began
Midnight Sun’s domination as the
sire of champions. Talk of the Town
followed in 1961, only to come back
to a repeat performance in 1952 and
another in 1953, thus retiring the
•J. L. Haynes Memorial Trophy, with
STEVE HILL up. He was followed
by Sun’s Jet Parade in 1967, Setting
Sun in 1958, and Sun’s Delight in
1963.
However, had it not been for four
men, this living legend might never
have been. I speak of none other
than Mr. W. W. HARL1N and Mr.
A. F. HARL1N, who Initially pur­
chased Midnight Sun and who have
done so much toward promoting the
Tennessee Walking Horse and the
National Celebration; Mr. HARL1N
HAYES, Midnight Sun’s devoted
manager and trainer; and the late
FRED WALKER who teamed up so
well with this powerful show horse
to win his two impressive victories.
The loss of Midnight Sun was tre­
mendous. It is one that will have
great effects on those of us who
worked with him, as well as the
muny who admired and loved him.
He was truly the Image of the
breed.
THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH
A PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT ★ PROFESSIONALLY EDITED
A Must For Every Owner
A Must For Every Trainer
A Must For Every “Amateur
A Must For Every Spectator
VV ^
.. Vi >
for 1
1965 TENNESSEE NATIONAL CELEBRATION
"See World's Top Walking Horses In Action Movios"
' Follow Triple Threat
Johnny Midnight and Others
Follow Other Major Stakes
t
fVERTC..-
ON YOUR LIST
8 MM app. 30 Min. $29.95
* 16 MM app. 30 Min. $39.95
Send Chock or Money Order To
A-l HOUSE OF AWARDS, INC.
.
2340 N. Emerson Avo. •
Indianapolis, Indiana 46218
No C.O.D. Please