T & lk About m |||.
( Continued from Page 7 )
The “ for sale ” signs went out and for a while it appeared that good fortune awaited those select few who were fortunate enough to have a MIDNIGHT SUN colt . At this point it was the “ waiting game ” that was played as owners sat back to demand the highest price , stating that if their price was not met that they would just wait and get “ top dollar ” at the sale in September .
As the hammer fell on the first horse to go through the sale , it became obvious that the demand for these select colts was not as eager as we once believed . $ 3,750 ? For a MIDNIGHT SUN filly , But Ol ’ Sun is dead and there ain ’ t going to be no more of these ! The second filly to go through the sale was “ no salcd ” at $ 3,400 . Then one was sold for $ 1,750 . From this point on it was evident that good colts were bringing as they say , “ about what they
were worth .”
The top colt of the sale was SUN ’ S ELKHORN TOM CAT , consigned by Mr . Gordon Wilder and sold to Mr . Charles Corley of Tulsa , Oklahoma , for $ 4,500 . A year before , the top colt of the sale was an all-time record breaker that went for $ 6,000 . According to our calculations the average price of colts going through the sale this year was $ 1,686.20 . This is based on a total of eightyseven colts selling . Another interesting fact regarding this most important sale is that over fifty colts were “ no saled ,” one stud colt as high as $ 5,500 and a filly at $ 4 , - 000 . There were many in the $ 3,000 plus bracket that were carried back home rather than take the price offered .
What trends can we read in these findings ? One clearly points out the fact that “ there were a lot more good MIDNIGHT SUN colts available than most people realized and a premium can be demanded of only those products that are in short supply .” In short , there was no reason for MIDNIGHT SUN colts to bring exhorbitant prices even though this great sire had passed away and would breed no more . Another significant note is that the Walking Horse public appeared to be somewhat “ fickle ” after the death of this sire and they immediately began to shift their allegiance to other top breeding stallions . People who had bred to MIDNIGHT SUN for years , were suddenly faced with the task of finding a stallion for next season . Many turned to stallions that were stablemates of MIDNIGHT SUN , seeking to maintain as much contact with this blood as possible , while others decided to taken an entirely different road and breed to stallions with other blood lines .
The ultimate result of the 1966 Harlinsdale Sale seems to point out that there is still a good market for good horses ; that MIDNIGHT SUN blood is still in demand but it is not quite as affluent as we had thought it would be after the fountain had run dry .
The 1967 Harlinsdale Farm Sale was most interesting . The very last crop of MIDNIGHT SUN colts will be up for sale and will be hotly contested by colts sired by other fine breeding stallions at this farm . SUN ’ S DE LIGHT , MIDNIGHT MACK K , MIDNIGHT DUKE MIDNIGHT BEAU and SPIRIT OF MIDNIGHT will be well represented as the hammer falls . It will be interesting to note at that time , just which bloodline comes to front as being “ most in demand .”
In the past two months the economy of the nation has taken a healthy swing upwards . Our state elections are over and the trends point to continued growth in almost every area of business . We believe the Walking Horse business will follow these trends and that 1967 will be one of the best yet !
14 jf 1 , tc || It
T & lk About m |||.
SPORTSMANSHIP
“ Sportsmanship ” . . . that ingredient within a ma : that enables him to put “ the game ” before winning , i
most important in the Walking Horse business . Bea Bryant , head coach at the University of Alabama , state that “ winning isn ’ t everything . . . but it ’ s way ahead c being second .” This is perhaps the sentiment expressei by most people whenever a sportsmanlike attitude is callei for . The most classic example of true “ sportsmanship
was recently exhibited by two men in Montgomery , Ala " ima during the Southern Championship Horse Shov \ Thiough no fault of their own , they were involved in
scrambled decision ” of the judge in the Amateu Championship in which the number one and number tw ribbons were reversed . Mr . Terrell Singletary of Thomas ville , Georgia , was originally tied first and had alread received the ribbon , trophies and picture , when he wa informed that there had been a mistake and that Mi
, 0 ? r 00^ " Tuscaloosa , Alabama , had actually wo : the inst place ribbon . Both Mr . Singletary and Mi oo s lould receive a “ vote of appreciation ” for th J ' Ue ? Portsmanlike conduct that they exhibited in thi situation 7 hey are both true “ Southern Gentlemen . thisabusine ! s °' VS ' ' ‘ W nCed m0rC PcoPle Hke y ° U ‘
( Continued on Page 22 ) VOICE of the Tennessee Walking Horse