1967-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1967 July Voice RS | Page 29

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in order to get the money to build a six-stall barn of his
own. This was on the same property on which his barn
stands today. He has been in the same place all his life,
a remarkable feat in itself.
The story of the growth of Steve’s barn is a tale worth
telling. According to Steve, he just kept adding on a
couple of stalls at a time. “Every time I sold a horse and
made any money I would build a couple of stalls onto
my barn,” he explained, adding that the big barn was
built in three “installments,” with the part containing
the lounge being the most recent addition. Well, Steve’s
barn now has forty-four stalls plus the other essential
features found in all up-to-date training stables. But don’t
take this to mean that Steve has sold only a few horses—
he has sold as many as anyone in the business and he’s
still going strong. He has just found other uses for the
profits he has been making, plus the fact that forty-four
stalls in a training barn is plenty for any man.
Steve has been winning ribbons for a long time. As
a matter of fact, he won his first class when he was five
years old aboard WILSON ALLEN at a show in War-
trace, Tennessee. The first blue ribbon that he ever won
came on a mare called STROLLIN MARY at the Ten­
nessee State Fair.
The horses Steve has ridden during his long and illus­
trious career read like a “Who’s Who” in Walking Horse
history. Some of the many great horses Steve has shown
include CHINA GIRL, SOCIETY SENSATION, BIL­
LIE WILSON, DIAMOND LIL. PISTOL PACKIN
PAPA, DESTINY, MERRY WILSON, GO BOY’S
SOUVENIR, WILSON ALLEN DREAM GIRL, HOT
TODDY, FIVE MINUTES TO MIDNIGFIT, MID­
NIGHT MERRY, SUN’S ELDORADO, LITTLE MYS­
TERY. MIDNIGHT MIKE, MR. SENSATION, SPIRIT
OF MIDNIGHT, HILL’S PERFECTION, GO BOY’S
ROYAL HEIR, GLEAM OF SUN, and TALK OF THE
TOWN.
The mention of TALK OF THE TOWN stirs the
blood of Walking Horse enthusiasts all over the country.
This great bay gelding is the only horse in the history
of this illustrious breed to win the World’s Grand Cham­
pionship three times and retire the J. L. Haynes Memor­
ial Challenge Trophy. TALK OF THE TOWN was the
Grand Champion in 1951, 1952, and 1953. He won it the
first time as a four-year-old and was shown all over the
country by Steve following his great triumphs at the
Celebration.
The story7 of this great champion is an amazing tale.
He was traded or sold six times prior to winning the
title. Steve and Mr. W. M. Duncan of Inverness, Mis­
sissippi bought him from Jim Crane for “a small price.”
Mr. Crane had purchased the horse at V. G. Smith’s
sale for $200. He was a gelding when Steve got him at
the age of two and a half.
TALK OF THE TOWN is perhaps the greatest horse
Steve ever rode. He was a natural-going Walking Horse
in every sense of the word. According to Steve he had
an overstride of 7-7 J/2 feet with no boots, and was as
sound as a dollar. Steve trained him for a year before
winning the championship in 1951.
TALK OF THE TOWN is like Bat Masterson . . .
“he became a legend in his own time.” Much of the talk
about this horse relates back to “barn talk” and the
recollections of people who contend that he was the first
big-time Walking Horse. They say he was an “outlaw”
that defied man to ride him. They say he was broken
in a cotton field where he had to step over rows of cotton
in order to travel without stumbling in the loose sandy
JULY, 1967
soil of a southern plantation. They say he was gelded in
a last effort to put his tremendous ability to work in
the showring and that he finally succumbed to the efforts
of one Steve Hill. There is a story about the sale of
TALK OF THE TOWN after his final Celebration vic­
tory which states that his new owners couldn’t ride him
at all. Steve was called to see what the trouble was, and
when he crawled in the saddle and said “Come up,”
the big bay stepped out as if he was ready to take on
all comers again. TALK OF THE TOWN is still living
and can be seen along the fence on Highway 41 just south
of Calhoun, Georgia, on the estate of Mr. C. M. Jones,
who has owned him since 1954. He is now twenty years
old and is still going strong.
Steve won his first Grand Championship on MID­
NIGHT MERRY in 1949 as he guided this great three-
year-old mare to the title. She made her mark in Cele­
bration history when she became the first horse to win
the Junior State and the Grand Championship on suc­
cessive nights, a most remarkable feat. This horse won
106 straight blue ribbons before tying reserve to the 1950
World’s Grand Champion, OLD GLORY’S BIG MAN.
Steve has gained a reputation for showing horses all
over the country. For many years he has made some of
the top shows from coast to coast. Steve is quick to point
out that these trips were never financial successes in
themselves, but they were a big help when people came to
Tennessee looking for a Walking Horse. Quite often they
would remember Steve from one of these-shows and come
to his barn in quest of good prospects.
When you look back at where Steve started in the
horse business and where he is today, it is easy to see
that he has enjoyed the fruits of success. But in the
training business, as in all others, the degree of success
attained is generally in direct proportion to the hard
work and sacrifice a person is willing to make. There
were lean years in Steve’s career and he hasn’t forgotten
them. Opportunities arose for Steve to take different
training jobs with lucrative pay but he never did. Steve
is at the same barn from which he started and I know of
no other trainer who has been in the business quite as
long who can make this claim.
At present Steve has a barn full of top stock chal­
lenging for honors this year. Perhaps the most talked-
about horse is THE MIDNIGHT HEIR owned by Mr.
Dwain Clark. This fine black four-year-old stallion has
already won classes at Nashville, Columbia, Clarksville,
and Hopkinsville. Steve is quite high on the horse’s abil­
ity and is looking forward to many blue ribbons this
year. ELDORADO’S BLACK LABEL is a good-looking
three-year-old mare that could be the horse to beat in her
class. Steve is challenging the best and is doing an ex­
cellent job of it.
Steve also owns a fine two-year-old filly that is get­
ting the job done in blue-ribbon fashion. ANN’S EL­
DORADO is her name and she is well worth watching
for in future shows this summer. ELDORADO’S TWI­
LIGHT is a three-year-old liver chestnut mare that has
never been shown before, but shows plenty of promise.
Another top four-year-old stud that Steve is working is
ELDORADO’S BLACK JACK. This horse could be a
real surprise in four-ycar-old classes because of his big-
time way of walking.
Standing at the Steve Hill Stables is SUN’S EL­
DORADO. This fine sire has proven his ability to pass
on true Tennessee Walking Horse qualities to his colts
and has had an outstanding season at stud this year.
Needless to say, Steve could not train 44 horses by
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