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filly went into the show ring six times with Bill in the irons and came out with five blue ribbons . That ’ s pretty good kind of stock .
Last summer Bill went to Augusta , Georgia to work for Jimmy Gray after Jimmy had suffered a heart attack Bill worked with Jimmy through last years Celebration and then accepted the job with Mr . Whitener at the Silo Hill Stables in Newberry .
The stable still has some work to be done on it but the primary area for working hones is in full swing . It is a barn that is well built and designed with the idea of working horses foremost . The stable is neat and very attractive and seems to have the right relationship between attractiveness and workability .
At present Bill is working twenty horses with more coming everyday . The stable has plenty of room for expansion and a rolling pasture in front provides a fine area for keeping the brood mares . The breeding operation is not yet in full swing but the initial response on a limited basis has been very satisfactory .
Bill has more to take care of than one man could handle but he has an invaluable assistant in his 18 year old son Bill . The quiet youngster has the same capacity for work that his father possesses and is getting a solid foundation in the basics of horse training . He spends quite a bit of time in the saddle with Bill keeping a watchful eye on his and the horses progress .
The name of the Silo Hill Stables and Bill Sledge are becoming better known in the horse business everyday . Bill and Guy see eye to eye on the basic philosophy of operating a professional training bam . Their approach is refreshing and they are very realistic in appraising the difficulties they will face before they can achieve the measure of success they desire .
A recent horse show bears out this approach in graphic terms . Several observers at this show counseled Bill and Guy against showing their horse in an upcoming class . According to these observers he could not win and there was “ no sense in getting a good horse beat .” Bill and Guy thought for a moment and then decided that they were in the horse business to show horses and there was no sense in traveling all over the country if you were not gonna put your horses in the show ring .
Bill came into the ring that night with the full realization of what to expect . He did not win the blue ribbon but he made a real top show . Several spectators at the show came by and praised the show Bill had made on the horse . After everyone left and Guy and Bill could talk , they were both real happy that they had shown . We may never take an undefeated horse to the Celebration , but he will be a horse that has been shown and has earned his reputation in the show ring and not through bam talk
and idle speculation ,” Guy said .
Bill predicts this year will be a big success for the stable . He has two top horses that could give the favorites a real fit . INVASION PERSUASION and MERRY BOY ’ S SECRET will compare favorably with any horses now showing . PERSUASION made his first show of the year at Gainesville , Florida and came out with the blue ribbon .
SECRET has been in the big ring at Shelbyville before and has two ribbons in the championship class to his credit . Bill and Guy feel that a well planned program of showing and promoting over a period of months will help this horse achieve the potential he has exhibited . SECRET
MARCH , 1967 has proven he can stay with the best of the big boys and now he will be after them as never before .
Guy Whitener has been in the horse business for only two years but he has made several big steps that should put his operation at the top of the list . With the expert training of Bill Sledge and a “ devil may care ” approach to showing his stock , Guy Whitener could be on the verge of his finest hour in the horse business . Optimism is the key word around Silo Hill and it is a well founded feeling indeed .
Bill Sledge is looking to the future ! And by the future he doesn ’ t mean two or three years from now . Bill has been given an opportunity he has wanted for a long time and he intends to make the most of it . Bill is a very down to earth man who knows that the path ahead will not be all roses . But operating with the knowledge that you are doing your best and challenging the best in your field , you will get that all important satisfaction of a job well done .
HORSE SHOW CIRCUIT PLANNED FOR UPPER EAST TENNESSEE
An organizational meeting designed to lay out the preliminary plans for a Tri-State Horse Show Circuit was held in Kingsport , Tennessee , February 18 , 1967 . Mr . Ernest Weidner , organizer of the program , succeeded in gathering a group of over 96 area horse enthusiasts and horse show managers to the first meeting . Held in the Pet Milk Company conference room in Kingsport , the meeting produced excellent results and served to prove the growing interest in horse show activity in that area .
All show horse breeds were well represented by enthusiasts from Tennessee , North Carolina and Virginia . Hunter- Jumper , Gaited Horses , Walking Horses as well as Pleasure Horses were adequately covered in the program and all care was taken to point out that the establishment of such a Circuit required the support of everyone involved .
Mr . Weidner served as master of ceremonies and did an excellent job of setting the wheels in motion for establishing a fine Horse Show Circuit . At the meeting over fifteen individual shows were represented . Initial plans call for approximately twenty-five member shows and complete information will be released in the next issue of the VOICE .
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