1968-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1968 February Voice RS | Page 5

OF HANDSHAKER ON THE RISE!
1960 WORLD GRAND CHAMPION GATHERS FOLLOWING
AS STUD IN GEORGIA AND TENNESSEE
What makes the stallion the most attractive element
of the horse world? For almost a thousand years he
has been eulogized in prose and verse. He has been
the subject of many novels, and for years he has
co-starred with the heroes of the silver screen. Almost
every modern-day cowboy has been more in love with
his stallion than with his girl . . . Matt Dillon being
the obvious exception.
The stallion, more than any other domesticated
animal, has been the prized servant of man since the
beginning of recorded history. He represents a com­
bination of many elements of man’s nature. The stal­
lion, while striving to please man, has always been
reluctant to lose his own personality. He maintains
his own dominant nature while at the same time be­
ing willing to cooperate. He is subservient and yet
he dominates us with his masculinity and presence
of power, never letting us forget that it is he, not
the man, who is the stronger of the two. It is he who
in the early days of the wild west maintained his own
band of mares and controlled his domain. And it was
man who was put to the task of conquering the stal­
lion if he dared.
As history unfolds we learn how the usefulness of
the horse evolved from an absolute necessity to a
lesser farm servant to near-extinction as the machine
age gathered momentum. There was a time when a
"horse thief’ was rewarded for his greed or lack of
character with a hanging party. Stealing a man’s
horse was considered the absolute worst thing you
could do to him.
Naturally, the horse will never regain the promi­
nence of the early days of this country, but he is
rapidly gathering stature as a prized possession of
modern-day man. For pleasure, for utility and for
sport . . . the ho rse represents an area of increased
popularity for many Americans, and the stallion re­
mains the dominant figure in the parade. There are
approximately six million, five hundred thousand hor­
ses in America today and the Walking Horse breed
numbers approximately one hundred twenty-five thou­
sand of these. This brings us to our subject . . .
MACK K’S HANDSHAKER, a stallion of note.
If a horse could be found that would be an ideal
representative of "what a stallion should be,” MACK
K’S HANDSHAKER would be the model. As an indi­
vidual he is outstanding. His story, if put on film for
February, 1968
a modern television series, would contain all the ele­
ments of a great novel. He had to be tamed and
even after five years under saddle was prone to ex­
press his independence at times. He was a STAL­
LION. As a colt, MACK K’S HANDSHAKER was not
too willing to embrace man’s friendship, and only
through the determination and courage of a young
farm boy from Cornersville, Tennessee was he per­
suaded to perform as he was commanded.
It was Douglas Wolaver who wrote the first chapter
of the HANDSHAKER story. It was he who, as a
twenty-year-old, made a remarkable showing with
this fine black stallion at the Montgomery Southern
Championship in 1959. He came on strong in 1960
in age horse classes and gathered an enthusiastic
following as the Celebration drew near. We all know
how Chapter One ended . . . the roses were awarded
to MACK K’S HANDSHAKER as the 1960 World’s
Grand Champion.
A footnote to Chapter One: HANDSHAKER was the
only stallion ever to win the Championship Stake at
all six of these shows - the Celebration; the Louisville,
Kentucky State Fair; the American Royal at Kansas
City; the Dixie Jubilee at Baton Rouge; the Deep
South Horse Show at Montgomery; and the State Fair
at Dallas.
Chapter Two saw the big horse retired to stud at
the Wolaver Farms in Diana, Tennessee. Myron Wol­
aver handled the breeding services for four years
and was content with the fine response from mare
owners. MACK K’S HANDSHAKER was to come
back into the limelight again, however, and this time
the story was prepared by another author. Mr. Wil­
liam A. Fickling of Macon, Georgia joined forces with
Mr. Frank M. Talbot, also of Macon, and together they
purchased the horse for breeding purposes. He was
moved to his new Georgia home at Fickling’s Rivoli
Farms in the fall of 1966. The arrival of the great
stud was reported by newspapers and live television,
and the mayor of Macon presented HANDSHAKER
with the key to the city. The demand for his services
in Middle Tennessee was still so great that arrange­
ments were made for him to stand part of each year
at the new Wolaver Stables in Cornersville, Tenn.
MACK K’S HANDSHAKER was not to become dor­
mant, however, for just one year after his purchase
(Continued on p. 40)
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