1969 Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1969 April Voice RS | Page 10

WALKING
COAST TO
FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA:
WILSON PUTS TENNESSEE
WALKING HORSE TO 3,000-
MILE ENDURANCE TEST
On December 27, 1968, a small
crowd gathered at San Diego, Cali­
fornia to cheer a Tennessee Walking
Horse who was cooling his feet in
the Pacific Ocean. GO BOY'S MISS­
ING HEIR had just completed a
five-month three-thousand-mile walk
from Charleston, South Carolina. The
sinking of the red roan stallion’s feet
into the Pacific brine proved that
the Tennessee Walking Horse has
the "stamina and endurance of any
type of trail horse.”
For rider Farris (Dan) Wilson of
Louisville, Kentucky, the coast-to-
coast journey fulfilled a long-time
desire. Now a real-estate agent, Dan
has dreamed of such a ride since he
rode a horse to Harris Branch High
School near Winchester, Kentucky.
He won't reveal how long ago that
was ... he simply gives his age as
"37-plus.” His thinning, graying hair
and solid gray sideburns suggest
that the "plus” may be substantial.
Wilson said he also made the long
trip because of a love for horses. He
has owned stables in Boonsboro and
Renfro Valley, Kentucky. In 1967,
Wilson and Ray Corum, owner of
GO BOY'S MISSING HEIR, began
making plans for riding a horse from
coast to coast. Many months of plan­
ning followed. Special equipmentwas
secured, saddle-bags were packed
and repacked, and the horse and
rider were conditioned for every con­
ceivable obstacle they might meet.
On July 27, 1968, GO BOY’S MISS­
ING HEIR walked a few feet into
the Atlantic Ocean at Folly Beach
in Charleston, South Carolina, then I
turned around and headed for the
other ocean. "I had thought about
making the trip from New York,”
Dan said, 'but it has too much traf­
fic and is too dangerous.” The route
between Charleston and San Diego,
across the southern part of the coun­
try, is the most direct route, missing
the cities and mountains.
Three weeks after leaving, Dar
and MISSING HEIR were crossing
Alabama in 100° heat. Here he toy
ed with the idea of shucking the
journey. MISSING HEIR was trip
ping a bit on his ankles and th*
saddle was rubbing sore spots on tl
horse’s back. Wilson said that neith
he nor MISSING HEIR wassotoug
After outfitting the horse with
heavier set of shoes, hardened wi
a welded-on coating of metal, ai
changing to a lighter cavalry-sty
"McClellan” saddle, MISSING HE1
and Dan Wilson resumed their jou
ney. Shoeing was a problem of sort
At first, standard keg shoes wei
used, but they wore out in only IE
miles. Then came hand-made sho<
with hardened borum cleats ust
over a heavy leather pad. The hor:
was now wearing ten pounds of shoe
and getting much better rnilea^
with his new footwear. (This is tl
heavy show shoe that Walking He
ses wear in show ring competition
Wilson said the trip went smooth!
and wasn't boring because he wc
always trying to find places to sta
at night. He spent his nights mostly
at hotels and motels and at farm
houses where people would invite
him in. He also spent one night with
a chief of police who had an extra
bed, another in a barn stall "right
next to the horse,” and another in
a churchyard. During the night at
the churchyard, MISSING HEIR
wandered off and was found behind
the church, ankle-deep in a freshly-
dug grave. Wilson smoothed out the
prints and went on his way.
Casa Grande, Arizona was an im­
portant stop-over for the longest trail
ride of them all when Dan and MIS­
SING HEIR rode in Saturday night,
December 11. Mr. and Mrs. Ray
Corum of Louisville flew to Casa
Grande to check on the progress
from Tucson to Red Rock and Casa
Grande. This was the Corums’ first
contact with their horse and his rider
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse