WALKIN ' IN ARKANSAS
BY JOAN BEASLEY Valhalla , Route 1 FARMINGTON , ARKANSAS 72730
There has been a great resurgence of interest in all parts of our country in the pleasure horse , and more people are buying Walking Horses for their personal mounts . Northwest Arkansas abounds in Pleasure Walkers , registered horses with papers that read
• ’ rite similarly to some of our finest show stock , and v e would like to tell you about a few of them . Some of these horses are back-yard pets , some are shown during season and ridden for pleasure during offseason , but they all have one thing in common : each of them has walked its way right into some person ’ s
heart . There is a stallion at Gentry that took our interest
and held it from our first visit . We learned that his name is MIDNIGHT C . by MIDNIGHT ’ S GOLD STAR by MIDNIGHT SUN . His dam was GLORY LASSIE , an ALLEN-bred mare . MIDNIGHT C . is registered as sorrel , but he is very close to palomino — that good , deep , golden shade with reddish lights — with beautiful , long , flaxen mane and tail . Greg Cripps is the proud owner of this ten-year-old stallion , and with a pasture full of horses of other breeds , guess who he rides when he takes to the trail ? Right ! MIDNIGHT C ., shod like a quarter horse , minding his own business , and walking like mad !
The Ben Chesneys of Siloam Springs are both big Walker enthusiasts . They have a pasture full of mares and some real nice weanlings . One of Ben ’ s favorite mares is owned jointly with Mrs . Nancy Randall , also of Siloam . FIRST JOY , by PRIDE OF HALL ALLEN out of SANDER ’ S JOY , has been shown in Pleasure Classes at some good shows and has tied well . Wally Moon — yes , that ’ s the one , baseball ’ s pride ! — likes this mare and has shown her several times . He is a rather recent convert to horses from baseball , and we think he did real well to ride JOY to fourth place at the Siloam show in a huge pleasure class after working with her only one week . JOY has a very nice coming-tv . o filly by Ben ' s MACK K . stallion , MACK K ’ S BIG CHANCE . This seven-year-old is a beautiful bay and has sired some fine colts . Ben aspires to show him next spring , so BIG CHANCE may be off the roads and into the ring . He has the looks , bloom and breeding ( his dam was MARY GOLD ALLEN from the MERRY BOY line ) and we wish Ben good luck on this venture .
Tito Morsani of Tontitown has a very favorite mare at his house . She is a LAST CHANCE mare a chestnut named MY LINDA LEE , and Tito has a ’ couple of her fillies to back up his belief in her . One is aTorre yearling , PRINCESS LADY M . by BRIGHT DFridin w the stud owned by Clell Burnett ofBenlonvUleTh^s springs filly is a chestnut by DULAN ’ S otpdv MACK . LINDA is a realnaturi . RS
all over the country to field trials , and he has never yet failed to give him says she good day ’ s work . a good ride or do a
50
MY LINDA LEE had a son a couple of years ago that made us all very proud . Morris Collier bought MACK K ’ S BLACK CHANCE ( by BLACK ANGEL ’ S MACK K ) when he was just six months old and took him to Floyd Posenke to care for , break , and train . The colt looked so good as a weanling that one just knew he ’ d make a show horse , and he is well on his way . MACK is a real flashy black colt , and we all hope he does as well in Junior classes next season as he did in the two-year-old classes . Morris has MACK and his amateur stallion ROCKY HILL ( by MIDNIGHT PLEASURE R . G .) home in Fayetteville now , and is working both of them himself , out of the training ring and onto the fields of the U . of Arkansas Farm . These horses are not technically pleasure horses , but in essence they are being used as such .
Glen Giles of Prairie Grove has a dark blue roan stud by RODGERS PERFECTION out of an OLD GLORY mare that he rides as often as time permits . HOT TODDY has the conformation , bloom , manners , and gait . . . everything it takes to make a good show horse . . . but Mr . Giles isn ’ t interested in the showring for himself . He rides TODDY in parades occasionally , plain shod with western equipment , and TOD DY really walks on .
Our little ’’ orphan ,” THE WILD REBEL , was sired by HOT TODDY out of our pleasure mare , PAPRIKA DARLIN ’. REBEL ’ S dam is still with us , but she had no milk so our little blue roan REBEL got his milk from our son ’ s old baby bottles . Our overgrown sevenmonth-old isn ’ t ready to be anyone ’ s pleasure horse yet , but he is a lot of colt , big and loose , and we can hardly wait ! ' RIKA , his dam , is a dark sorrel roan of ALLEN breeding , and is seventeen hands of personality ! She ’ s big , and she ’ s boss of the entire place ! JAVA B ., our four-year-old black roan stallion , is the other one we love to ride . JAVA is a line-bred MER RY BOY , being by LITTLE MERRY BOY out of BUR NETT ’ S MERRY GIRL . We decided to show JAVA just for fun last spring and took him to Jerry Underwood for training , but hard luck attended us : at his first show he came down with colic . We brought him home to Farmington , and during a real good ride he threw a shoe and lost a lot of hoof . That ended all thoughts of show last year , but we are riding him for pleasure , and pleasure it is !
KEEP THOSE CARDS AND LETTERS COMING . . . WITH YOUR HORSE SHOW DATES ON ' EM !
Is your club or association planning a horse show in 1969 ? If so , now is the time for the show manager to send us the date and other basic information so that it can be included in the VOICE ’ S " Horse Shows to Remember ” column . There is no charge for this listing and it will appear monthly . Remind your show manager — or send it in yourself .
This year , in addition to the date , name of show , location of show and person to contact , please include the number of Walking Horse classes planned . This will be of value to trainers and owners who are planning their schedules for the show season . And , after your show , don ’ t forget to send the results to the VOICE .
Advertising always pays — and this advertising costs your club a maximum of six cents ... for the stamp !
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse