1969 Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1969 July Voice RS | Page 22

R.B. HICKEY...
Buying and selling horses is a largely forgotten art
in the modern-day horse business. True, most of our
professional trainers supplement their income buying
and selling horses, but few of them are dependent on
this activity for their livelihood. The subject of this
month's profile article is dependent on his ability to
buy and sell horses for his living, and for that reason
can truly be called MR. HORSE TRADER, USA.
R. B. Hickey has been involved in many phases of
buying and selling horses, and has dealt with all
breeds. In the last few years, however, he has turned
the bulk of his attention to Walking Horses and is a
sure bidder at any sale in the Southeast where Walk­
ing Horses are on the block. There is no complicated
reason explaining R. B.’s attention to Walking Horses
... he summed up his reasoning quite well when he
said, "I spend most of my time on Walking Horses
because they are outselling everything else.”
R. B.’s home base is Chattanooga, Tennessee, where
his company, H & N Livestock, is located. However,
he spends little time "in the office” as he travels the
southeastern portion of the country extensively. Un­
like the professional trainer, R. B.’s "time in the sad­
dle” is quite often spent behind the wheel of a car.
The following figures give some idea of the scope of
R. B.'s activities. Last year, R. B. bought and sold
close to 800 head of horses. The majority of this ac­
tivity took place at auctions but quite a few of these
horses were handled in private sales. Also, R. B. has
a number of customers who call and tell him what
they are looking for, and he sets out in search of a
horse to fill their needs. The professional trainers also
make extensive use of R. B.’s contacts in selling hor­
ses when the demands of their schedules prohibit
their spending time in search of buyers.
This year looks like an even bigger year than last
for R. B. if he keeps up the pace set earlier in the
year. At the Ellis Farm Auction Sale on March 22
R. B. bought 16 horses and one week later at the
Annual Jimmy Holloway Sale, R. B. made the top bid
on 29 horses. The Murray Farm Sale was next and
with over 600 horses being sold, R. B. laid claim to
72 head. In less than a month’s time at these three
sales alone, R. B. purchased 117 horses. That’s more
than many full-time horsemen sell in a lifetime’
R. B. became acquainted with horses when he was a
youngster and his dad, Bass Hickey, was a butcher at
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the local slaughterhouse. He first worked with cattle
but around the age of thirteen his main interest de­
veloped in horses. Since that time it has been horses,
horses . . . and more horses. You name it, and if it
related to horses, R. B.’s done it.
There was a time when R. B. would make the Satur­
day-night show circuit showing a Walking Horse named
MISCHIEF’S BIG MAN. R. B. won quite a few blue
ribbons on this horse in the Chattanooga area for two
years. However, a heart attack in 1965 curtailed most
of R. B.’s showing activity, although he still shows a
road pony, INDIA INK, on occasion.
R. B. owns the H & N Livestock Company, which is
now primarily concerned with horses. He stages auc­
tions weekly at the stock yard to sell the horses he
has purchased all over the southeast. H & N origin­
ated as a partnership with G. D. Norman, but R. B.
bought him out after several years and has been
operating H & N by himself for five years. R. B.
makes his home in Rossville, Georgia, just outside
Chattanooga.
Family is a very important part of R. B.’s life, and
he has three fine children of whom he is justly proud.
His oldest daughter, Carolyn, is 24 and is married
with one child. She is a graduate of the University of
Georgia. Marilyn, R. B.’s nineteen-year-old daughter,
is following Carolyn’s footsteps and is a student at
Georgia. The youngest Hickey is Richard, and this
thirteen-year-old boy is now a student at Rossville
Junior High School. R. B. says Richard is not too in­
terested in horses, but don’t be surprised if all that
changes in the not-too-distant future.
To handle the number of horses that R. B. does re­
quires the help of someone in whom you have great
confidence. The man to whom R. B. turns is Johnny
Lanham, a twenty-nine-year-old horseman who obvi­
ously knows the value o f hard work. R. B. has a num­
ber of other people who help him, and he quite often
joins with other bidders at major sales in order to
avoid bidding against each other on a large number
of horses.
Whenever you are at a sale and there seems to be
a great deal of bidding coming from one particular
spot, don’t be surprised if it’s R. B. Hickey. He is
easy to spot with his western hat and fast, pleasant
smile. If there are horses being bought or sold, it’s a
good bet that MR. HORSE TRADER, will be there.
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse