1969 Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1969 September/October Voice RS | Page 89

J. heneh Bmfky Dm!
(Above) J. French Brantley ponders the future of the walking
horse breed. (Right) Gesturing to make a point, Mr. Brantley
emphasises the importance of natural ability as VOICE pub­
lisher, C. Bruce Spencer, makes notes.
(Part One of a Series)
The Walking Horse business is fortunate in­
deed to have a gentleman still around who can
"remember back when” it all started. He is J.
French Brantley of Wartrace, Tennessee, son
of the late J. R. Brantley of Manchester, Ten­
nessee, one of the founding fathers of the
Walking Horse breed. We have been planning
a series of articles based on the experiences
of this gentleman for several years and, during
the Celebration this year, we gathered material
for the first article. We will do our best to in­
terpret everything correctly and to provide
VOICE readers with an unusual and exciting
visit to the early days of the breed.
We have known French Brantley personally for sev­
eral years. His wit and manner are exceptional for a
man nigh onto ninety, and he is in good health and
high spirits. We were first impressed with Mr. Brant­
ley’s powers of recollection some years ago when he
mentioned to us that he "used to ride old ROAN AL­
LEN to school.” Well, the very thought of such a
thing sent a shiver down my spine, as this grand old
foundation horse is revered to such an extent that we
almost thought him above "riding.” On questioning
September/October, 1969
Mr. Brantley, we heard stories about how the old
horses were treated, and how much everyone in the
Middle Tennessee basin loved them. He could remem­
ber everyone with more clarity than most of us can
recall who won the Flat Creek Horse Show this year.
(Who DID win the Flat Creek Show?) In our first in­
terview, it was pure pleasure to discuss the events
that led up to the development of this great horse,
and Mr. Brantley told it well ... as he is the only
man living who has personal knowledge of the first
days of the breed.
The first statement Mr. Brantley made about the
beginning of the Walking Horse breed was, oddly
enough, regarding the people in the area and the
mares they owned. In the late 1800’s, over near
Beech Grove, the Ashleys and the Nortons owned
some fine farms and had some good mares. Further
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