Member Spotlight . . .
A Conversation With
1. Where did you grow up?
I was born in Knoxville, TN, but my family moved
to Georgia when I was two years old. We lived in Decatur, GA for a couple of years then moved to the tiny
town of Powder Springs, GA where I grew up. Powder
Springs is near Marietta, Ga which is a suburb of Atlanta. My husband and I now live in Monroe, Ga which
is near Athens -- home of the University of Georgia.
2. When and how were you introduced to Tennessee
Walking Horses?
This is hard to believe, but I was first introduced
to the Tennessee Walking Horse breed when I was
in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I met an older gentleman who
had a TWH mare and needed someone to ride her. I
enthusiastically volunteered and was hooked immediately. A short time later I decided to purchase my own
TWH and quickly found out that I didn’t know nearly
enough about riding and training my new horse. As
fate would have it, I decided to board my new horse in
the only TWH barn in northeast Oklahoma where I
met someone who gave me a lot of valuable knowledge
about TWHs and eventually became my husband!
3. What are the names of your immediate family
members? Are any of your family members involved
in the breed?
My husband, Johnny Paul, has been involved with
TWH’s since he was a child. He grew up in middle
Tennessee and has been around horses all his life.
After he was discharged from the Air Force, Johnny
became a blacksmith and apprenticed under wellknown farrier Gene Jordan. After a few years, Johnny
decided to pursue a career in manufacturing and sales,
but continued to shoe horses on th R6