By Laura Kidder
Although we
had no idea of how much pleasure he would offer us, Bess' Free Spirit
captured our hearts when we set eyes upon him. Even though he was
underweight and sporting showy ribs, his incredibly long mane, tail and
forelock set him apart from all the other horses we had been considering
in our quest for an eye-catching stallion. After contemplating Quarter
Horses, Arabians and a Thoroughbred, palominos, blacks, chestnuts, and
our favorite, paints, they all amazingly faded from memory as we
experienced his smooth gait and boundless energy. Originally owners of
grade horses and participants of trail rides, my husband, Lennie, and I
knew nothing about Tennessee Walking Horses, except several detrimental
fallacies commonly believed by the majority of the horse-related
population in the South, such as "Tennessee Walkers can't run" or "you
can't ride western on a Tennessee Walker." Spirit helped us to expel
these misconceptions, while affording us hours and hours of enjoyment
and new experiences.
After
purchasing Spirit in
June of '83 at nine years of age, we turned him out on 2100 acres with a
small band of mares for almost a year since we lived in the city and
didn't have a place to work him. Then, in April of '84, several things
happened to shape Spirit's future. First, we moved to a place in the
country where our surroundings were more conducive to horse-related
activities. Second, we found a barn a couple of miles from us we were
able to lease, & third, unfortunately, Lennie was in an accident which
caused him to miss a couple of months of work. Fortunately, he used this
time to establish a working relationship with Spirit, beginning a
consistent schedule of daily riding & introducing the spirited,
unruly stallion to the concept of discipline & manners. Together they
learned to back, park out, side pass and develop a rocking canter.
With
one month's training
behind them, Lennie & Spirit entered an open breed horse show under a
Quarter Horse judge. Since we were having trouble putting weight on
Spirit, he didn't place well in halter, but the duo's flawless
performance left no doubt in the judge's mind that they deserved a
ribbon in the trail class. This was our first horse show, and it felt
really good to place over several dominating Quarter Horses. This small
victory was significant in that it was the catalyst in Lennie's
determination to further Spirit's show career.
The
pair worked together
every day after Lennie got off work, seven days a week, whether in
freezing rain or blistering heat. This devotion paid off as they
diligently worked on communication, and their specialty developed into
winning trail classes. Spirit began to almost read Lennie's mind, and as
he worked the obstacles, he seemed to be automatic, heeding the most
discreet cues, such as lowering his head to appear as if he were
"inspecting" an obstacle. Their first trail class blue ribbon was won at
their first Tennessee Walking Horse Show, a TWHBEA Heyday in October of
'84. At this point, we still knew nothing of what was expected of a
pleasure horse in the Tennessee Walker world! We had no idea of how to
shoe one or even braid them. Thanks to Sis Osborne, who was covering the
Heyday, we were informed of the TWHBEA Versatility Program and, in
February of '85, we nominated Spirit.
Meanwhile, we decided
to find a solution for Spirit's showy ribs, and after several
experiments, we finally hit pay dirt! Originally a light sorrel with a
blonde mane and tail, we changed his feed and vitamin supplements and a
beautiful, glossy, stream-lined chestnut emerged.
With
his newly improved
conformation, he started really turning heads! Spirit has an unusually
beautiful, refined Arabian-type head, and together with his large, clear
eyes, foot-long forelock and two and a half foot mane, the stallion
commanded attention everywhere he went. He began the painfully slow
process of earning his model points. Stallion classes at most shows are
usually small, so 15 points were going to be a challenge, and a
challenge they were, as they were the final points he lacked when he
made his Championship. Equally as hard for Spirit were his pleasure
points, since his previous owner had racked him for most of his life.
The coming 11 yr old now had to be taught to slow down and walk under
himself. With Lennie's consistent daily regimen coupled with unwavering
patience, Spirit began to place in Tennessee Walker shows, and after
acquiring their pleasure points, they progressed to reining practice in
preparation for their barrel points. Competing in open shows for these
points proved to be frustrating, since the competition was so tough, but
the duo persisted and began to run times of 19 seconds! Most of the fun
at these shows came from watching people's expressions as they
discovered they were beaten by a Walking Horse! Spirit was thrilling to
watch run poles, as he seemed to effortlessly fly around them, changing
leads every other stride.
By
the end of 1985, his
first year in the Versatility Program, the talented stallion had
accomplished many of his owners' goals, and we decided to tackle yet
another area - driving. We purchased an inexpensive harness and a small
training cart, and after a couple of days of ground work with a halter
and two lead ropes, Spirit's disposition, willingness and calm
acceptance of any obstacle or task put before him gave us the confidence
to harness him to the cart and take off! He was a perfect gentleman,
and, after a few unsteady turns, quickly taught himself how to side pass
between the shafts so that he could almost turn on a dime. A couple of
weeks later, Spirit represented his breed in an evening Christmas parade
in Baytown, Texas, where we decked him and his cart out in white
Christmas lights. He looked like a scene out of The Electric Horseman!
During this time,
Spirit was siring beautiful foals for us, many of which were inheriting
his color and tendency towards exceptionally long manes and forelocks.
In addition, he introduced our daughter, Krystal, to the comfortable
world on a Tennessee Walker's back! In a lead-line class when she was
two yrs old, we had an anxious moment as she literally fell asleep in
the saddle and began to weave back and forth.
At
home, Spirit proved to
be a more trustworthy and reliable teacher than her Shetland pony,
Winnie, who was prone to try any and every trick to get Krystal off her
back. Spirit calmly walked around allowing the toddler hours of
enjoyment. The only problem the two had in communicating was a confusion
in Krystal's "gitty-up" command! She would hold the reins in the air
above his neck and kick her legs as hard as she could, which must have
felt something like a fluttering butterfly to the stallion, since he
would immediately park out. The first time this happened, I was in the
barn and hearing Krystal crying, came running while visualizing her
lying in the dirt, trampled or worse!! Imagine my relief to see Spirit
patiently parked out with the frustrated baby on his back who kept
crying, "He won't gitty-up, Mommy!"
As
well as he did with our
baby, Spirit was equally as good to his babies. We halter broke all our
foals by leading them behind their sire, and on days that we were short
on time, Lennie would ride Spirit while ponying another of our horses.
He also stood patiently for hours on three feet while Lennie learned to
shoe and practiced on Spirit, sometimes pulling a shoe off and renailing
it two or three times to make it perfect.
By
the time 1986 rolled
around, we hoped to wrap up Spirit's Supreme Championship, as all we
lacked were a couple of pleasure points, all our jumping points, and, of
course, those evasive model points. Equally elusive were the jumping
points, since interest in Versatility classes in the South is not high.
In addition to this impediment was the fact that neither horse nor rider
knew anything about jumping, from attire to tactics. With the help of a
jumping clinic in April, Lennie learned enough to master the basics, and
soon, the team was sailing smoothly over two and three foot fences. Once
again Spirit's disposition and willingness were the catalyst in yet
another transition.
Lennie and Spirit were
well on their way to "Supremehood" when our show itinerary was cut short
due to an impending addition to the family, a human addition this time!
For three months, all shows were ruled out courtesy of morning sickness
(that lasted all day!). Then in May, we took Spirit to the HWHA Spring
Show in Houston, where he earned the show high point halter. Seemingly
on a roll, Lennie and Spirit attended a gaited horse show in Coldsprings,
Texas in July, competing against Missouri Foxtrotters, Paso Finos,
Peruvian Pasos and other Tennessee Walkers, where he once again took
home the show high point trophy. We were really proud of him at this
show, as he exhibited his wonderful disposition and astounding stamina
by ending a long, hard day's work in the scorching sun by carrying our
three-year-old daughter and eight-year-old niece around the arena while
we packed up. What a babysitter! Their giggling could be heard all over
the show grounds as they struggled to stay in the saddle while reining
him on a dime from one end of the arena to the other.
My
increasing girth and
discomfort negated any out-of-town shows, so we settled down and decided
to enjoy pleasure riding. Meanwhile, we moved again, this time buying
our own little farm, and really enjoyed riding in our new neighborhood.
While pregnant with our first child, I had ridden a Quarter Horse, and
was extremely uncomfortable at four months. This time, I was able to
ride Spirit until I was eight months, when I finally got so heavy I
could barely walk, much less ride! The nine pound boy was born November
8, and who do you think gave him his first ride? At four weeks of age, I
stuffed the new baby in a papoose and Spirit carried us off into the
sunset!
1986
turned out to be quite
a year for Spirit, even though he didn't make many shows. He managed to
claim HWHA high point awards in Model, Games, Versatility and two of his
get claimed the High Point and Reserve High Point Weanling honors! In
addition, one of his fillies, Classic Cinder, walked away with the HWHA
Futurity Grand Championship. By this time, Spirit was only two model
points and two jumping points away from his Supreme.
In
April of '87, Spirit
placed first out of eight horses to complete his jumping requirements at
the HWHA Spring Playday. Then, a week later at an open show to benefit
the SPCA, he placed first over five Tennessee Walkers in the preliminary
halter class and came back in the championship against Arabians and
Quarter Horses to earn his final model point. As the show management
courteously announced his procurement of the Supreme Championship title,
we reflected on the enjoyment and experience Bess' Free Spirit afforded
us, along with all the disbelieving people whose opinions regarding
Tennessee Walkers were changed when they experienced him.
In
conclusion, many thanks
are extended to our parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kent Compton, Martha Ellington
and Joseph and Ella Kidder for babysitting so that we could pursue our
goal. We are grateful for Martha Duhon's expertise in fences and the
fact that she graciously shared it with us, the expert shoeing jobs and
farrier education provided by Rich Hadley of Baytown, Texas, and we
sincerely appreciate our friends, Tony Price, Cheryl Fayle and Janet
Sides for helping us to get it all together, as well as the rest of the
HWHA gang.
We
wholeheartedly applaud
the versatility program, as it encourages people to train and show their
horses in such a way that really shows what a beautiful, comfortable,
versatile animal he really is!
