By Nancy O'Dell
Plunkett
It was
our first trip to Tennessee to look for horses. Sound familiar? We had
talked with the farrier who shod our trail walker and the walking horse
trainer with whom Allan was taking riding lessons and they both gave us
the impression that Tennessee was "the place to go to buy a Tennessee
Walking Horse". We had no contacts in the middle Tennessee area and,
being the quirky, independent people we are, we didn’t think to ask
someone to go with us. I took phone numbers from the Voice for horses
for sale and made a few calls before we left. Allan and I gave ourselves
only four days to find another trail horse, one for me to ride so that I
could keep up with him on his walker.
I have
to admit we were like kids in
a candy shop. There were walking horse farms everywhere. We stopped at a
couple of barns and looked at horses but we did not see that "special"
horse we were seeking. We had called Carol Camp Tosh from her Voice ad
and told her what we were looking for. She did remarkably well coming up
with something to show us from my vague, rambling description. She had a
couple of geldings; a young well broke black and a two-year-old
chestnut, just started. What really caught my attention was that the
chestnut was already over 16 hands. I had always wanted a really "big"
horse. In calling to confirm our appointment time to see the
two-year-old, Carol told me that he was scheduled to be gelded later
that week, so we would be looking at him as a colt. I could feel my
pulse quicken as I would really rather have had a stallion instead of a
gelding. All right! So even before seeing him, he had two strong
positive points and he was my favorite color.
We arrived
at Carol’s Canaan Farm in Franklin, Tennessee, and were greeted by the
picture of a big, red gold chestnut colt standing quietly, having his
ears trimmed with electric clippers. Carol was standing on a bucket in
front of him, reaching over his head. Admittedly, he was somewhat gawky
with a small narrow body, big knees, hocks and feet, a long neck and
face and already close to 17 hands.
Imagining him filled out and
mature, I could see that he had the potential to be a stunningly
gorgeous horse. Even at two, when a lot of colts are trying out their
hormones, he was extraordinarily gentle and quiet. I fell for him
immediately! Allan was somewhat intimidated by his size, but recognized
that his disposition and natural gait were just what we were looking
for. And while we knew little of bloodlines, champions, or quality of
gait, we did know good conformation, good disposition, and attitude.
We then
drove over to Harlinsdale Farm, a few miles from Carol’s farm, to look
at his sire, Pride’s Hallelujah. We could see a definite similarity
between father and son and, if Magic grew up to look like his daddy,
WOW! His dam was a former performance mare, Magic’s Go Girl A, owned by
Paul and Donna Hughes of California.
I had
ridden and trained an Appaloosa stallion for thirteen years, so I was
comfortable with the idea that he would remain a stallion. I proposed to
Allan that we could even pick up a few mares and go into business
breeding quality pleasure horses. We could not have predicted how that
innocent, naive suggestion would change our lives so significantly.
We made
an offer and found that Carol was the agent for Mr. Bill Harlin of
Harlinsdale Farms. Mr. Harlin accepted our offer and Hallelujahs Man O
Magic, as he was then named, started on his new life as a Pacific
Northwest immigrant. It was a bit of a challenge to get everything set
up to transport him home. Again, having had no prior experience in these
matters, we relied heavily on the good advice and assistance of the kind
people we met in middle Tennessee. We had also purchased a Sir Winston
mare from Oakwood that weekend. Oakwood’s owner, Libby Christmas,
offered to keep Magic and our new mare until we could arrange a ride.
We have
been back several times to Oakwood and Harlinsdale and have, on every
occasion, been treated with the utmost integrity and kindness. We
appreciate the efforts these good people have provided in helping us
learn about the breed and the business.
Once here
in Oregon we were quick to show off our new treasures. The people at the
Hunter/Jumper/
Dressage stable
where we were boarding at the time, called Magic, "Spider", because they
said he looked like a daddy-long-legs spider. Within hours after
arriving, he broke out in the most awesome case of hives we (or the vet)
had ever seen. It seems he was allergic to the resins in our fir
shavings. He recovered from the hives but remains sensitive to shavings,
so we use shredded recycled newspaper for stall bedding.
While I
knew how to train a trotting horse, I
was finding that training a young walking horse was very different. I
definitely needed help. Our farrier gave us some advice but recommended
that we put Magic with a trainer. About the same time we bought a small
farm south of Portland, Oregon. Luckily, our new place was 1.5 miles
from Cheveaux Training Stables, owned by Diane Gueck.
Soon we
were at Diane’s door to ask if she would take on the training of our
young stallion. Diane was somewhat guarded at first because she has a
staff of young people who help her with her barn. She warned us that if
he became difficult to handle we would have to take him home. Magic soon
became a barn favorite. Kara Bentley, a groom and fine young juvenile
rider for Ms. Gueck, took extra special care of him, babying him with
her special brand of TLC. He is a very personable horse and would lower
his head for the younger girls to put on his halter and he would walk
carefully beside them. Kim Biehler and B.J. Morgan spent hours pacing
him, teaching him to loosen up and swing. While he was growing into a
very handsome young horse with a lot of natural ability, we knew that he
was a long term investment of time and energy. He would never be a
three-year-old "wonder kid" or even a champion in the show ring.
I remember
trail riding with Diane one Sunday afternoon. Magic was stumbling all
over the trail, his big feet and legs just could not stay together.
Suddenly his back end slipped all the way under him and he just sat down
on the trail. I was standing on the ground, one foot on each side,
laughing at his position. He finally got up and I tentatively asked
Diane, "Well, he should be better after a year or so. Right?" She said "
. . . more like three years."
We changed
his name that winter to Hallelujahs Sunset Magic, partly because of his
beautiful sunset color and partly because his home now was in the west.
Magic is a very naturally gaited horse and he was trained using the most
natural methods. We started to show him in the spring of 1994 as a three
year old. He began his show career with plantation shoes and surprised
everyone with his winning ways in the show ring.
Diane mentioned
to us that we should enter him in the Versatility Program with TWHBEA.
She had already trained several Supreme Champions. So we contacted Sis
Osborne at TWHBEA and started keeping records of his placings during his
three-year-old year.
As a four-year-old, we
added the canter and driving to his training schedule. In 1995, he won
seven Tennessee Walking Horse Exhibitors’ Association of Oregon (TWHEAO)
year end high point awards, including flat-shod driving, first year
canter and three-gait class awards.
In 1996,
we added trail and reining to his plate. By 1997, we had changed him to
lite-shod and he was showing in gaming, reining, western riding, lite-shod
driving, three-gait English and three-gait Western and water glass
classes. We found, after he learned to gait, he would stride better and
go freer with the lighter shoes and less foot. He has a naturally high
front end and strides well under himself behind.
In the
four years Magic has been showing he has won over fifty blue and
tri-colored ribbons. He has been awarded a Gold Supreme Championship
from the Walking Horse Trainers’ Association, Register of Merit in
Versatility from WHOA, and in 1996, and 1997, he earned Pacific
Northwest Versatility High Point Horse honors.
We have
used him as a promotional demonstration horse many times. He brings out
that excited smile we love to see on someone who has never ridden a
Tennessee Walking Horse before. Sharon Gueck DeFord has ridden him side
saddle in all-breed demonstrations and show classes. As a beautiful
young woman on a handsome, gaited stallion, they have brought cheers of
admiration and approval from audiences all over the Northwest.
Magic has
turned into the perfect family horse. We often ride him with our other
horses on trails in the mountains and on the Pacific Ocean beaches. We
began preparing and showing him as Amateur Owned and Trained horse in
1997. Allan has learned to drive and ride and show at a canter on him.
Our daughter, Shannon Thomas, has been showing him three-gait for the
last year.
I still show him in the "fun" classes - trail, games, western riding,
and reining.
He has
been siring offspring with his wonderful attitude and willing nature.
This year we have been competing in the same trail and reining classes
with his three-year-old daughter, Hallelujah’s Winter Rose, owned by
Helga Boehm of Seattle, Washington and trained by Allison Smart of
Washington. She is the oldest of his foals and his two-year-olds are
coming on this summer with the same natural talent and great
disposition.
Allan and I
would like to thank all the wonderful people who have made it possible
for Magic to complete our quest for national recognition as a Supreme
Champion in the TWHBEA Versatility Program. Our personal thanks to those
who contributed to our success - Mr. Bill Harlin, Carol Camp Tosh, Diane
Gueck and Sharon Gueck DeFord, Kim Biehler, Kara Bentley, Shannon Thomas
and lastly Kim Swingley, who earned our last water glass point in May
this year. Thank you as well to all our Magic fans for cheering us on.
Our gratitude goes out to our farriers, Skip Bickford and Todd Graham
who kept our feet on the ground and walking. All of your support and
kind advice kept us on track and focused on the ultimate goal of
becoming a Supreme Champion.
