Tennessee Walking Horse OnLine Congratulates

Adult Supreme Champion

Janet Franklin, Washington

He's Black Hills Gold

By Vickie Mazzola

Supreme Gold

There is no question that the title of TWHBEA Supreme Versatility Champion is difficult to obtain. It involves long-term dedication, an investment of time and expense, and the ability to overcome almost any obstacle. In the case of a five-year-old stallion named He's Black Hills Gold, it took all that and more. He had to help his rider overcome her own fears in order to earn his title.

Owner Janet Franklin knew that this beautifully marked horse was special the first time she saw him at just one week old. He was born on her own Reinbeau Ranch in Otis Orchards, Washington. "Buck" was out of a mare named Tahitian Gold by Velvet Spirit F-88, a sire who was then owned by Janet. Not only did the foal have impressive bloodlines, his deep striding rear end and perfect head nod were evident from the time he hit the ground. Janet was so impressed that she made the decision to sell the sire and keep He's Black Hills Gold instead, a decision that has given Janet both great joy and trepidation.

Buck is unique as his color. His conformation is perfect and his good nature and personality are precious, traits he seems to pass along to his offspring. He has a true walk that allows him to go all day and still be eager and ready to go the next, and the next without a qualm. Within a 24-hour period, he has been used to pony colts, give riding lessons, trail ride, breed, and show. He really is a gem.

It hasn't been an easy path for Buck or Janet. As a yearling, Janet turned Buck out into the arena for exercise. After rolling in the dirt to scratch his back, Buck rolled too close to the fence and caught his hind leg under a board. The result was a displaced stifle. And, while Buck didn't stand on it for three weeks, a few months later, he was fully recovered and striding around as if nothing had happened.

Another accident the following year was equally discouraging. Buck had gotten his whole body entwined in a fence panel, doing major damage and leaving a serious scar on the same back leg he had injured earlier. That ended his two- year-old training for the year, although it certainly didn't affect his career.

His first crop of foals hit were born the next spring. One special filly, in fact, won the 1997 Yearling Youth Championship at the Western International Regional Futurity. Others have also excelled.

Janet had placed Buck with well-known versatility trainer Laurie Toone in order to give him a good foundation of training. From there, she planned to train and show Buck herself. However, she didn't count on her own emotions to interrupt Buck's training. A few years earlier, she had fallen from a locomotive during a switching operation. As a result, she said, she lost her nerve.

"I always told myself that all I needed to do was to start riding again and all would be great. But, I had six other stallions at stud, and 60 other horses to care for. There was always a good excuse for not working Buck. By the end of the show year, we had made it to just one show. We did very well, but it was obvious he would never reach his potential if I tried to show him myself."

Janet knew Buck had amazing talent, and she hated the possibility that he would never fulfill his potential. So, as a four-year-old year, she took him to Michele Webler with versatility in mind. Michele did a great job with him, and they completed the year just shy of a National Versatility Championship. Buck had earned TWHBEA Honor Roll status in Model (despite the scar), in English and Western Pleasure, and made the prestigious "Top Ten" in Water Glass. It was difficult for Janet to contain her enthusiasm since winning the title of Supreme Versatility Champion looked as if it might actually be a realistic goal!

Buck is extremely athletic. He was already doing very well in trail obstacle classes so western riding or reining seemed to be the logical progression to obtaining the Supreme award. The only question was if his hind leg could endure the strain of the stops and spins. After careful professional training by Michele, Buck competed in his first reining class three months later.

Now they faced a new problem. Most of the reining and western riding classes did not have enough entrants to qualify for points. And if they did, the points went to the first place horse. Since the two time World Champion, Pride's Smart Alex was in their region, Janet knew first place would be a tall order.

Many of their local shows used to have fairly well filled harness classes, so Buck became a driving horse. Little did they know that the pleasure driving division now suffered the same problem. At Buck's first show in harness there were only three horses per class! While Buck came home with no pleasure driving points, he did earn recognition as the show's All Around High Point Horse.

There were many regional shows open to horses of all breeds, and the reining and western riding classes were always well filled. To compete in the open shows meant that Buck would be the only walking horse in classes filled with quarter horses, paints and appaloosas. To make matters worse, Michele had obligations on many of the weekends of these shows. Since Janet had basically quit riding after her accident, it would take a whole lot to get her on a horse. The situation was discouraging. She had two choices: give up on the title of Supreme Versatility Champion for Buck, or conquer her fear and show Buck herself.

Ultimately, Janet knew she had invested too much time, money and sweat into this project to give up just a few points shy from the ultimate goal. She bit her lip and hit the show ring rails.

If Buck were the kind of horse to take advantage of his rider she would have been doomed. The sweaty palms and tears in her eyes were nothing compared to the way her stomach churned every time she had to show. A lesser horse would have behaved atrociously just to get her off his back. Instead, Buck gave his best and even covered for some of Janet's own mistakes.

Janet had planned to enter both western riding and reining classes until one division had more points. She would then to concentrate on that division to reach Supreme status. As fate would have it, for every point Buck earned in western riding, he would earn one in reining. Not only that, Janet and Buck were the center of attention at these open-breed shows. Many folks had never seen a Tennessee Walking Horse, much less a striking, 16-hand stallion with a good flying lead change, a nimble spin and a dynamite sliding stop. He became quite an ambassador for the breed. He even won a couple of the open classes.

For Janet's region, the last show of the year was the Tennessee Walking Horse show at the Northern International Livestock Exposition in Billings, Montana. Buck needed only one point in either western riding or one point in reining to complete the requirements for Supreme Versatility Champion.

"Thankfully," Janet says, "Michelle was there to ride. I was riding my other horse (The Gold Miner) for his points in Western Riding. I had never ridden Miner at a canter, and I was a nervous wreck."

There were not enough horses entered into the reining class for Buck to earn his points, so he and Michelle needed to nail their western riding pattern. The indoor arena is rather small, so the cones were very tight. However, Buck did good enough to place second out of eight horses. He and Michele earned two points! Not only did he win the Supreme Versatility title; Buck also carried home the TWHBEA Versatility High Point Championship in Western Riding for 1998.

He's Black Hills Gold is now officially retired from the show ring at the tender age of five. He will be Janet's personal riding horse if and when she "feels brave enough to ride". Now, she will turn Buck's attention to becoming one of the nation's top walking horse sires.

(Reprinted from Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse magazine, May, 1999)

Adult Supreme Champions

Youth Superior Champions