The History of Tennessee Walking Horses ~ by Michelle Shocklee

Tennessee Walking Horses are magnificent animals. I could spend hours watching them run through emerald green pastures, not far from where we live. But I'll be honest...I'd never heard of the breed until I moved to Tennessee and began research for my novel All We Thought We Knew, which is set on a Tennessee horse farm. The breed's unique gait, plus an abundance of controversy surrounding competitions involving these horses, not only makes for interesting research into a novel, it also makes for an interesting blog post! 

A beautiful Tennessee Walking Horse;
Photo: A Walking Horse Ranch

THE BREED

Beginning in the late 18th century in Middle Tennessee, a unique breed of horse was born - the Tennessee Walking Horse. Early settlers of this region came from Virginia, the Carolinas, and other surrounding states, and brought with them various breeds of horses. Standardbreds, Morgans, Thoroughbreds, Canadian and Narrangansett Pacers. Even gaited Spanish Mustangs from Texas had a role in the creation of a new breed of horse. By combining the traits of these great horses, the foundation was laid for the Tennessee Walker, who developed distinctive qualities of its own. 

Black Allan at James Brantley's farm, 1905

In 1886, a foal named Black Allan was born. He was out of a Morgan and Thoroughbred cross mare named Maggie Marshall, a descendant of Figure and the Thoroughbred racing stallion Messenger; and sired by Allandorf, a Standardbred stallion descended from Hambletonian 10, also of the Messenger line. Black Allan is now considered the foundation sire of all Tennessee Walking Horses. 

Tennessee Walking Horses come in all colors and a variety of patterns. The most prominent characteristic of the breed is their swift and smooth "running walk." This gait is inherited and cannot be taught to a horse who does not possess it naturally. It is a square four-beat gait with a gliding motion, and a bobbing of the head and swinging of the ears accompany each step. Some Walkers are even known to snap their teeth in time. When performing the running walk, these horses will overstride, placing the back hoof ahead of their forehoof print. Traveling at speeds from 6 to 12 miles per hour, Walkers can sustain this gait for long distances without fatigue to themselves or their passengers.

The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration was founded in 1939. It began with a parade and elaborate pageant that depicted the evolution of the Tennessee Walking Horse breed from its original use as a plow and utility horse, to its present use as a show horse. The first Celebration was held in Wartrace, Tennessee, and attracted over 40,000 people.  The Celebration later moved to Shelbyville, which is located about 60 miles southeast of Nashville, and Shelbyville is now known as the Walking Horse Capital of the World.

THE CONTROVERSY

2014 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration.

(Photo: Margret Wood/Flickr)

The Celebration has often been criticized with allegations of soring of horses at the event, an abusive practice designed to make horses step higher and illegal under federal law by the Horse Protection Act of 1970. The sponsors of the Celebration have consistently denied the allegations. Every horse entered in the Celebration must undergo an inspection designed to detect sored horses conducted by an inspector before the horse is allowed to show. In 2006, the concerns escalated between trainers and inspectors. Initially, trainers refused to submit their horses for inspection, creating a stand-off that required law enforcement intervention. Then, prior to the World Grand Championship finals, inspectors disqualified all but three of the finalists. A group of approximately 150 people gathered, demanding that the disqualified horses be allowed to show. However, citing safety concerns, the show management cancelled the class altogether and no World Grand Champion was crowned that year.

While I don't get into the shameful practice of soring or the Celebration in my novel, they are part of the history of all Tennessee Walking Horses. If you're interested to read more on the subject, there are quite a few informative articles about it online. 

Tennessee Walking Horses are amazing, gentle, glorious animals that should be loved and treated with the utmost care by anyone fortunate enough to own one. 

Your turn: Are you a horse lover? Had you heard of Tennessee Walking Horses before?

Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels, including Count the Nights by Stars, winner of the Christianity Today Book Award, and Under the Tulip Tree, a Christy Awards and Selah Awards finalist. Her work has been included in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul books, magazines, and blogs. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of two sons and mother-in-law to two beautiful daughters, she makes her home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about. Visit her online  at www.MichelleShocklee.com

ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW

Releases October 1, 2024

1942
Ava must put her life back together after her husband is killed at Pearl Harbor. A job at Camp Forrest provides income, but it also puts her in contact with Enemy Aliens interned on the military installation. Can she trust the German medical student whose friendship means more to her than it should?

1969
Mattie ran away from the pain when her brother was killed in Vietnam. Now she’s back in Tullahoma facing another devastating loss. Yet it is the bundle of WWII letters Mama insists she reads that makes her question everything she thought she knew about herself.

Click HERE for Preorder information!

Oklahoma History: Old Fort Reno: Not Just Another Fort - Part 2

Fort Reno, Oklahoma

By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez

In last month’s article, we discussed the history of Fort Reno, located just outside of current day El Reno, Oklahoma. We spoke of the influence of the cavalry soldiers who lived at the fort and how Fort Reno was one of the most influential forts in the state of Oklahoma history.

Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Reno

After the Spanish-American War in 1898, the fort was lightly garrisoned with the 9th, 25th (African American), and 30th Infantry until its closure as an active military post in 1908.

That same year, the Department of the Army reactivated the fort as a remount station, providing a location for the cavalry to train new horses and mules. Under new leadership, the post was refurbished and expanded, with room for the thousands of horses and mules being trained and groomed for use during both World Wars and the Korean War.

 

Cavalry Barracks 1934

This turned the fort into 1 of 3 locations in the U.S. specifically designated for this role. During the time that Fort Reno was serving its role as a remount station, they housed many notable visitors, which included Amelia Earhart and Will Rogers. The principal remount units were the 252nd and 253rd Quartermaster Remount Squadrons, as well as the “Fort Reno Cowboys”, who actually broke and trained the mounts for all branches of the military. During these years, the U.S. cavalry trained in not only cavalry tactics but also in the game of polo.

Cavalry Stables

In the role of remount station, Fort Reno provided one of the most well-known “riderless horses”. Black Jack was foaled on January 19, 1947 and was named after General “Black Jack” Pershing. He was the “riderless horse”—the equine attendant for the carriage at the state funerals for Presidents John Kennedy, Herbert Hoover, Lyndon Johnson, and General Douglas Macarthur. After a distinguished twenty-nine-year military career, he passed away on February 6, 1976, and was cremated and interred at Fort Myer Virginia. He was the 2nd horse in history to have received those honors, the only other one being Comanche, the mount of Gen. George Custer, the only cavalry survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn.

The troops and their horses from the remount station often traveled to other parts of the world during the conflicts in which they served.

  

Chapel built by POWs, May 28, 1944

During World War II, a portion of the fort’s lands had been set aside as an internment camp for over 1300 Germans and Italians. While they were housed at this camp, they were tasked with creating the chapel on the grounds of the remount station. At the cemetery, seventy prisoners of war are buried, who, according to the fort’s museum, came from different camps. The prisoners that died at this camp were moved to other camps to be buried. A number of Germans and Italians have made special trips to the fort to pay respects to their fallen family members.

The tranquil gravel road leading to the Fort Reno Cemetery

The main Fort Reno Cemetery, the final resting place for soldiers, family members (including infants), several Indian Scouts, Unkowns, even a Chinaman

The back part of the Cemetery, sectioned off for POWs. It shares the back wall, there is a staircase that goes over, and it has its own entrance

Many of the POW headstones have the flags of their nationality

In 1948, the Army Quartermaster Remount Station was officially closed, though they sent mounts out until 1952. In 1949, fort ownership was transferred from the Department of the Army to the Department of Agriculture, which in coordination with the Oklahoma Agriculture and Machine University (later renamed Oklahoma State University), established a livestock and forage research center.

This historic fort has been manned since 1949 by the USDA and OSU faculty. However on the grounds, Historic Fort Reno Inc., maintains a presence. They tend the grounds, have numerous cavalry competitions every year, and have a chapel. The chapel is available for weddings, which helps the corporation to provide funds for the site.

Inside the chapel, a beautiful piece of workmanship by WWII POWs

As of 2015, a museum exists on the grounds, and Suttlery (or shop that sells trinkets such as belt buckles, cords, pins and such necessities for reenacting) dedicated to the US Cavalry Association. Several times a year, Fort Reno hosts the “Ghost Tours,” which allows outsiders to hear many stories of the fort and its inhabitants from the people who maintain the grounds. While the fort is open to the public most days, the guided tours should be scheduled and are quite worth it.

If you are in the area of central Oklahoma, it is well worth the time and effort to make a trip to the site of Historic Fort Reno. This fort is a rich, vibrant slice of Oklahoma history. Join us next month, and we will outline the only active military fort left in Oklahoma: Fort Sill.

Born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, Alanna Radle Rodriguez is the great-great granddaughter of one of the first pioneers to settle in Indian Territory. Alanna loves the history of the state and relishes in volunteering at the 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse in Edmond. Her first published story, part of a collaborative novella titled Legacy Letters, came out September 2016. Alanna lives with her husband and parents in the Edmond area. She is currently working on a historical fiction series that takes place in pre-statehood Waterloo, Oklahoma.

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