40th Anniversary Picture Project

One of my earliest dreams was to own a horse. In 1981 a friend purchased a TWH and invited me to take lessons with her. My journey began with lessons from Diane Sept at Westridge Farms owned by Helen and Ron Williamson.

By the time 10 lessons were over, I purchased 7L’s Proud Pal from Donna Henry and boarded at Westridge Farms. I was fortunate to ride during the day, a day that began with tea or coffee with Diane and Helen. I became aware a group of TWH owners were working on a big project and eventually learned the goal was a Canadian Registry for Tennessee Walking Horses. I understood little about the goal but was impressed and intrigued by the vision and determination of the group. The Registry was founded in 1982.

It is impossible to believe 40 years has passed since those riding lessons. It is hard to believe that in 2022, the Canadian Registry of the Tennessee Walking Horse is 40 years old. To celebrate the 40^th Anniversary of CRTWH got closer, I searched for a project to commemorate the milestone.

Nothing seemed to reflect vision and accomplishment of that small group of determined people until 2 things happened:

I reread an article Uniquely Canadian in a 2003 issue of The Canadian Times of the TWH. The pedigree of Chapie’s Summer (1988) bred by Jack Chapman included 27 horses that had resided in Canada and in some sense could be considered ‘citizens of Canada’. A Pedigree with pictures was developed for this Uniquely Canadian Horse.

A recent CRTWH contest in Walking Horse News asked “How many CRTWH registered horses are on the registration papers of your horse?” Including the horse itself, there is a possible 31 horses on a CRTWH certificate. To my astonishment, entries to the contest included horses with 25 Canadian registration numbers on their pedigree.

I found my project. I would compile a picture pedigree of the horses or horses with the most CRTWH numbers on their pedigree as of 2022. In addition, I would compile a digital pictorial library of as many CRTWH registered horses (alive or deceased) as possible.

As of 2022, there are 5 horses with 25 CRTWH registered horses on their pedigree. They were bred by 2 breeders. These 5 horses share 2 registered ancestors – Iron Eagle’s Cherokee (1243) and Bell’s Little Beauty (222)

Bred and owned by Karla Hansen

Karlas Acadienne Gypsy (3894)

Karlas Magic Merlin (3837()

Bred by Paige Sargeant

PS Luna’s Spring Shiver (4008) and now owned by Leslie Hunchuk

PS Luna’s Ditto (4054) and now owned by Rachel Bell

PS Luna’s Phantom Sun (4206) owned by Paige Sargeant

My tribute to the Founders of the Canadian Registry of the Tennessee Walking Horse was the result of kindness and generosity of people who shared. Although the final count for crtwh registered horses is not complete but will be around 1500, to date I have received 2208 pictures. These included US registered horses that resided in Canada, duplicates, head pictures, foal pictures, mare and foal pictures, examples of colour, examples of colour patterns, scenery etc. They comprise a visual history of TWH horses that were cherished.

Thank you for your commitment to the Tennessee Walking Horse and Canadian Registry of the Tennessee Walking Horse.

Respectfully,

Dianne Little