Strolling Jim
| Breed | Tennessee Walking Horse |
|---|---|
| Discipline | Show horse |
| Sire | Wilson's Allen |
| Grandsire | Roan Allen |
| Dam | Allen's Strolling Jennie |
| Sex | Gelding |
| Foaled | 1936 |
| Country | United States |
| Color | Chestnut, hind sock, star, snip |
| Breeder | Ed Gilliam |
| Trainer | Floyd Carothers[1] |
| Honors | |
| First Tennessee Walking Horse National Champion | |
Strolling Jim (1936–1957) was the first Tennessee Walking Horse to become National Champion of his breed.
Life
Strolling Jim was foaled in 1936 near Viola, Tennessee, and was bred by Ed Gilliam. Strolling Jim was sired by Wilson's Allen and out of Allen's Strolling Jennie. Through his sire he was half-brother to Midnight Sun and Haynes Peacock. He was a chestnut with a left hind sock, star and snip on his nose.[1]
Strolling Jim was first trained to pull a wagon and a plow. Like many horses at the time, he was used as a working farm horse until he was seen by a well-known Walking Horse trainer at the time, Floyd Carothers. Carothers thought the young gelding had potential, bought him for $350 and took him into training.[1][2][3]
Strolling Jim was a three-year old in 1939, when the first Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration was held in Wartrace. He won the largest class held at the time, the National Championship, which was renamed the World Grand Championship 6 years later.
After his win, Strolling Jim was sold multiple times and finally sold out of state to a farm in California. From there he went to Pennsylvania, where he had a successful show career,[4] before being flown back to Tennessee in 1947.[5] There he was given to Carothers' widow, Olive. She showed him in a ladies' class in the 1948 Celebration, which was his final show before his retirement.[1]
Strolling Jim died April 23, 1957 and was buried by his stables behind the Walking Horse Hotel owned by Mrs. Carothers in Wartrace. His grave, with engraved headstone, can still be viewed today.[1][6]
Legacy
A color portrait of Strolling Jim, painted in 1940 by Bill Humphreys, is on display in the Tennessee Walking Horse National Museum, along with the patent-leather saddle Strolling Jim wore at the 1939 Celebration.[7]
In the late 1990s, some guests at the Walking Horse Hotel reported seeing Strolling Jim's ghost "prancing" around by his old stables on New Year's Eve.[8] The restaurant at the hotel was named the Strolling Jim Restaurant after a renovation in 2007.[9]
An annual marathon held in Wartrace is named the Strolling Jim Marathon in the horse's honor.[10]
Pedigree
| Sire Wilson's Allen |
Roan Allen | Black Allan | Allendorf |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maggie Marshall | |||
| Gertrude | Royal Denmark | ||
| Ball II | |||
| Birdie Messick | Black Allan | Allendorf | |
| Maggie Marshall | |||
| Nellie | Walking Dan Allen | ||
| Unknown | |||
| Dam Allens Strolling Jennie |
Maberry Allen | Roan Allen | Black Allan |
| Gertrude | |||
| Mayberry | Kendal | ||
| Queen May | |||
| Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Unknown | |||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||
| Unknown |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Tennessee Walking horse - Strolling Jim #410315 home page by Walkers West". walkerswest.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ↑ "Moon Tennessee".
- ↑ "Notable Horses From The Past". twhheritagesociety.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ↑ "The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "Lodi News-Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "Grave of Strolling Jim, Tennessee Walking Horse". RoadsideAmerica.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ↑ "Shelbyville Times-Gazette: Local News: Strolling Jim portrait graces museum (04/09/15)". Shelbyville Times-Gazette.
- ↑ "Walking Horse Hotel". Supernatural Tennessee. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- ↑ http://www.murfreesboropost.com/new-fine-dining-venue-in-an-unexpected-location-wartrace-cms-11241
- ↑ "Strolling Jim marathon - Race Details". Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "Strolling Jim Tennessee Walking Horse". Retrieved 24 March 2016.