As a young boy living in Texas County, Missouri, I was
fortunate to have met Mr. Curt Stone. Curt made his
living as a livestock buyer although his main interest was Fox
Trotting Horses. Curt’s older brother, Fred, rode Old
Charlie's mother, Belle, from Texas to Missouri, where
she was bred to a Hickory Boy horse to get Old Charlie, a very
influential sire in Texas County and surrounding counties.
Curt
got me started in the pure bred fox trotting horse business by
selling me my first registered mare, Nancy Hanks, in 1968.
However, my family has been in the horse business for
generations. My great grandfather was noted to have had the
largest horse and mule barn in Oregon County.
In 1975, I went to work for Helen and Parlie Edge of
Stockton, Mo. To my knowledge they are the first and only
husband and wife to be honored into the MFTHBA Hall of Fame
due to their success in breeding World Champion Fox Trotting
Horses. During my time there, I broke and trained the
1975 Two Year Old World Champion Stallion, the incomparable
Zane's Playboy, to whom all my horses trace back to. Zane's
Playboy's dam, Floating Red, was a maternal sister to the 1964
World Grand Champion Red Warrior, and she was also one of the
five famous Dusty sisters. Zane's Playboy's dam and his sire,
Zane Grey, went back to Old Ted, making him one of the few, if
not the only, Champion that carried Old Ted's blood top and
bottom. Zane's Playboy's action photo was featured in the
University Of Missouri's textbook on Horse Breeds, written by
Dr. Melvin Bradley, which depicted what a Fox Trotting Horse
should travel like. Although we only stood Zane's Playboy for
one season before he was tragically killed by unknown
intruders, many of today's champions carry his blood.
Over the years, I have shown and trained many notable show
horses such as Toddy's Aunt Martha, Playboy's Reflection, Go
Boy's Mountaineer, Missouri Maggie C., Red Wings' Lucky Linda,
and Southern Playboy, to name a few. I have judged many
of the major shows and am lifetime member number 48. I have
been fortunate to have known many knowledgeable horsemen over
the years such as Rusty McClure, Dale Wood, Dale Easter, B.
Mills, Elmer Hicks, and Carl Piper. These men, along with
Kenneth Morrison, have been a major influence on my horse
ability.
