American Saddlebred
The American Saddlebred is a horse breed from the United States. Descended from riding-type horses bred at the time of the American Revolution, the American Saddlebred includes the Narragansett Pacer, Canadian Pacer, Morgan horse, Morgan and ...
horse trainer
A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them good behaviors and/or coaching them for events, which ...
. He was best known for showing the stallion
Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence.
Wing commander is immediately se ...
to six World's Grand Championships, although he later won another World's Grand Championship on Dream Waltz.
Life and career
Teater was born in
Harrodsburg, Kentucky
Harrodsburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 9,064 at the 2020 census.
Although Harrodsburg was formally established by the Virginia House of Burgesses after Boo ...
in 1905/1906.
In 1943 Teater moved to
Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census.Castleton Farm.
Teater was best known for training the chestnut stallion
Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence.
Wing commander is immediately se ...
five-gaited
Five-gaited horses are notable for their ability to perform five distinct horse gaits instead of simply the three gaits, walk, trot and canter, canter or gallop common to most horses. Individual animals with this ability are often seen in the Ame ...
World's Grand Championship that year and every year through 1953, making them the first six-time winners.
Teater also trained the five-gaited horse Waltz Dream, who won the World's Grand Championship in 1956.
Teater's son Ed ran the Tattersall Sale, an auction for all ages and disciplines of Saddlebreds, and was later the president of Teater American Saddlebred Enterprises.
Earl Teater died May 19, 1972, of cancer. He was 67 years old and his obituary ran in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. He was inducted into the United Professional Horsemens Association Hall of Fame.