Strolling Jim (1936–1957) was the first
Tennessee Walking Horse
The Tennessee Walking Horse or Tennessee Walker is a breed of gaited horse known for its unique four-beat running-walk and flashy movement. It was originally developed as a riding horse on farms and plantations in the American South. It is ...
to become World Grand Champion of his breed. Since Strolling Jim's death, a restaurant, street, and an annual
ultramarathon
An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...
in his hometown of Wartrace, Tennessee have been named after him.
Life
Strolling Jim was
foal
A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal ...
ed in 1936 near
Viola, Tennessee
Viola is a town in Warren County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 129 at the 2000 census and 131 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Viola is located at (35.538085, -85.860606).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has ...
, 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
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...
and
Haynes Peacock
Haynes Peacock was a Tennessee Walking Horse gelding. He won two World Grand Championships and was trained, owned and ridden by Colonel J. L. Haynes.
Life and career
Haynes Peacock was by Wilson's Allen, an early Tennessee Walking Horse sire, ...
. He was a
chestnut
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelate ...
with a left hind sock, star, and snip on his nose.
Strolling Jim was first trained to pull a wagon and a
plow
A plough or plow (Differences between American and British spellings, US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are draw ...
by Jim Rose. 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
A gelding is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven horse behavior, behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer a ...
had potential, bought him for $350 and took him into training.
Strolling Jim was a three-year-old in 1939, when the first Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration (TWHNC), sometimes known as the Celebration, is the largest horse show for the Tennessee Walking Horse breed, and has been held annually in or near Shelbyville, Tennessee since its inception in 19 ...
was held in Wartrace. He was shown by Floyd Carothers
Floyd Carothers (died 1944) was an American horse trainer from Wartrace, Tennessee. Carothers trained Strolling Jim, the first Tennessee Walking Horse to become World Grand Champion of his breed. He also trained the third World Grand Champion, ...
and the pair won the World Grand Championship.[
After his win, Strolling Jim was sold multiple times and finally sold out of state to a farm in ]California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. From there he went to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
, where he had a successful show career, before being flown back to Tennessee in 1947. 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.Walking Horse Hotel
The Walking Horse Hotel is a hotel on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located in downtown Wartrace, Tennessee, and is a part of the Wartrace Historic District. The hotel is in business as such, and also contains the Strolling Jim ...
owned by Mrs. Carothers in Wartrace. His grave, with engraved headstone, can still be viewed today.[
]
Legacy
A color portrait of Strolling Jim, painted in 1940 by Bill Humphreys, is on display in the Tennessee Walking Horse National Museum
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Museum is the only museum dedicated entirely to the Tennessee Walking Horse. It is located in downtown Wartrace, Tennessee, and contains exhibits on all aspects of the Walking Horse industry.
History
The Tenne ...
, along with the leather saddle Strolling Jim wore at the 1939 Celebration.
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. The restaurant at the hotel was named the Strolling Jim Restaurant after a renovation in 2007.
An annual 40-mile ultramarathon held in Wartrace is named in the horse's honor, and there is a street named Strolling Jim Drive in the nearby town of Shelbyville, Tennessee
Shelbyville is a city in and the county seat of Bedford County, Tennessee, United States. The town was laid out in 1810 and incorporated in 1819. Shelbyville had a population of 20,335 residents at the 2010 census. The town is a hub of the Tennes ...
.
Pedigree
Notes
..
References
{{Portal bar, Horses, United States
External links
Video of Strolling Jim
Individual Tennessee Walking Horses
1936 animal births
World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horses