Winston Wiser (1910–1961) was a

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 a ...

trainer from

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 Tenness ...

, who won five World Grand Championships on three separate horses.

Life

Wiser was born in

Bedford County, Tennessee Bedford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,237. Its county seat is Shelbyville. Bedford County comprises the Shelbyville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also inc ...

on January 23, 1910, to James Daniel Wiser and Laura Ferrell Wiser. He later married Katherine Morris. The couple had 3 children, including a daughter, Judy, who also became a horse trainer and won the World Grand Championship in 1976.

Career

Wiser began his career training horses on his family's farm in

Wartrace, Tennessee Wartrace is a town in Bedford County, Tennessee, Bedford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 548 at the 2000 census and 651 at the 2010 census. It is located northeast of Shelbyville, Tennessee, Shelbyville. The downtown area is li ...

, where his stables, Wiser's Walking Horse Stables, were later located. Wiser won a total of 5 World Grand Championships at the

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 ...

in his career, beginning with the

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

Black Angel in 1943. Wiser trained and partly owned the stallion

Merry Go Boy Merry Go Boy (May 4, 1943 – July 7, 1967) was a highly influential Tennessee Walking Horse sire and two-time World Grand Champion. He is credited for producing the most desirable conformation type in his offspring. Life Merry Go Boy was foale ...

, who was bred by Wiser's brother Archie. Shown by Winston Wiser, Merry Go Boy won the Weanling Colt class in the 1943 Celebration. The next year he was the Yearling Colt winner, and was the Three-Year-Old World Champion in 1946. The same year Wiser showed him in the World Grand Championship for the first time, but the pair were defeated by

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, t ...

. Wiser and Merry Go Boy returned to the World Grand Championship in 1947 and won. They repeated the following year, which was the first time the Celebration was held on its specifically-built Celebration Grounds in Shelbyville. Wiser won his fourth World Grand Championship on

Go Boy's Shadow Go Boy's Shadow was a Tennessee Walking Horse stallion who won two World Grand Championships in the years 1955 and 1956. He was the last horse to repeat win in his breed for nearly fifty years. Life and career Go Boy's Shadow was a black stallio ...

, a son of Merry Go Boy, in 1955. The next year, 1956, he and Go Boy's Shadow won the class again. It proved to be Wiser's final championship before his death. Wiser remains the only person ever to win 5 World Grand Championships in the Tennessee Walking Horse industry.

Death

Wiser was shot to death by his then-16-year-old daughter Judy the last day of March, 1961, during a family argument at their home in

. A judge later ruled that the

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

shooting was

justifiable homicide The concept of justifiable homicide in criminal law is a defense to culpable homicide (criminal or negligent homicide). Generally, there is a burden of production of exculpatory evidence in the legal defense of justification. In most countri ...

, as Wiser had threatened Judy and her mother. Wiser and Katherine had been separated prior to the altercation. Wiser was 51.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiser, Winston Tennessee Walking Horse breeders and trainers People from Wartrace, Tennessee 1910 births 1961 deaths People from Shelbyville, Tennessee Deaths by firearm in Tennessee Patricides