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CH WING COMMANDER |
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Photo by John R. Horst...courtesy of the American Saddle Horse Museum |
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Some stallions are great show horses; some are great sires of sires and some are great sires of dams. But Wing Commander was all of these rolled up into one incredible chestnut package. He not only blew everyone away in the ring, he also revolutionized the Saddlebred breed! |
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Blood tells! In Wing Commander it all blended together about as perfectly as possible. Foaled in 1943, Wing Commander combined the Bourbon King, Rex Peavine and Forest King lines. It was no great surprise when he proved himself completly worthy of his heritage. |
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Archive Photo. Mr. Earl Teater, up |
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John R. Horst photo-1952 Mr. Earl Teater up |
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Bourbon Chief |
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Bourbon King |
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Annie C |
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Edna May |
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Lee Wood |
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Highland Squirel King |
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Nellie P. |
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Bourbon Chief |
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Bourbon King |
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Annie C. |
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Flirtation Walk |
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One tragic incident proved again the remarkable intelligence of Wing commander. During a trip to the Illinois State Fair in 1952, the van containing Wing Commander and his full sister Lover's Lane hit a tractor trailer carrying a bulldozer which was parked on the roadside. The force of the impact knocked Lover's Lane down, broke Wing Commanders halter and hurled him on top of Lover's Lane with a 13 year old boy caught in the middle. "Wing Commander had his four feet spread apart as wide as possible." said Ed Teater. "He never moved until the boy was jerked out from underneath him. Then he backed out of the van by himself and went over and started grazing. He was an unbelievably smart horse." One man and one horse died as a result of the accident. Wing Commander and Lover's Lane were not seriously injured, although they were quite skinned up. When it came time to return to Lexington, Wing Commander loaded right into the van, having no objections like the other horses had. From 1946 to 1954 Wing Commander accumulated 174 wins in either the 3 gaited or 5 gaited classes he entered with 2 seconds! In January 1969, Wing Comander developed colic and despite the efforts of veterinarians, medicine and hours of walking, he died at the age of twenty six. From then until 1973, he was at the top of the list for deceased sires. On December 11, 1985 he became the only horse to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and was awarded a golden medallion from the National Horse Show Association of America. |
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Text excerpts from a National Show Horse publication by Heidi M. Bright Many thanks to Cynthia Hecht, Curator of The American Saddle Horse Museum for supplying information and archive photos for this page. |
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WEB DESIGN |
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