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We
have
owned
Big
View
Walking
Horses
Farm
for
35
years;
however,
it
did
not
evolve
into
a
horse
farm
until
2002
when
I
bought
2
Tennessee
Walking
horses
for
my
grandchildren.
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At
that
time
there
was
no
fencing,
no
barn,
old
pastures
that
was
just
bush-hogged
to
keep
pretty.
So
I
purchased
some
horse
panels
that
served
as
both
round
pen
and
pasture,
what
a
deal.
Little
did
I
know
at
that
time
what
was
ahead.
The
grandchildren
loved
the
horses,
but
what
I
discovered
was
a
love
of
mine
that
had
been
set
aside
or
hidden
for
about
50
years.
As
a
very
young
child
I
remember
a
neighbor
leading
me
around
the
yard
on
a
big,
beautiful
gaited
horse.
I
fell
in
love
that
day
and
did
not
know
it
until
50
years
later.
Besides
the
enjoyment
of
the
ride,
what
I
remember
most
about
that
childhood
experience
was
‘the
wonderful
smell’
of
the
horse.
Not
only
the
smell,
but
also
how
the
horse
made
me
feel
inside.
Fifty
years
later,
late
one
afternoon
while
brushing
one
of
the
grandchildren’s
horses,
I
put
my
face
on
its
neck
and
smelled
that
‘wonderful
smell’
and
the
memories
and
love
came
rushing
back
from
deep
within
me
that
had
been
long
forgotten.
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I
very
seldom
rode
the
horses,
but
their
therapy
for
me
was
just
being
with
them,
watching
them,
conversing
with
them.
I
was
55
years
old
at
the
time
and
had
begun
planning
my
exit
strategy
from
my
computer
technology
company
of
18
years.
My
plan
was
to
be
able
to
retire
at
62
and
continue
my
volunteer
work
as
Pastor
of
a
small
Congregational
Methodist
church
in
our
community.
Now
my
plan
began
to
expand
to
include
the
horses. |
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Photo by Scruggs Photography |
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So
from
2002
until
the
end
of
2006
I
built
fences
(5
ft
tall
2x2
non-climbing
horse
net
wire
with
treated
1x6
lumber
at
top,
middle,
and
bottom
of
fence),
cleared
15
acres
of
new
pasture,
planted
30
acres
with
Sumrall
007
Bermuda
grass,
and
built
a
30,000
square
ft
barn.
Shortly
after
purchasing
the
first
two
Tennessee
Walking
mares
I
decided
it
would
be
fun
to
raise
some
babies.
I
knew
the
look
of
the
stallion
that
I
wanted
but
did
not
know
much
about
the
bloodlines
at
that
time.
The
look
(conformation
and
gait)
that
I
enjoyed
was
that
of
Midnight
Sun,
Ebony
Masterpiece,
Ebony’s
Senator,
Pride
of
Midnight
HF,
and
Sun’s
Delight
D
to
name
just
a
few.
So
I
went
searching
for
a
few
more
mares
and
a
stallion
to
meet
these
criteria.
I
did
a
search
on
farms
in
Tennessee,
Kentucky,
Georgia,
Mississippi
and
Alabama;
hooked
to
my
horse
trailer
and
off
I
went
looking
for
the
stallion
I
had
pictured
in
my
mind.
Long
story
short…..
After
a
week
of
visiting
other
farms
(which
was
extremely
fun)
I
came
back
home
and
was
discussing
my
venture
with
a
horse
friend
of
mine
and
he
said,
“have
you
ever
seen
Cindy’s
stallion?
He
seems
to
be
exactly
what
you
are
describing.”
I
made
a
visit
to
Cindy’s
farm
and
saw
the
stallion
I
had
imagined.
Of
course
she
would
not
sell
him….
at
the
time….
however,
a
few
months
later
she
decided
to
sell
him
and
I
was
anxious
to
buy,
so
Glen
Hope
Gold
Rush
came
to
my
barn. |
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Photo by Scruggs Photography |
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In
the
meantime
I
found
9
more
mares
to
go
with
the
first
two
and
while
I
was
building
fences
and
pastures,
Glen
Hope
Gold
Rush
was
making
beautiful
babies.
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I
never
entered
the
‘horse
business’
for
financial
gain.
I
entered
into
the
horse
world
because
of
something
deep
within
me
rising
up.
The
rising
up
of
that
‘special’
Love
of
a
Being
to
a
Being
opened
my
eyes
to
see
everything
in
a
different
light.
The
horses
have
a
calming,
‘un-load’
the
stress
effect
on
humans.
So
I
turned
around
one
day
and
discovered
that
I
had
45
of
the
most
beautiful
Tennessee
Walking
horses
that
could
be
imagined.
Somehow
this
bothered
everyone
within
a
three
county
range.
“What
in
the
world
is
that
Preacher
going
to
do
with
all
those
horses”?
Even
the
people
in
the
church
were
always
asking
the
same
question.
One
Sunday
morning
I
discovered
the
answer
and
revealed
it
to
them.
I
told
them
that
a
few
years
ago
we
only
had
50
members
in
the
church
so
I
just
needed
two
horses
to
keep
my
spirit
calm
in
dealing
with
them;
a
few
years
later
when
our
membership
grew
to
200
plus
I
discovered
it
took
45
horses
to
keep
me
calm.
Even
though
I
expressed
it
as
a
joke,
the
irony
is
that
it
was
closer
to
the
truth
than
a
joke. |
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Photo by Scruggs Photography |
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I
have
great
horses
trained
extensively
in
psychotherapy
and
guaranteed
to
help
a
person
find
themselves.
That
is,
find
out
what
is
important
in
life
and
what
is
not.
I
am
in
the
process
of
putting
all
the
horses
under
saddle
and
taking
them
through
trail
ride
training.
I
wish
there
was
a
market
for
selling
horses
to
people
and
them
using
the
horses
the
way
some
people
use
psychologist
to
get
rid
of
their
problems.
While
spending
time
with
my
horses
I
discovered
that
there
is
no
such
thing
as
a
problem;
there
are
only
life
situations
that
I
either
can
do
something
about
Now
(and
if
I
can
then
there
is
no
problem)
or
I
have
learned
to
surrender
to
the
Present
Moment
as
it
is;
until
it
changes
or
I
can
do
something
about
it.
It
is
a
most
peaceful
state
of
mind. |
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Photo by Scruggs Photography |
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The
current
plan
is
to
advertise
the
horses
on
the
internet
through
my
website,
www.bigviewwalkinghorses.com,
in
hopes
that
I
can
find
a
wonderful
home
for
some
of
them
to
share
Life. |
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