Tennessee Walking Horses Selected
for East German Breeding Program

©Voice, June 2006

(l-r) Beverly, Danuta, Sweety, Miles

In early 2005 Jill Derickson received an email from a lady in Germany inquiring about Tennessee Walking Horses. She responded and the friendship grew. As it turned out, Jill found out that they were currently staying in Florida and she encouraged them to meet her in Panama City for the Gulf Coast Charity Show. After the show, which they enjoyed tremendously, Jill invited them to come to the Celebration in the fall. They did and the rest they say is history.

The couple, Klaus and Danuta Freiherr of Gelnhausen, Germany, has met Russ Keyser and several of the TWHBEA^SM members there. They have spent several years researching the breed and specific pedigrees and made the following statement, “After almost two years of researching the breed, we were fortunate to be able to purchase two wonderful black fillies upon which we hope to be able to base our future breeding program. These fillies possess some of the finest bloodlines available.

We live both in Germany, where this breed is not unknown, and on our farm in Poland. These fillies will be the very first Tennessee Walking Horses to be registered in Eastern Europe. ‘Trotting’ is still the most ‘correct’ riding style in Poland, so, against the deeply held military cavalry tradition of classical equine education, we will try to make ‘walking’ a more popular gait with the introduction of our horses.

The first of our fillies, named She’s Bitter Sweet, currently resides at Miles and Beverly West’s’ Westwind Stables in Lanett, Alabama. ‘Sweety’ is sired by Coin’s Signature Edition and out of Extra Sweet. Both of her parents descend from Pride’s Gold Coin with WGC Coin’s Hard Cash on her dam’s side.

(l-r) Jack Doss, Klaus, Cash’s Poison, Morrow Doss

Our second filly came from Doss Farm in Cullman, Alabama through the help of Jack and Morrow Doss. Cash’s Poison is sired by Poison and is out of Copy Cash. She also comes down from WGC Coin’s Hard Cash through her dam’s side and introduces WGC The Pusher CG lines through hers sire’s family.

Prior to importing them into Europe, we want to take a chance on breeding them to some outstanding and talented young American sires with superior bloodlines. The resulting foals, we hope, will be born on our farm in Poland. Sweety will be bred to the 16h black stallion, Good As Cash. He is a son of Coin’s Hard Cash and stands at Westwind Stables.

Cash’s Poison will be bred to the 16h blue roan stallion Indigo Blue. Indigo Blue is sired by Generator’s Genuine Jazz out of Pushover’s Fashion Lady. He stands at Derickson’s Training and Breeding Facility in Shelbyville, Tennessee. Through these breedings, we hope for two correct, well-built, talented foals with pleasant dispositions and maybe some exciting color, too! We hope that these two foals and their dams will proudly represent their breed and bloodlines to the Europeans. This is especially true in Poland where some of the professional Polish horsemen are already very curious about ‘what,’ exactly, we are importing.”

To date, we have learned that both fillies are indeed in foal to the respective sires and will be quarantined in Atlanta, Georgia until exported to Eastern Europe. Our best of wishes go out to Danuta and Klaus for their efforts.