Shriners Committed To Walking For The Children

©Voice, September 2006

When a group of Al Chymia Shriners located in Carroll County, Tennessee, combined their desire to raise money for the Shriners Hospitals for Children with their love for horses and horseback riding, the Al Chymia Shrine Carroll County Mounted Patrol was born. One of the founding members, Jack Atkins, was previously a member of the Al Chymia Memphis Mounted Patrol Unit, and he and Shriner Larry Spencer requested permission to form the Al Chymia Shrine Carroll County Mounted Patrol. “CCMP” is how the members now refer to themselves.

It all happened in 1998, when Shriners Atkins and Spencer got together with some other Shriners and planned a mounted patrol unit. They hoped the unit would become recognizable and synonymous with the cause and mission they continue to serve this day, raising money for these very important hospitals that treat children under 18 years of age, completely free of charge to their families. Shriners who wanted to become members of the newly formed Al Chymia Shrine Carroll County Mounted Patrol then sat down to set the rules of membership, write the unit‚s bylaws, and most importantly, clearly identify the horse of choice to be used for their purposes, the Tennessee Walking Horse.

After CCMP was conceived and knowledge of this unit grew, CCMP was invited to ride their matching black Tennessee Walking Horses in Christmas parades around Carroll County. Since that time, their ever-increasing popularity has attracted invitations to ride in the Mule Day Parade held in Columbia, Tennessee, as well as the Auto Zone Liberty Bowl Parade in Memphis, Tennessee. In addition, the Unit is often called on to present the colors at Walking Horse shows throughout the southeast.

There are currently ten Tennessee Walking Horses in the unit ranging from 6 to 24 years of age. The United States of America flag horse, Magic, is owned and ridden by 2006 Captain PeeWee Floyd. The Tennessee flag horse, Ten’s Mark, is owned and ridden by Darrell Douglas, and the Al Chymia Unit flag horse, Magical, is owned and ridden by Bill Lemons. Horse riding members are Art Cason, Ashley Cook, Gene Robbins, Keith Eason, Larry Spencer, Martin Eason, and Quentin Allgood. Parade truck driver and keeper of the flags is Dick Bayless. Ground crew members are Greg Hillard, Norman Hillard, and T. Richard Goodwin. Memphis members are Jim Norman and Thom Henning. The members say that when the horses are groomed for an appearance and hear the music begin, they take on a whole different personality and know what their jobs are.

The major requirement for Walking Horses to be a part of this unit is to be able to cope with any new noise or object they are exposed to, and take it all in stride. In March 2004, the CCMP horses and riders attended the Nashville Metro-Police Mounted Patrol Clinic, and learned how to deal with obstacles and unusual sounds, as well as people on foot surrounding them. The majority of the other horses attending the clinic were also Tennessee Walking Horses, which says a lot about the demeanor of this breed of horse.

A few of the CCMP horses are currently being shown in the lite-shod and trail pleasure divisions and have several ribbons to their credit. In 2003 and 2004, CCMP was invited to attend the Southeastern Shrine Association mounted patrol competition held in Lexington, Kentucky, and Mobile, Alabama, respectively. Both years, the CCMP Walking Horses were the High Point Team. The competition required the horses to run barrels, poles and flag races, not to mention perform a ten-minute drill and ceremony routine set to music. Some of the Unit’s horses had never even seen a barrel, but the Shriners say their horses were extremely versatile and had the ability to adapt to anything. In fact, a 20-year-old Walking Horse mare named Lady, owned by Shriner Martin Eason, won the barrel race and was still digging for speed when she left the arena, to the delight of the crowd of spectators.

Shriners Jack Atkins and Larry Spencer also had a dream to conduct an old fashion trail ride for horse lovers at beautiful Natchez Trace Wrangler Campground near Wildersville, Tennessee, and at the same time, raise money for the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Spencer says, “The first year of the trail ride, we raised a little over $1,200.00 for the hospitals, and we thought we were in tall cotton. The second year, we raised $1,700.00 and we knew we were on a roll as the trail ride was getting more popular with the horse community.” The Annual Shrine Trail Ride is held the third weekend in October each year at Natchez Trace. CCMP members say they estimate over 250 horses and riders will register to participate in the three-day event this year based on past trail ride numbers. As of 2005, CCMP has raised over $100,000 for the hospitals and the children treated at the 22 Shriner hospitals across the country.

On a personal note, Captain Pee Wee Floyd says, “When we are invited to perform or present the colors, the horses and riders go as representatives of the Al Chymia Shrine and the Shriners Hospitals for Children. We ride for the children.”

The Al Chymia Shrine Carroll County Mounted Patrol horses are busy to say the least. Appearance invitations continue from different groups wanting to see the horses perform their routine set to music. Several of the members’ wives work as ground support at parades and festivals by taking photographs for the unit scrapbook and helping out where needed. The Lady Shriners say when they are mingling with the spectators, they are in a better position to hear the positive comments and see the smiles on the faces of both adults and children who so enjoy seeing these beautiful black Walking Horses. One Lady Shriner said, “When you see that person step off the sidewalk to walk up to one of the horses and tell the rider ‘thank you for what your hospitals did for my child or grandchild,’ you realize the full impact of what CCMP is all about.”

The 2004-2005 Captain, Darrell Douglas of Huntingdon, Tennessee, says, “I had never dealt with Tennessee Walking Horses until my desire to become a Shriner and then a member of the Carroll County Mounted Patrol. I am now proud to say the Shriners and the horses are ambassadors for the children, and when we are requested to make an appearance, we will not lose sight of our responsibility to these children.”
Just another example of what a beautiful and versatile breed of horse we have in the Tennessee Walking Horse.

–Sandy Lemons