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Walking Wisconsin Style By Sarah Gee
Wisconsin’s walking horse ties run deep. From the Baums to the Pickhardts, several Wisconsin families have owned great Tennessee Walking Horses. In that same tradition, Wisconsin residents Kim and Scott Leonard have made a name for themselves in our industry by saddling a string of top notch show ring competitors. Kim Leonard grew up loving horses. She received her first pony at the age of four and she enjoyed horseback riding throughout her childhood in Debuque, Iowa. Upon entering college she put her horse habit on hold to focus on her studies. Following college, Kim relocated to Wisconsin. There she rented a duplex from a woman that had run a trail operation at a local park. The trail ride had been shut down and the woman had brought all her horses home. She soon found out that her tenant was a fellow horse lover and it wasn’t long before Kim was indulging her horse habit once again. A deal was made whereby Kim would feed the horses on the weekends and, in exchange, be allowed to ride any of the horses she wished. She eventually rode all the horses in the barn. However, one in particular caught her fancy. His name was Tom Walker and he was a Tennessee Walking Horse. Kim swore that if she was ever able to afford a horse of her own it would be a Tennessee Walking Horse like old Tom Walker. As it’s prone to do, life continued on. Kim married and she and her husband Scott eventually started their own business designing sound systems for theatres and concert halls. Their business boomed and they began to seek out ways to relax. Of course, Kim’s chosen method of relaxation was horses. Always open to new adventures, Scott encouraged Kim to go out and find a horse. She embarked on a an eight month search for the ideal horse, which would, of course, be a Tennessee Walking Horse. She eventually found a horse that interested her and, after consulting Wisconsin Walking Horse Association members Dick and Nancy Beer, she bought him. That horse was America’s Copyright. At the encouragement of her farrier, she eventually began to show America’s Copyright. They traveled the Wisconsin circuit for three years before Kim took the next step toward the big time. That next step happened when Pat Eames brought Kim to Kentucky to see some performance show horses. It only took one ride aboard a sleek, athletic performance horse to completely hook Kim on the idea of owning a top show horse. Her first competitive show horse came from Bob McQuerry’s barn. Named Gold Coin Hero, she kept him in training with Bob for two years before moving him to Jennifer Hankins’. After obtaining a moderate level of success on the Kentucky circuit, Kim took Gold Coin Hero home and went looking for her first ‘Tennessee quality’ show horse. It was around this time that Kim fell in love with Ray Burton’s horse Designed By Silver. She and Scott visited Ray’s barn and looked at just about every horse. The last horse they looked at was the one. It was truly love at first sight when Kim laid eyes on The Silver Bandit. The Leonards kept Bandit in Kentucky until his three-year-old year. At that point they asked their good friends and fellow Wisconsinites Larry and Mary Pickhardt to suggest a trainer in Tennessee. Larry introduced Kim to five or six trainers and she ultimately settled on Herbert Derrickson. Kim credits Herbert with giving her a sound show ring foundation and with getting her involved in performance horses. After Bandit’s fifth birthday the decision was made to move him to Rising Star Ranch where he could benefit from the guidance of trainer Joel Weaver and stand at stud as part of the Rising Star stallion lineup. This situation has allowed Bandit to prosper for the past five years. With seven show seasons and approximately 140 show ring appearances under his belt, Bandit has not gotten a ribbon only twice in his career. Kim and Scott currently have four horses in training with Joel Weaver. In addition to Bandit, who shows in the park division, they have three performance horses – Downtown Dumas, Silver Dollar Sensation, and She’s A Firestone. Gold Coin Hero is still at home in Wisconsin and the newest addition to the Leonard family is a yearling filly sired by Bandit and out of She’s A Firestone. Wanting to be even more involved in the middle Tennessee show circuit, the Leonards set about looking for the best and easiest way to travel back and forth from Wisconsin to Tennessee. Because Scott holds a private pilot’s license, they eventually decided to buy their own small plane, dubbed Air Horse One. This allows them to make frequent trips to Tennessee to fully indulge their passion for the Tennessee Walking Horse.
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