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Jerry got into gaited horses when he was 10 or 12, despite the fact that the family farm in Rogersville had only a plow horse. “Nobody in the family was a rider, I just decided I wanted to do it. I showed Racking Horses and then switched to Tennessee Walkers.”
Has he ever turned down an offer to train a horse? Nope. “Horses are like people, they’re individuals and what works on one may not work on the next, so you never know until you try. I have much better stock than 15-20 years ago, but those years taught me a lot. I learned a lot about finding the ability of both horses and riders from some good trainers I’ve known, too. I used to hang around and watch Bud Dunn until I’m sure he wanted to run me off, but he didn’t.
“We’ve pretty much got a good reputation with starting colts. Making a colt is more satisfying than taking a horse that’s already winning. It’s more challenging and a bigger thrill. Kind of like taking kids and working with them to see improvement every day,” said the dad who coaches his son in riding and athletics.
A kid that improves every day is liable to win his own World Championship and that’s just what 12-year-old Trevor did at the 2002 National Celebration with Gen’s Gold Coin Lady in the Juvenile Park Pleasure 17 and Under competition for mares and geldings.
Now, Trevor has his own horse, “Slam’s Grand Tour.” The horse is bigger than Gen’s Gold Coin Lady, Trevor said, and until last week the rider had to be boosted onto Slam’s back.
Trevor has hopes of winning championships with Slam and he thinks the potential is there because “he’s just a good horse. He follows directions and is easy to work with and we’re both 12 years old.” That means they get along better, he said.
As younger (never say “little”) brother, Brant, 6, arrived, he announced he likes to be in the lead class at shows. “Trevor got to carry the flag at the Celebration,” he noted, proudly and grinned from ear to ear when asked if he would like to carry the flag one time.
A horse trainer works with riders as well as horses and, so far, Trevor said he and his trainer/dad are doing okay. Trevor admitted that sometimes Slam behaves better for Jerry than he does for him, but he tries to follow what is his advice for show riders. “Practice,” he said emphatically, explaining, “practice is kind of like homework. If you do it a lot you’ll get better.” Has he actually given this advice to anyone else, yet? “Just my brother,” Trevor said with a grin, but he follows the advice and makes good grades, especially in science.
Trevor’s right about practice, his dad allowed. “Listening is important too and most of my riders listen well.”
Maegen Freeman, 19, is one of about six amateur riders training with Jerry. Her horse is “In Lieu Of,” she said, adding, “but I call her Lu. Jerry is a great trainer. I am very new at showing and Jerry is patient with new people.”
Horse trainer Collier has a theory about kids being riders. “It takes determination and a lack of fear. If you get a kid that’s being forced into riding, they’ll not do near as well. We never told Trevor to get on a horse. He showed an interest when he was 5 years old and we let him do lead line ponies. You put a 45 pound kid on a 1,000 horse and it’s a serious thing. When he got a little older and said he wanted to ride in shows, I started looking for something he could ride to start.”
Larry Murphy from the Lauderdale Farmers Co-op in Elgin Crossroads was standing by watching the horses and riders work out. He’s known the Colliers for years, he said. “They are a fine family,” he pronounced. The Co-op fertilizes the Collier pastures and some member of the Collier team is in the store three or four times a week. “They buy feed, supplies and keep us up to date on the shows. Out of this store, we have three Walking barns and one Quarter Horse barn that we work with. Jerry is a good man who cares about his horses. He’s got two guys to help him and they do an excellent job, but he’ll get in and do the down and dirty work with them. He just wants the best for his horses.”
The recent growth of the Walking Horse industry in Alabama is welcome news to Collier and his Walking Horse friends. Most recently there were shows in Huntsville and Cullman with more than 300 entries, and in Vernon with 240. “It’s not just the horse people who benefit, almost every one of these shows supports a charity,” Jerry said, a claim backed up by his wife, Melanie, a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Alabama Walking Horse Association
(AWHA).
“In the past five years the AWHA has raised more than $100,000 for Camp Smile A Mile, and the Ladies Auxiliary raised $30,000 for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation,” Melanie said. Other groups such as the Lions Club, school band boosters, and civic groups sponsor horse shows, sometimes for profit, sometimes for charity.
The Colliers agree with Murphy, horse shows are wonderful family entertainment and challenging for the participants, horse, rider, trainer and owner.
Fran Sharp is a freelance writer from Alabaster. |
