alafarmnews

Wedding anniversaries usually are celebrated at restaurants, quiet getaway spots or with an exchange of jewelry. Ed and Kim McCurdy spent part of their 22nd anniversary in a barn, waiting for the birth of a horse.

The arrival in mid-May of “McCurdy’s Ritzy Allen,” as he was named, capped an anxious 45 day nail-biter for the couple because it was the first foal for “McCurdy’s Lady Delight.”

“We spent a lot of our time during that period watching her to see how she was doing,” said Kim McCurdy. “When the foal was born, he had a hard time at first.”

If that kind of tender, loving care seems out of the ordinary for most people, it’s understandable. For Ed and Kim McCurdy, though, it goes with the territory. They are integral parts of a long line of pedigree horse producers dating back to the late 1800s.

Ed and Kim McCurdy spend as much time as they can with their horses at their property about four miles from downtown Selma.

McCurdy horses have become so famous, in fact, that they’ve taken on a generic aura of sorts. Mention soft drinks and people often just say “Give me a Coke” when they’re looking for a cola. It’s the same for Kleenex or Charmin.

Known for their smooth gait and gentle disposition, McCurdy horses are a one-of-a-kind breed that has attracted attention around the world.

It all began before the turn of the 20th century when Ed S. McCurdy and his family started breeding a line of saddle horses suitable for overseeing their vast plantation in Lowndes County. Most members of the family lived in Lowndesboro, a tiny town halfway between Montgomery and Selma.

In 1905, the birth of a horse named “McCurdy’s Doctor” launched a long line of McCurdy pedigrees that would become famous. Several members of the family turned out one champion after another.

Ed and Kim McCurdy represent the latest link in that special familial chain. They are well versed on their family’s glittering past and have no intention of allowing it to diminish.

Ed McCurdy may spend much of his time in a business suit as president of a Selma bank, but he often thinks about his boyhood on a farm in Lowndesboro or the enjoyment he continues to have on one of his mounts at his property a few miles from the bank.

“My grandfather rode ‘McCurdy’s Doctor’ on his plantation and used him as a breeding stud when people would bring their mares to him,” the banker said. Over a period of time, he said, the horses became known simply as “McCurdys.”

During that time Tennessee Walking Horses became popular and two separate families of McCurdy horses evolved in Lowndesboro.

Lady Delight and her 3-day-old foal—Ritzy Allen—stretch their legs on the McCurdy farm in Selma.

The McCurdys registered their own animals as Tennessee Walking Horses and the breeding business picked up. Eventually, the fame of McCurdy horses became known throughout the country.

During the era of big plantations and long before four-wheelers were invented, people needed good, reliable horses to check on their property or just ride them for enjoyment.

McCurdy horses became the Jeep of their day. Plantation owners rode them into town, inspected fence lines or just hooked them up to wagons or buggies to take their families for leisurely Sunday afternoon trips to visit friends and relatives.

In 1993, the McCurdy Plantation Horse Association was created to bring together people who owned them

and wanted to share their experiences with others of a like mind. Instead of car shows where vintage vehicles are lined up on showroom floors and never driven, McCurdy horses often are mounted and taken out on trail rides.

Two years after the association was formed, the McCurdy Plantation Horse Registry was founded. Its purpose was to keep the McCurdy name alive through an organization to verify the authenticity of a very special breed. Currently there are less than 400 registered McCurdy horses in the world. They are now located in the 4 corners of the U.S. and one has been sent to England.

“Most of our horses are sold to people for field trials,” said Kim McCurdy. “They are wonderful for that purpose.”

The McCurdys said they rely on the Central Alabama Farmers Co-op—located less than two miles from their spread—for all their needs.

“We get our feed and other necessities at the Co-op,” said Ed McCurdy. “Having it so close to us is a big advantage.”

The couple’s two children—daughter Peyton, a student at Auburn University and son, Sellars, a student at Morgan Academy in Selma—grew up riding McCurdy horses. Other interests began to take up part of their daily activities, but riding still means a lot to each of them.

Ed McCurdy was a student at Lowndes Academy and Kim Couvrette attended Morgan Academy when they first saw each other. Both went on to Auburn University where friendship blossomed into love. They were married on May 14, 1983.

It appeared at first that Ed McCurdy was headed for a career in veterinarian medicine because he majored in animal science at Auburn. It didn’t work out that way and he eventually moved into the banking profession.

Kim McCurdy checks on Iron Little Man at the family horse farm in Dallas County.

Kim McCurdy majored in fashion merchandising at Auburn, but hasn’t had much use for it today, especially at the site where blue jeans are the order of the day around the couple’s horses.

Ed McCurdy is president of AmSouth’s branch in Selma, but he still considers himself a farm boy from Lowndes County. That’s why he enjoys spending as much time as possible on his property.

His wife, meanwhile, has become something of an authority on horses and can’t wait to be out among them.

“Our stallions have a good disposition because they’re pasture-bred,” she said. “Right now, we have ‘McCurdy’s Iron Little Man.’ We call him ‘Little Man.’ He turns 9 in JULY.”

McCurdy mares never complain of headaches, but they let the stallion know when they don’t want to have anything to do with him, she said. “The mares kick him at that point and he knows enough to stay away,” she said. “He’s a real gentleman and is as nice as they get.”

There are three types of registration in the McCurdy breed:

(1) Foundation Stallions and Mares: They have been performance registered, meaning they’ve been inspected and ridden by at least one Registry director before being approved by the Registry Board.

(2) Pedigree: It is a registered horse resulting from a cross of two foundation horses—McCurdy stallion and McCurdy mare.

(3) Appendix registration: This results from crossing a Foundation McCurdy (stallion or mare) to another gaited horse.

McCurdy horses range in height from 14.2 to 16 hands with an average of 15 hands. Weight can range from 900 to more than 1,000 pounds. They have rounded hips and broad chests, short backs, heavy manes and tails and good bone structures.

Gray is the primary color among McCurdy horses. There also are bay and red roans along with chestnut, sorrel and black colors. White markings below the knee and on the face are common among the breed.

Teddy Pouncey, a rural mail carrier and landowner who lives in the Pleasant Hill community between Selma and Greenville, couldn’t be happier with his McCurdy horses. He’s had several.

“They have wonderful dispositions and a good, comfortable gait,” said Pouncey. “They’re perfect for trail rides and other outdoor events.”

The Pouncey family has a stallion— Midnight Chase— and four brood mares to help provide more McCurdy horses.

“Our phones ring off the hook,” said Pouncey. “When people learn we have a new colt, they don’t wait long before contacting us.”

For those interested in looking at or buying a McCurdy horse, a production sale will be held on Sept. 17, 2005, at Van Carter’s Cedar Hill Farm in the Lowndes County community of Sardis.

Details are available by contacting Sale Manager Tammy Mason at (334) 875-7895 or
e-mailing her at: Bentoaklady@cs.com.

The McCurdy Plantation Horse Association has information on the breed history, trail rides, the Fall Sales and nationwide Breeders of McCurdy horse on their website: www.mccurdyhorses.com.