Author: Tim Farley

Gift Shop open again.

We’ve been up in the high pasture the last couple months and been so busy fixin’ fence and making sure everything was OK the Gift Store had the “Gone Fishin'” sign up. Now we’re back in the saddle and hope you come by for a visit. If you have any good ideas of what you’d like to see in the store for Christmas let us know. There’s still a bunch of chores to get done before the snow flies, wood to cut and all that. You know wood heats you four times;

1. when you cut it

2. when you slpit it

3. when you stack it

4. when you burn it.

:)
Labor day is gone and we’re “winterizing”.  Doesn’t seem fair at all, but time doesn’t wait and we can’t either.
Write a note in the forum when you get a minute. As the sign says downtown, “If you can’t stop wave as you go by!”

tim

Mississippi and Louisiana Road Show

The Black Stallion Literacy Foundation road show is back in action with the fall swing to MS and LA.

September 17th two shows in Amite, LA. 10:30 AM and 7:00 PM

September 20th in Greenwood, MS 10:30 AM

September 21st in Jackson, MS 10:30 AM and 7:00 PM
It’ll be fun so if your anywhere near by come on down and join in, lend a hand as a volunteer or just sit back and enjoy the show, it’s always a treat!

As my ol’ buddy Gaylord (one of the funniest horse acts you ever might see) used to say.
“Why do they call you Tex, you’re not from Texas”
“No, I’m from Louisiana, but Tex is a lot better than Louise!”

Don’t miss the show partner!

Tim

DreamHorse

seattleslew

A story from Paula Turner who raised Seattle Slew.

Black Stallion

The great black stallion moved restlessly under me, barely able to hold himself back, within my restraining reins. His head darted forward, yanking the reins and my arm. At the touch of my left hand on his shoulder, he slowed from a side-stepping jig to a prancing walk. “Easy babe, sloooow” my voice stretched, dropping to such a low note—more vibration than sound. Twitching his ears back, he relaxed a little. He would always listen—and understand—that voice he knew so well. Like a couple grown old together, more was said in touch, tone of voice, than with words.

And he transmitted to me in that ancient, unspoken language of Horse, everything he felt… “Now, now I must run.” Dancing under me, he so wanted to sweep me away, take us flying once again… and remind me who he was.

Beneath the glistening black coat powerful hindquarters bunched and flexed, bringing legs forward to coil and spring below his loins. I could feel the muscles in his arched neck, shoulders, sliding under his skin… under my soothing hand. Below my seat and legs he moved with the strength and grace of a ballerina—ready to take flight. His left ear cocked back, hearing the intimate whisper—“Easy big man, slooow…”—meant only for him. He slowed. Before I could say whoa, the stallion felt my request and halted—stood motionless—surveying his kingdom… I waited for him.
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Cowboys & Indians

kelly cass portweb

There’s a nice article in Cowboys and Indians Magazine next month (July edition) … “Favorite Famous Horses”.
Guess who is one of the featured ponies?
You got it “The Black Stallion”!!

Here’s an excerpt;

7 Special Horses
by ELIZABETH KAYE McCALL

They’ve galloped into hearts and minds, from films and fields and pages of books. Whether born of fiction or real-life legends, some horses are so distinctive they become part of the human story. In Part 1 of C&I’s Famous Horses series, we present seven who have the timeless quality of all great equines: the power to make life better.

THE BLACK STALLION

The budget on The Black Stallion wouldn’t even pay for most TV commercials these days,” says Tim Farley, son of the late author Walter Farley, whose vision of a wild black horse, a boy, and their amazing journey has touched millions around the globe for nearly 70 years. Partially penned on a kitchen table when the author was just 16, the story grew into 30 novels in 22 countries, three motion pictures, the Arabian Nights theatrical dinner attraction in Orlando, Florida (where the official Walter Farley’s Black Stallion performs live nightly), and a vibrant program from the Black Stallion Literacy Foundation that combines reading books and actual horse visits. The literacy project has also translated Farley’s once out-of-print Little Black, A Pony into Navajo.

As for the Black Stallion’s life-altering influence, consider the story of Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, president of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the international horse sport organization overseeing the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky, and daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan. Sharing some personal insights with the local Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper about the impact of Walter Farley’s Black Stallion books on her early life, the princess said that as a sleepless child following her mother’s death, the novels were a source of consolation. It was Walter Farley’s books, she said, that led her to the horse country of the United States. www.theblackstallion.com.

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