Merry Go Boy (May 4, 1943 – July 7, 1967) was a highly influential

Tennessee Walking Horse The Tennessee Walking Horse or Tennessee Walker is a breed of gaited horse known for its unique four-beat running-walk and flashy movement. It was originally developed as a riding horse on farms and plantations in the American South. It is a ...

sire and two-time World Grand Champion. He is credited for producing the most desirable conformation type in his offspring.

Life

Merry Go Boy was foaled on May 4, 1943. He was sired by the stallion Merry Boy, and out of a mare named Wiser's Dimples. Merry Go Boy was

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

with a white

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

and near hind

sock A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

. He was bred by Archie Wiser of

Wartrace, Tennessee Wartrace is a town in Bedford County, Tennessee, Bedford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 548 at the 2000 census and 651 at the 2010 census. It is located northeast of Shelbyville, Tennessee, Shelbyville. The downtown area is li ...

, and sold to Wiser's brother Winston for $350 when he was a few weeks old. In 1944, Elroy Mallard from

Georgetown, Kentucky Georgetown is a home rule-class city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 37,086 at the 2020 census. It is the 6th-largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the seat of its county. It was originall ...

bought a half-interest in Merry Go Boy. In 1948, Merry Go Boy was sold again to a Virginia owner for a then-record price of $55,000. Merry Go Boy was euthanized due to arthritis on July 7, 1967, at

Belfast, Tennessee Belfast is an unincorporated community in Marshall County, Tennessee, United States. The area ZIP code is 37019. History A post office was established at Belfast in 1836. The community was named after Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béa ...

Career

Merry Go Boy won the

weanling A weanling is an animal that has just been weaned. The term is usually used to refer to a type of young horse, a foal that has been weaned, usually between six months and a year. Once it is a year old, the horse is referred to as a yearling. The w ...

horse colt class at the

Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration (TWHNC), sometimes known as the Celebration, is the largest horse show for the Tennessee Walking Horse breed, and has been held annually in or near Shelbyville, Tennessee since its inception in 19 ...

in 1943. In 1944, he won the yearling colt class and the

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

championship. He won the two-year-old stallion class in 1945, and in the following year, 1946, won the three-year-old stallion/

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

junior stake and was then entered in the "big stake" or World Grand Championship, which he lost to

Midnight Sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, t ...

. However, Merry Go Boy won the World Grand Championship title a year afterwards, in 1947, and again in 1948. Merry Go Boy's last major win was in 1967, when he won the get of sire class at the Celebration.

Offspring

After his retirement from showing, Merry Go Boy was put to stud in 1954 at S.W. Beech's stables. He sired three World Grand Champions:

Go Boy's Shadow Go Boy's Shadow was a Tennessee Walking Horse stallion who won two World Grand Championships in the years 1955 and 1956. He was the last horse to repeat win in his breed for nearly fifty years. Life and career Go Boy's Shadow was a black stallio ...

, winner in 1955 and 1956 with Winston Wiser; Go Boy's Sundust, winner in 1967; and Go Boy's Royal Heir, winner in 1968. In the 1960 Breeders' National Futurity, 24 of the 46 awards were given to sons and daughters of Merry Go Boy, although it is not known what became of these horses after they matured. Merry Go Boy is credited with popularizing his black color and fine conformation within his breed.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist Individual Tennessee Walking Horses 1943 animal births World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horses