Interview with Dave Stefanic

Partial Transcript: Could you tell us a little bit about yourself; your history and your coming to the mountain horse?

Segment Synopsis: David has lived in Kentucky since 2000 but was born and raised in Pennsylvania. His family became involved with the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse around 1990. One of his sons was into showing horses so instead of traveling from Pennsylvania to Kentucky every other weekend, they decided to move to Kentucky. Junior Robinson wanted to sell the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association, so David found four other people who would later buy the association with him. The reasoning behind this association is to accept and register horses that did not fit the Rocky Mountain Horse Association's regulations.

Keywords: gaited horses; horse shows; Kentucky; Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association; Rocky Mountain Horse Association

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Could you share a little bit about who Junior was for the record?

Segment Synopsis: David met Junior in the 1990's. Junior was a highly respected, nice, and casual man who enjoyed life and worked hard for what he had. Junior's hobby was mountain horses and he had a dream to own an association that would register the horses that the Rocky Mountain Horse Association would not register. Junior would travel across Kentucky to different farms in order to find horses that had the mountain horse traits and could be registered as Kentucky Mountain Horses. Junior had also taken it upon himself to make sure that David had met all the five sons of Tobe.

Keywords: Mountain Horses; Rocky Mountain Horse Association

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: In terms of memories of Junior and memories of any other old timers, of good ol' boys, that were important to the establishment of the KMSHA.

Segment Synopsis: David remembers many memories of other good ol' boys he met along the way. David went around looking for specific mares and stallions to ensure there was enough diversity among the bloodlines. E.R. Davis was a wonderful salesperson and was also the owner of Choco Dock and Maple Squirrel. David had purchased several horses from Davis with one of those being a mare named Jaja. Jaja was a terrific example of the breed. They also bought a colt named Classic Squirrel who was the son of Maple Squirrel. Maple Squirrel was the least desirable son of Tobe because Maple Squirrel was a bay horse. Everyone else was wanting chocolate mountain horses.

Keywords: E.R. Davis; smooth gaited horses

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: I said, "E.R. I want to buy Choco Dock."

Segment Synopsis: David made a call to Davis and tells him that he wants to buy Choco Dock so he can produce foals like Jaja. Davis tells Stefanic that if he wants to produce horses like Jaja, that he should be interested in buying Choco Dock's father named Dock. Dock lived with Larry Lainhart in Irvine, Kentucky at that time. David got a phone number for Larry and gives him a call about his interest in buying Dock. David sets up a trip to Larry's farm to look at Dock, but Dock was not in very good health. Larry would not sell him at that time so David made an offer to him. Larry was still hesitant on selling Dock at that point, but informed David that he would think about it.

Keywords:

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: I got a call from Clifford Clemens. It was his son Sam Clemens who owned Tim.

Segment Synopsis: David was looking for a Stallion and got a call from Clifford Clemens. He informed him that his dad was wanting to sell one named Sunny. Sunny was a chestnut stallion and a Rocky Mountain Horse who was also the grandson of Thunder. Thunder was owned by Sam Tuttle. David liked the idea of having a unique bloodline so he bought Sunny and took him home.

Keywords: racking horses; Rocky Mountain Horse

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Well about six weeks later, we get a phone call and hear it's Larry Lainhart.

Segment Synopsis: Larry was hesitant about selling Dock to David because of Dock's health. Larry was thinking Dock had the heaves. David decides to meet Larry at the vet to have Dock looked at and it turned out that Dock only had half of his lung capacity. David takes the chances and buys Dock and promises Larry that Dock will have a good, comfortable life.

Keywords: horse care

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: I called Doc and I said, "Doc, you should come out. I bought horse."

Segment Synopsis: Dr. Weber decides to make David some potions for Dock. The vet tells him to never stall him and to start feeding him a specific feed, along with the potions he makes. After a year of doing this, Dock was in much better shape despite not having his full lung capacity. Dock lived another 18 years with David.

Keywords: horse care

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Nobody knew what a Rocky Mountain Horse was and nobody knew what a Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse was. Nobody knew what a Mountain Pleasure Horse was.

Segment Synopsis: The horses were so docile and friendly that people in the association thought that everyone needed to know about them. They then began to market and sell them outside of Kentucky. When thinking about how to market these horses, David reached out to Bob Langrish who was a well-known photographer to see if he would be interested in taking pictures of the Rocky Mountain Horses. Bob comes to do a photo shoot with David's horses and David gets the pictures submitted to Horse Illustrated. Within a few months, Horse Illustrated publishes an article on the Rocky Mountain Horse. Mountain horses began to be sold to other parts of America.

Keywords: Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses; Mountain Pleasure Horses; Rocky Mountain Horses

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dock jumped over the fence and bred three mares that weren't certified.

Segment Synopsis: Dock had jumped over the fence and bred three mares that were not certified Rocky Mountain Horses. David could not register the foals in the Rocky Mountain Horse Association and this is when he began to learn of the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association. The Rocky Mountain Horse Association is very strict on their rules and regulations when registering new horses. They eventually closed their books and made it so that no grey horses and no geldings were allowed to be registered anymore.

Keywords: Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse; Rocky Mountain Horse

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: As time goes on, the differences between the mountain horse breeds continue separating.

Segment Synopsis: Since the Rocky Mountain Horse Association was so strict on their rules and regulations, the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association began to grow. They continued to grow a lot over the past ten years due to all of the horses that could not be registered as Rocky Mountain Horses. They would instead be registered as Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses.

Keywords: Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association; Rocky Mountain Horse Association

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Could you share a memory for the record of Mr. Johnson?

Segment Synopsis: David liked Wendell because he was a tough guy with a kind heart. Wendell owned Magnum who was a son of Dock. Wendell had a son who contacted a man named Stanley Durban. Stanley owned a mare from a specific bloodline that David was interested in. The mare was red chocolate colored and her name was Durban's Misty Lynn. After seeing the mare, David knew that he wanted her. She was a terrific mare with a wonderful gait but she was not as laid back as other mountain horses. There was a problem selling the mare because Stanley was in jail, so they called him and negotiated. David ended up taking Durban’s Misty Lynn home.

Keywords: gaited horses; horse breeding; horse trading; Wendell Johnson

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: I used to compare the difference between these old stallions and how they gait.

Segment Synopsis: David describes Magnum as having a big, animated gait. Maple Squirrel also had an animated gait, but he had a rolling gait and it was different than any other horse that David had rode. David says that many of the mountain horses have a choppy gait. The only son of Tobe that did not break higher than his ankles was Sam. Sam's gait was not as high as the other offspring of Tobe. The Rocky Mountain Horse Association said a horse could not break higher than its fetlock. The mountain horses in general are laid back, gentle, and have a smooth gait.

Keywords: gaited horses; smooth gaited horses

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: In what ways has the mountain horse culture changed during your lifetime?

Segment Synopsis: There has been an evolution with three different associations being formed. The Rocky Mountain Horse Association was founded in 1986 while the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association and the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association were founded in 1989. The humans have decided everything about the breed and their differences. The prices have gone up due to more people being interested in the breed.

Keywords: evolution; horse culture; Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association; Mountain Pleasure Horse Association; Rocky Mountain Horse Association

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Any advice for the next generation of mountain horse enthusiasts?

Segment Synopsis: David is concerned about the next generation because there are not as many kids involved in mountain horse programs. David feels that mountain horses have the ability to keep kids more wholesome. David wishes that more people would be interested in the horses however, a lot of people find danger in them. David understands why parents do not want their kids to be around high-strung horses like the hunters and jumpers. On the other end, the mountain horse is more of a family horse. David also believes that the economy has a lot to do with people's interest in horses, due to them not having the money to own and care for them.

Keywords:

Subjects: