Exciting news this month comes from:
Letter written and submitted to AHR magazine by Audrey Safford
Once
Once upon a time on the top of a very BIG hill, some may call it a mountain there was a town called Blanford, it all is located in the state of Massachusetts. Living in this town was the Shepard Family, and this story all started in 1970.You see there was a picture of a Haflinger horse in Yankee Magazine, with an accompanying article on Temple Smith. .Art, Alice, Craig and Karen saw the article and were very interested in this new breed of Austrian Horse. Karen recalls that Dad called out to Mr. Smith to see if any of these horses were for sale, he was told that only a few studs were available at that time.
A few years later Santa’s Land from Vermont brought some Haflingers to the Eastern States Exposition, a large well attended country fair. hosted in West Springfield Mass. The Shepard Family was there, and saw them, falling head over heels in love. Due to the rules of the fair the family could not get very close to the horses, but none the less they make their presence known.
As fate would have it, around the same time, a few Haflinger Horses were starting to show up at the local New England pony pulls. Art and his family ran the Blanford Fair pulls themselves and were delighted to find the Haffies at these events.
Walt Mosher of New York was one of the teamsters pulling the Haffies and the Shepard Family made a trip out to his place to check out his herd. They loved what they saw and were put on a waiting list for 2 fillies. The following spring Coree and Becky arrived at their farm. They also later purchased a stallion and then discovered he was too closely related to the mares they had just purchased. So Yankee ingenuity being what it is, they swapped him for another stallion that Walt and Betty Mosher had in New York. Home came St.Citation. This grouping of horses gave a foal crop of 1 filly and 1 colt. Ahhhh it all begins!!!!!!!
Around that same time Newman Marsh of Chester Mass. bought some Haflingers from Walt and Robert. He was also told he would be able to see some Haflingers fairly close to his place, in a town called Branford….. The Shepard family. So of course he came for a visit and friendship developed for all. Soon after that first visit Newman heard about an event that the state was going to hold in Northampton, an Equine Expo……and well the Northeast Haflinger Association was formed in order to join owners together and present these new horses to the public. The first meeting was held in Stockbridge Mass. and Karen recalls she was not present at it and was voted in as Sec/tres assistant. The club set up a booth and also did a demonstration for the public with the horses. This author was there and a big hunter jumper person at the time, but……. I saw the horses and fell in love right then!!!!!!!
Karen’s mom, Alice was the secretary/ treasurer of the club, Karen her assistant, as well as helping dad and everybody else get horses ready. The NEHA booth was super busy that first year as people wanted to know all about this beautiful breed!!!!! (Myself included)….. The riding and driving demo was a huge success
The club continued to participate in the Equine Expo in Northampton until it ended! Very often the Shepard family would have horses at the Expo to show and be manning the booth also, oh what we do for the Haflinger Horse!
The following year NEHA held a sale at the Northampton fairgrounds. The Shepard Family brought 2 horses to sell and donated a third to NEHA for a raffle in order to help the club .That first year the club used a smaller barn area at the fairgrounds for their sale, but the next year they were able to use the big, centrally located arena. As a family The Shepards were very actively involved in both NEHA and The Haflinger Registry of North America. Dad was a trustee in the HRNA.
The Shepards first trip, all 4 of them, to Ohio for a Haflinger sale was really exciting. They headed out to Wooster Ohio. Before they left, it was decided that the mares needed to be reshod and Dick Kelso was called in. Dick was a local farrier from Westfield, and he had never shod a Haflinger before. The mares worked their magic on Dick and when he found out that the Shepards were going to Ohio to a sale, Dick and his son’s Shane and Chip decided to go along too!!!!!! Dad was pleased, and he got Dick to join NEHA and HRNA. Dick came home from that trip with a ½ Haffie. Later and many more trips Dick purchased many purebreds and became very involved in the breed. That always pleased Dad.
The Shepards made a lot of trips to Ohio, and always had a wonderful time, making many new friends along the way.
Karen says she can’t remember all the horses they have had, funny how time steals our memories, but she does recall that 2 of their foals went to the Gogette’s and they showed them very successfully for years.
The entire Shepard family felt very lucky to meet so many nice people through out the Haflinger world. It was a lot of work to keep up 17 horses, clean, fed and worked but the benefits so out weighted the work no one ever complained. Karen remembers asking Dad why they had 17 horses when he really only wanted a pair? Well, he replied “1 pair for me and a pair for each of you and then a few spares.” OK, Karen thought that works, never question Dad.
On one of the many trips to Ohio Dad and friends went around and visited numerous farms and at one stop, Dad recognized a pony that he had seen pull at the fairs in New Hampshire. They listened to dad speak of this pony and agreed he was right; it was that pony, small world!
The entire Shepard family felt so lucky for all the friends they made through these horses, and enjoyed many visits and meals with them. Karen recalls being invited to an Amish wedding and feeling so privileged to be invited to such a wonderful family event. And the food was out of this world.
For many years at the annual HRNA fall national show, Karen gave out the ribbons, and trophies. It was tons of fun and she got to see so many beautiful Haflinger Horses. Often times she did not recognize some of the contestants when they were all dressed up. As the show continued to grow, the Shepard Family made more new and wonderful friends. All of them were brought together by the Golden Horse we call the Haflinger!!!!!
Today Karen Shepard is the last living member of the Shepard clan, she still comes to Equine Affaire every year to help with the booth and share all the stories of the first club meetings. She lights up our booth and within minutes we are all laughing our heads off. She and her family have had a profound effect on this breed and helped to bring this horse to those of us in New England, who now love and enjoy them. A simply thank you to the Shepard family does not seem like enough, for what they have done for the breed and for New England. I think it is best to say they all shall have a special place in the history books, for their part in the development of our club and their dedication to the breed. Thank you. Xxxooo
Story title…….The Shepard Family of New England
Written by…… Audrey LF Safford as told to her by Karen Shepard.