Middle Tennessee Horse Breeding

Breeding fine horses has been both big business and pastime for Middle Tennesseans since settlers first entered the Cumberland Valley during the American Revolution. The fertile pastures and mild climate of the area lent itself to horse breeding, and the populace embraced the benefits. Horses functioned as the technology that plowed fields, moved goods and people, and serviced the military. Horse racetracks dotted the landscape, and a person's social status sometimes rested on the possession of fine horses and good horsemanship. This combination of culture and geography in Middle Tennessee gave rise to some of the most celebrated horse breeders in the nation.

Perky Beisel is an assistant professor of history at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Rob DeHart is director for collections and programs at Travellers Rest Plantation and Museum, the oldest historic house operated as a museum in Nashville.