Bethel Harry Ward

Birth and Family

Bethel Harry Ward was born at Hartsville,Tennessee in 1930. His parents were Harry and Marguerita Dillard Ward.

Ward married Lucille Moore; they would become parents to ten children.

Developing Skills

Ward, working with his father, gained knowledge, developed skills and a love of Saddlebred horses. In 1946, at the age of sixteen, Ward worked at the Maryland Farm in Brentwood, Tennessee. The four hundred acre farm, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Truman Ward, was noted for Saddlebreds. Earl Teater was the trainer for the stable at the time. Ward worked at the farm for eight years. During that time he cared for top horses. One of them was the Fine Harness Registered World Champion (RWC) Big Shot.

Expert Groom

Ward came to Kentucky in 1953 to work at the Dodge Stables in Lexington. He reconnected with Earl Teater, who had returned to Kentucky in 1948. Teater trained Wing Commander and other champion Saddlebreds.

Ward kept the horses healthy and well-groomed as they traveled from show to show. He said that from 1954 to 2010 he had trimmed, braided and groomed three hundred Saddlebreds, Trotters and Hackney ponies per year. Those Saddlebreds that had come under his expert care were:

• CH Lover’s Lane
• CH Dream Waltz
• CH Star of the Show
• Ch Primrose Path
• CH My Show Boat
• CH Belle of the Dell
• CH Local Talent
• CH Wing Commander
• Meadow Princess
• Moon Glitter
• Psycho

Ward's professional attention to the Saddlebreds was critical to the stable’s success.

Staying With The Saddlebreds

Although Dodge Stables was sold in 1975, Ward stayed connected to the farm. He provided security service for the stallion barns. In a printed narrative, Ward told that C. E. “Pep” Peppiatt had known of his work at Dodge Stables. He asked Ward to come work with his stable, saying, “I’ll pay you every Friday.” Ward agreed.

Saddlebred mares and stallions at Peppiatt Stables, in Lexington, Kentucky, were:

• RWC Dixie Wing
• Bi Mi Magic Dream
• Wing Solo
• Lady Virginia
• Sea Secrets
• French Wine
• Carolina Shamrock
• Annabelle Bailey

Ward cared for and groomed them from 1976 to 2010.

Honor and Legacy

In 2007, The American Saddlebred Museum created an exhibit and produced a video focused on the story of forgotten Black horsemen of the Saddlebred industry. Ward was one of the individuals featured.1

Ward devoted his life to the care of Saddlebreds. His enthusiastic and professional approach to his work was acknowledged with his induction into the Caretaker Hall of Fame. The award was presented by the United Professional Horsemen’s Association in 2016.

The honor is given to individuals who have demonstrated a long standing commitment to providing excellent care of horses.

Ward’s family framed the narrative penned by Littleton Ward for his award. He wrote “If you never knew the man behind the sharp, radiant suits beside the Champion horses at Dodge Stables in the 1960s and 70s, now you do! What a great horseman Bethel Harry Ward was and still is.”2

Sources

Saddlehorse Report. 2016. Bethel Ward Inducted Into The UPHA Caretaker Hall of Fame. July 18, 2016

“Out of the Shadows: Bringing to Light Black Horsemen in Saddlebred History.” accessed March12, 2021 https://www.asha.net/newsItem?id=53712

Citation

When citing this article in Chicago Manual of Style, use this format: Last name, first name of Author. Chronicle of African Americans in the Horse Industry. n.d. “Title of Profile or Story.” International Museum of the Horse. Accessed date. URL of page cited.

• 1“Out of the Shadows: Bringing to Light Black Horsemen in Saddlebred History”
• 2Saddlebred Report. 2016. Bethel Ward Inducted Into the UPHA Caretaker Hall of Fame