John's Background

Main: John Hutcheson and PKR Primavera Brio at the Gab Creek waterfall. Inset: The Gab Creek sign. he greatest horsemen are most often those who don’t John’s Background proclaim themselves as such, but who carefully guard ohn M. Hutcheson, or “Hutch,” as many of his friends call him, the secrets passed down by masters before them, and Jwas raised, as he likes to say, “on guns, dogs, and horses” in Douglas Twho freely share what they have learned with others, County, GA, where his family had lived for seven generations. He giving credit to these masters who taught grew up with Quarter Horses, and at the age By Brenda L. Tippin them as a matter of honor. Retired Army of 12, began working at an operation which Colonel John Hutcheson of Gab Creek Farm, Dahlonega, GA, is had over 200 head of horses three miles from his home. This place one of these modern day masters. Following 30 years of service in was owned by Mr. Mac Abercrombie, Sr., born in 1903. “Mr. Mac” the infantry, John and his wife Joyce retired in 1998 to land owned was the retired sheriff of the county and had raised and trained in Joyce’s family for five generations. John cleared the land and the first mules to go down into the Grand Canyon on a contract to built Gab Creek Farm, where they raise old style Western working the Harvey Mule Company. He continually kept 200-300 head of Morgans, which he starts himself using the traditions of Vaquero horses for sale, some of which always needed riding or schooling, horsemanship. so Hutch became an exercise rider, and Mr. Mac became his first 2 March 2011 Far left, top and bottom: PKR Primavera Brio; Right three: Gab Creek Golden Vaquero (junior stallion at Gab Creek) and John Hutcheson. (Photos by Laura Behning). mentor. Hutch had a run-in shed and corral at his home to house a Getting Started With Morgans horse, and would ride to work on the weekends. He continued this hrough all of his tours of duty, Hutch notes that he managed job through the age of 20. “From Mr. Mac I learned to ‘have an eye’ Tto keep his hands on a horse. He had ridden Tennessee for how a horse should be put together, as well as how to ride and Walkers, Arabs, and registered Quarter Horses, but although he train stock horses,” Hutch explains. had been on thousands of horses, he had never seen a Morgan in Hutch attended historic North Georgia College in Dahlonega, his life. By some curious chance he can no longer recall, he picked which began as a land grant and military school six years after the up a Morgan Horse magazine somewhere, which happened to be end of the Civil War, and is the second oldest university in the state. during the time frame in the late 1980s when several articles on the He was commissioned as an Infantry officer from North Georgia Morgan Stock Horse began to appear. Hutch fell in love with the College in 1969, meeting his wife Joyce during his senior year there, deep-bodied substance of what he came to learn was the old style and went on to command at all levels. As a young Captain, he served Morgan, and subscribed. as Adjutant for then-Colonel H. Norman Schwartzkopf, followed by “As a kid my mentor had an own son of King P 234,” Hutch four years in the 101st Airborne as a Major. Known as “the Screaming notes. “My stallion Brio reminds me of him a lot. I began to Eagles,” the 101st Airborne is a U.S. Army modular infantry division discover the Morgan stock horse and to learn that the finest cow trained for air assault, and is one of the most prestigious and horses ever were probably the trigger-reined stock of Roland Hill decorated divisions of the U.S. Army. As a Lieutenant Colonel, John trained by the last of the Vaqueros in California in the early part Hutcheson commanded in Berlin before the wall came down, and of the 20th century. The realization that I could have this baroque- his battalion suffered casualties during the La Belle Disco bombing looking horse with the famous disposition that could do what of 1986. As a Colonel, he served as the senior trainer for Infantry a Quarter Horse could, launched me into looking for a special at the National Training Center in the Mojave Desert, first Chief of Morgan stallion. The Morgan stock horse articles by Brenda Tippin Staff of the Joint Readiness Training Center and Ft. Polk, Chief of mentioned a horse named Primavera Valdez bred by Dick Nelsen, Staff of the Alaskan Command, and finally, he served as Chief of who bred some of the best of that type of horse in the late 1970s, Staff of the 5th U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston. and who was owned by Bob and Carol Simpson of Yuba City, CA. The Morgan Horse 3 Top: The Gab Creek barn. Insets: On the way to Gab Creek; the entrance; run and pasture; and Gary Napier on GabCreek Gay Mashanta and John Hutcheson on Gab Creek Rosado during his visit to Gab Creek Farm in 2009. (Photos by Gary Napier) Primavera Valdez, a powerfully-built, handsome buckskin, was the meaningful comments as, ‘He’s really sweet, and so pretty.’ The few first Morgan to hold a Stallion Certificate as an Honor Roll Stallion pictures I took that turned out were so awful that no one in their in the National Reining Horse Association Sire & Dam Program. right mind would consider buying the horse in thick winter coat It was largely through Valdez and the efforts of the Simpsons with a rubbed-out mane.” that interest in the Morgan Stock Horse was renewed, as well as John was rather taken aback when he saw the pictures, and a healthy interest in breeding quality, colorful Morgans, both of called Carol, repeating the question, “Carol, are you SURE?” which were very scarce in the breed at the time. Carol recalls, “Joyce had gotten back with the photos but I “In the summer of 1990, I was transferred from my post at Ft hadn’t seen what John was referring to. I said, ‘Yes, John, Brio is Irwin, CA, in the Mojave desert to Carlisle Barracks, PA,” Hutch going to be a really nice stallion.’ Then the photos of Brio arrived continues. “We were driving cross country and stopping to visit that Joyce had taken with him in his full winter coat. I’ve never friends along the way, so I called Carol Simpson and asked if we seen anything so unattractive! But, when I’ve made up my mind could drop by to see Primavera Valdez. We loved everything about about a youngster before they hit that “Oh my God” stage, I stand this beautiful buckskin stallion, and that was the start of a lifetime by my judgment.” friendship. Our goal was to look for a son of this horse when it was As it turned out, John’s next assignment was at Ft. Sam time for me to retire in a few years.” Houston, TX, which proved to be an excellent place to keep a In January of 1996, Carol Simpson called the Hutchesons horse. The Hutchesons committed to buy the colt, PKR Primavera in Alaska, where they were then stationed, to alert them that the Brio (Primavera Valdez x Rose Hill LaPapillon), on Carol’s word only buckskin, ungelded son of Valdez was for sale in Tennessee that the bloodlines were solid and he was a good representative of and they should buy him. They were due to rotate to another duty a versatile Morgan, worthy of being a stallion. station soon, having no idea as yet where that would be, so could John concludes, “We moved him to San Antonio, Texas, not imagine how this was going to work out. where I started him when I was 50 years old. He was everything Joyce takes up the story, “When our high school senior Carol had promised, and more. We put him with a great young daughter decided to visit a college near Lexington, KY, in March, reining horse trainer, Brad Jewett, and with just seven months it seemed reasonable that I could go see the young stallion in under saddle he placed at the Grand National up in Oklahoma person. John was raised with horses; I had collected Breyer models City. I truly believe Brio is my ‘horse of a lifetime.’ I know I will and read Black Beauty and National Velvet, but I had absolutely never again know a horse like this one and have been privileged to no real-horse experience. I reported back to John with such rich, be his keeper.” 4 March 2011 Top: A view of the Gab Creek barn from the pasture. Insets: Mecates and hackamores; harnesses; a saddle; and saddles and bridles. (Photos by Gary Napier) History of Gab Creek Farm He spent his last two years on active duty visiting a different horse n 1998, John retired from his military career, and the Hutchesons facility each Sunday afternoon to get ideas for the designs he would Imoved to Dahlonega, GA, to clear and build their farm. Joyce build. He notes, “I fenced the corn field, turned it into a hay field, inherited 16 acres from her grandmother, land which had been rode the bell mare down there morning and evening for turn out, in Joyce’s family since her great-great-grandfather Abner Waters began to clear land, build trails, built the main horse barn, hay settled there in the 1830s.

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