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Grave Matters: Walnut Hall Farm and Walnut Hall Stud, Kentucky
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Walnut Hall Stud now part of Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, Kentucky
Photos by Liz Martiniak and Anne Peters. ©Liz Martiniak 2002; all rights reserved. ©Anne Peters 2002; all rights reserved. |
| Top: Walnut Hall cemetery, Rodney's grave stone
in foreground (photo A.P.); Bottom: Left--Marker listing horses buried
at Walnut Hall Stud (Kentucky Horse Park, photo A.P.); Right--Guy Axworthy
at Walnut Hall Farm, once joined with Walnut Hall Stud (photo L.M.) |
WALNUT HALL FARM, located on Newtown Pike outside Lexington, Kentucky, has been the birthplace of countless champions for over a century. The farm was founded in 1892 by Lamon Harkness and originally encompassed over 5000 acres. Over the years, parcels of land were inherited by children and grandchildren, and eventually the property split into two major breeding establishments--Walnut Hall Stock Farm and Walnut Hall Stud (now part of the Kentucky Horse Park). The cemetery for Walnut Hall Stock Farm, now Walnut Hall Limited and still a major Standardbred nursery, lies only a short distance from the foaling barn, a cream yellow structure with red trim. The mansion is within sight of the cemetery. The cemetery entrance is marked by a life-size bronze of GUY AXWORTHY, the premier stallion of his day and sire of three Hambletonian champions and five winners of the Kentucky Futurity. Those that rest in this cemetery span the history of harness racing in the twentieth century. In addition to Guy Axworthy, the great stallions PETER VOLO and his son VOLOMITE repose here, as do SCOTLAND, SAN FRANCISCO, and GUY ABBEY, the sire of Greyhound. Early trotting stallion sensation MOKO lies here along with his Futurity-winning son FERENO. The stallion WALNUT HALL and the mare NOTELET rest here, the parents of The Harvester, whose image has graced tobacco tins for nearly a century. The mares interred here include: CITA FRISCO, dam of Volomite; NEDDA, whose record of 1:58 1/4 stood for sixteen years; MARGARET ARION, dam of two Hambletonian winners and three Futurity winners; and IMPISH, the first juvenile trotting filly o break the 2:00 barrier and whose name is still prominent in trotting pedigrees today.
WALNUT HALL STUD (now KENTUCKY HORSE PARK) was inherited by Harkness Edwards, the grandson of Lamon Harkness, and upon his death, was carried on by his widow, Mary Edwards Jenney. The graves at this site, a small tree-shaded area near the Horse Park's Breeds Barn, include: the great stallion RODNEY, whose grave is the centerpiece of the cemetery here; PRINCESS PEG, Kentucky Futurity winner; IOSOLA'S WORTHY, the first filly to win the Hambletonian; PROTECTORINE, dam of the good trotter Darn Safe, who himself rests in the infield of the DuQuoin Fairgrounds track in Illinois; SCOTCH SONG, dam of Hambletonian winner Lusty Song; EVENSONG, dam of three classic winners: Twilight Song, Volo Song, Victory Song. A little boxer dog named Hilda also rests here, she having been the longtime beloved companion of Harkness Edwards' widow. -- L.M. |
| WALNUT HALL FARM BURIALS (All Standardbreds)
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| Stallions | Broodmares |
Allegro (1935-1961)
Bergdorf (1967-1981)
Cheetah Goose (1952-1977)
Darnley (c. 1940-1960)
Demon Hanover (c. 1945-1959)
Duane Hanover (c. 1952-1977)
Fereno (c. 1887-1918)
Fruit Worthy (1906-1932)
Guy Abbey (c. 1925-1957)
Guy Axworthy (c. 1902-1933; statue)
Guy Day (1927-1955)
Kimberley Kid (c. 1950-1970)
Lookaway Express (1929-1955)
Lou Sidney (1957-1980)
McGregor the Great (1915-1932)
Moko (c. 1893-1926)
Nedda (1915-1943)
Ozanam (1896-1924)
Peter Volo (c. 1911-1936)
Protector (c. 1928-1956)
Saboteur (1953-1976)
Sampson Direct (c. 1957-1980)
San Francisco (c. 1903-1934)
Scotland (c. 1925-1956)
Silent Majority (c. 1969-1992)
The Intruder (1953-1975)
Victory Mite (1944-1967)
Volomite (c. 1926-1954)
Walnut Hall (c. 1898-1922)
Worthy Spirit (1911-1939)
| Anita Knight (f. 1969-1980)
Besta Hanover (f. 1952-1974)
Cita Frisco (f. 1921-1951)
Emily Scott (f. 1941-1967)
Gaiety Lee (f. 1904-1930)
Her Ladyship (f. 1933-1961)
Ilo Hanover (f. 1946-1973)
Margaret Arion (f. 1923-1946)
Margaret Castleton (f. 1935-1960)
Margaret Parrish (f. 1908-1939)
Margaret Spangler (f. 1918-1946)
Mary Tipton (f. 1911-1939)
Impish (f. 1959-1982)
Lady Lunkin (f. 1961-1983)
Little Fanny (f. 1956-1981)
Lucy Abbey (f. 1939-1964)
Lura Hanover (f. 1944-1965)
Mighty Margaret (f. 1940-1961)
Miss Greyhound (f. 1938-1964)
Miss Princess Laurel (f. 1935-1961)
Miss Tempo (f. 1958-1975)
My Lady Scott (f. 1953-1986)
Notelet (f. 1899-1917)
Phantom Lady (f. 1951-1968)
Queen Martha (f. 1958-1982)
Queen Nib (f. 1944-1968)
Selka (f. 1915-1940)
The Mighty Miss Morris (f. 1927-1955)
Yellow Belle (f. 1892-1911) |
| WALNUT HALL STUD BURIALS (All Standardbreds) at the KENTUCKY HORSE PARK
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| Stallions | Broodmares |
| Rodney (c.)
| Duchess Hanover (f.)
Evensong (f.)
Fionne (f.)
Irma Hanover (f.)
Isola's Worthy (f.)
Marilee Hanover (f.)
Primrose Helen (f.)
Princess Gay (f.)
Princess Peg (f.)
Protectarine (f.)
Scotch Song |
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