Troutmans Inducted into ASHAV Hall of Fame

From Saddle Horse Report, February 23, 2004 issue

Danny and Nancy Troutman

Nancy Crowder Troutman began riding ponies at age three following in the footsteps of her father Thurman Crowder, who was a true horse lover. Nancy truly feels she inherited her love for all horses from her father. Nancy started with a pony named Frosty. When she was not riding Frosty, she was on her other beloved mount, “Mr. Footstool” as she watched her favorite program “The Lone Ranger.” Horses were a family affair for the entire Crowder family. Nancy’s sister, Karen, also rode and showed in the 4-H and small shows along with Nancy and their father. Mother Hazel did not ride very much but did her part by putting in many hours of volunteer work with 4-H and other horse clubs in the area. Mrs. Crowder was one of the original organizers of the Roanoke Valley Horseman’s Association and the Roanoke Valley Horse Show, having been inducted into their Hall of Fame. Another area show that the Crowder’s helped start was the Pine Spur Hunt Club Show.

When Nancy was a young girl, the Crowder family moved to a 28-acre farm in Salem that had a small five-stall barn on the property. It wasn’t long before a sideline business for boarding and breaking horses was born and named Meadow Wood Stables. Mr. Crowder was a building contractor by profession so adding thirty-six more stalls was not that difficult. Nancy started breaking colts and horses to earn money at the age of 12. Mr. and Mrs. Crowder along with Lowell Gobble revived the 4-H equine program in the area, and the Annual 4-H Horse Show was held at Meadow Wood for several years. Nancy’s father loved walking horses, and Nancy and Karen showed walking and plantation horses when they were growing up. When she was not showing, Nancy broke and showed many different breeds of horses. The first time she rode a Saddlebred that really looked through the bridle and trotted high, she was hooked.

In the early 1980’s Nancy was leading a double life, working in the office of Double Envelope Co. and leasing a barn just outside of Roanoke in Daleville, VA, where she trained Saddlebreds at night and on the weekends. Her main customers were the Barry Ward family with whom she and Danny remain good friends. Nancy was also working for the Bluegrass Horseman. This was a demanding time in her life, but it was a time she remembers fondly. She raised the colt Mahogany Magic that she showed in the Yearling Breeder’s Stake in Louisville, bringing home the Reserve World’s Championship.

On August 1, 1983, Nancy and Danny took that all important step to combine their talents and signed a lease purchase agreement with Nancy’s father to buy her home place Meadow Wood Stables, and a full time boarding and training barn became a reality. Just a few notable horses that she has trained have been, Yankee’s All American, Title Time, Montgomery County, Premier’s Evening Shadow, Take Title, Shawnee Admiral, and Lookin’ Up. Once again in 2001 she appeared on the green shavings in Louisville, showing Unforgiven in the Open Park Division. Her Five-Gaited mare Vanity’s Gypsy Town has not only been exciting to watch show, but is always teaching her to reach higher. Nancy is always a professional both in and out of the show ring but most importantly she is an ambassador for the American Saddlebred.

One cannot think of Nancy without thinking of the patience and love she shows to her customers and the horses she trains. She has made it possible for people who love the Saddlebred horse to show and enjoy success without having to pay small fortunes to be involved. She is very good at matching her riders, at whatever level of ability, to just the right horse as exemplified by the number of young riders she has mentored. Nancy’s calm demeanor belies her determination to have her teams be the best that they can be. She is a workaholic with a strong attachment to home and family. All of her success is possible because she loves what she does. Her favorite piece of advice for her riders is, “Think ahead of your horse, look down the rail and ride BIG!” Perhaps most importantly, Nancy promotes setting attainable goals, good sportsmanship, having fun, and enjoyment of the breed.

Nancy’s involvement in the equine industry is well documented. She is the long-term coordinator for the Virginia Winter Tournaments which promotes our breed to many young riders, a charter member of ASHAV, past president, vice president, and board member of the Roanoke Valley Horseman Association, Saddlebred coordinator for the Roanoke Valley Horse Show, UPHA Chapter 18 Horseman of the Year in 1995, and ASHAV Distinguished Service Award winner in 1998. She also holds her judges’ card and enjoys the responsibility it entails.

The friendly, comfortable atmosphere at Meadow Wood can be directly linked to Nancy because those words describe her personality. Her gifts of talent, determination, and kindness make Nancy most deserving of this recognition.

Danny Troutman hails from a family that boasts four generations of blacksmiths in Statesville, NC. He grew up helping his dad in the shop and doing some shoeing himself. At a young age his neighbor, Hubert Foster, Steve Hanks’ grandfather, aided his love for horses. Danny started riding ponies with Steve at Mr. Foster’s when he was five years old and showed a lot in 4-H and other shows in that area. His first job in the horse business was with Bill Becker when Bill was trainer at Spring Valley Farm in Eastover, SC. While Danny was there they worked with such notable horses as Apache Rose, Belle Destiny, Terra Cotta, Gift of Love and Night of Love.

His next job was closer to home working with Paul Payne in Statesville. This was in the mid-seventies when Paul was really doing a lot of business and Danny feels he learned some of his most valuable lessons in showing and selling in the three years they stood the stallion, Contract’s Big Deal, and showed the well-known Contract’s Tinker Toy and Contract’s Big Dream. After Paul’s death, all the horses were sold, and Danny moved on to become assistant trainer at Mr. Sigmon’s Fashion Acres working for trainer Sam Stafford. There he helped work such horses of note as Fashion’s Desdemona Denmark, Sinatra, Fashion’s Destiny, and Fashion’s Corrina. They also stood the stallions Greystone’s Gambler, Splendid Achievement, and One For All.

Danny spent the next two years as assistant to Larry Barbee before he decided to take the big step to go out on his own. He leased the Rogers barn in Taylorsville, NC. There he successfully showed the road horse I.W. Harper, owned by Pete & Polly Stack, along with others such as Thunder Road and Asperations. He also worked horses for Mr. Horace Isenhower and daughter Lib. They became close friends and have enjoyed many good times together.

Nancy and Danny met at the Wytheville Horse Show exhibitor’s party in 1982 and began a long distance romance. At that time Danny was renting the barn in Taylorsville, NC, and Nancy was at her barn in Daleville, VA. On August 1, 1983, Nancy and Danny took that all important step to combine their talents and signed a lease purchase agreement with Mr. Crowder to buy Nancy’s home place, Meadow Wood Stables, where they opened a full time boarding and training barn.

On moving in, Danny, who Nancy proudly says, “can do anything”, started the long and laborious task of rebuilding the 41-stall barn. He also built a four-stall colt barn with a paddock for a total of 45 stalls. In 1995, he made Nancy one happy lady by adding an indoor bullpen onto the end of the barn. Then in 2001, Danny removed two stalls making it possible to ride or drive inside all the way around!

Danny is a member of UPHA Chapter 18. He has been the UPHA Chapter Chairman for a total of six years during the 1990’s and a very active member of ASHAV, serving as the Zone II Director, Vice President and Director At Large. With the exception of one meeting missed while he was in the hospital, Danny has never missed another ASHAV board meeting. He has always been one of the “go to” people where there are hard questions to answer. He has proven many times that he is a great country boy who will go off and think though problems and then come back with a great satisfactory solution. Whenever you need help with anything, he is right there!

Danny received the UPHA Chapter 18 Horseman of the Year award in 1989…and it reads: In recognition of his abilities, Good Sportsmanship Attitude & Assistance to his fellow horsemen. In 1998, he was honored with the ASHAV Distinguished Service Award.