For his 10 years in the halter horse business, Wallace Heck Jr. has a lot to show. But his two reserve world championships and plenty of top-10 finishes at world shows were topped Tuesday morning when his homegrown Bar Hoppun was named world champion weanling gelding at the Bayer Select World Championship Show.
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| Wallace Heck Jr. won his first world championship with home bred Bar Hoppun. |
“He was born and raised on my farm in Terry, Mississippi,” Wallace said. “I own his mother, and a good friend of mine owns his dad -- he stands there at the farm.”
Bar Hoppun is by Cool Tall One and out of Glowing Reality by Beyond Reality.
Wallace said having bred and raised the chestnut gelding makes his first world championship all the more special.
“His mom was 16.2 as a 2-year-old, but she never filled out,” Wallace explained. “But she’s been a great producer.”
Wallace hopes Bar Hoppun’s full brother, No Bar Too Far, will be just as successful in the 2-year-old geldings.
Wallace came to the halter industry from a Thoroughbred racing background. After his father’s death, the family sold out of the horse business until his children got interested.
“They started out in hunter/jumpers and didn’t like that, then barrels, didn’t really like that, so we started in halter and we’ve been here for 10 years,” he said.
Wallace’s horses are trained by Monte Horn, who lives next door in Terry.
