Mary Urbanski aboard McCurdys Glory in a Prineville, Oregon, 25-mile endurance ride.

If you yearn for a trail horse that’s easy to ride, dependable, and big-hearted, the McCurdy Plantation Horse may be your dream come true. The McCurdy Plantation Horse is a naturally gaited breed developed in Alabama since the late 1800s to have a calm, easy disposition and great stamina, comfortably carrying a rider for 30 to 40 miles.

Although several McCurdy Plantation Horses were registered in the 1930s as original foundation horses with the Tennessee Walking Horse Foundation, today, they’re a distinct breed with their own registry, established in 1993. Currently, there are fewer than 600 registered McCurdys.

Bred to retain stout legs, a short back, and deep chest and hip, McCurdys range from 14.2 to 16 hands high, and are well-suited for trail riding, endurance riding, harness work, and working cattle. They have exceptionally strong hooves and can be ridden without shoes on soft footing, or with regular keg shoes — mass-produced steel shoes — on harder terrain.

McCurdy breeder and trail rider Colleen Cates of Destiny Hills Ranch in Athens, Texas, became acquainted with the breed 18 years ago, when living near the original McCurdy breeding farm in Lowndesboro, Ala.

"McCurdys are a trail rider’s dream horse because of their strong conformation, work ethic, and ease of handling on the ground and on the trail," she said. "They rate their speed according to the rider’s wishes: If you want to ride in front, they’ll be bold and go forward. But if you want to ride in the back, that’s no problem. McCurdys are team players."

June Snook of J-Bar Farm, situated in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, is a McCurdy enthusiast and breeder who enjoys endurance riding with her horses. "They’re great over rough terrain, they’re good field horses," she said. "They have really hard hooves, and the temperament and stamina for endurance competition."

Snook recently competed in two back-to-back 50-mile endurance rides on her 16-hand gray gelding, Ace High McCurdy. "At the end of 95 miles, he was still going — I have yet to ever see him get tired," she said.

To learn more about the McCurdy Plantation Horse, and to find breeders, call (334) 872-5412, or visit www.mccurdyhorses.com.

— Judith Houlding