Horseman Walter Warrington dies

October 14, 2008

Horseman Walter Scarborough Warrington, 83, of Galena, Maryland, the father of horsemen Steve and Dan Warrington, died Sunday, October 12.

Walter was born on May 7, 1925 in Providence, Md., son of the late James and Wilamina Moore Warrington. Walter served with the US Army as a master sergeant during the Korean Conflict. Aside from his time in the Army, Walter worked his entire life in the horse industry. He was an auctioneer, rider, instructor, trainer, driver and in his latter years was the executive director of the Florida Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association.

During Walter�s lifetime he worked with almost every breed and type of horse from plow horse, jumping horse, polo pony, rodeo horse, backyard riding horse, Thoroughbred and Standardbred.

Walter is survived by his wife of 58 years, Pauline Leising Warrington; and his seven children, Daniel (Jane), Steven (Linda), both of Galena; Cynthia (Donald) Hawk of Cornelius, NC; Jamee (Jerry) Wetzel of Findlay, OH; Marci (Joseph) Mattes of Concord, NC; Rebecca (Thomas) Pitre and Timothy (Kathy) Warrington, both of Galena; a sister Mildred Weed of Elkton, MD; a brother Edward Warrington of Townsend, DE; 21 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Vera Scott, and a brother, James Warrington Jr.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, Oct. 16, from 1-3 pm in the Galena Funeral Home of Stephen L. Schaech, 118 W. Cross Street, Galena, MD. A graveside service will be held at 4:00 pm in the Cherry Hill Cemetery, Cherry Hill, MD.

Memorials may be offered to the Christian Harness Horseman�s Association, 1846 Ross Road, Sunbury, OH 43074.

Walter�s sense of humor and love of horses and the horse industry will be sadly missed by all who knew him. In addition to being the true horseman that he was, he was also a poet and penned the following poem on January 1, 1979:

POST TIME

A group of harness drivers

Were standin a�waitin� for their race,

When up stepped an old timer

With a smile on his wrinkled face.

�Boys�, he said, �I�ve drove a lot of horses,

And I�ve been ranked among the best,

But I�m getting kinda tired now
And I�m goin� to take a rest.

�Yes, I�m goin� back to my old home

At the end of this here meet,

I�m gonna sit in the sun and talk with God

Where the air is pure and sweet.�

Then he climbed up on his sulky

To earn his daily keep,

But the horse that he was drivin�

Was past his prime and in too deep.

But he left the gate a racin�

Headin� into that first turn,

And the dirt a flyin� in his face

Caused his tired old eyes to burn.

His old horse, he made a bad step

And down on the track they went.

He lay �neath the carts and horses

Broken, bruised and bent.

They picked him up real gentle

His colors stained blood red.

He opened up his tear-dimmed eyes

And this is what he said:

�Boys, someone take my helmet

And someone take my whip.

I won�t need them any longer boys

You see I�ve driven my last trip.�

As his life�s breath slowly left him

His old face began to shine.

He said �Don�t shed no tears for me boy,

I just heard Jesus call, �POST TIME.�

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