Special white horses take refuge in Barrington Hills

Galloping through the brook, a slice of Americana stares at Donna Ewing with uncommonly blue eyes.

The sun beams off its snow-white coat, revealing pink skin beneath. The horse appears playful, its nostrils flaring as it responds calmly to Ewing's loving touch.

"Aren't they beautiful animals?" she asks.

But these horses -- Ewing just weeks ago took in a dozen of them at her Hooved Animal Rescue and Protection Society ranch in Barrington Hills -- are more than just pretty faces.

Tied to a rich if not particularly well-known history, these steeds descended from a special line bred for their unusual skin color, pearly white coat and gentle nature.

So gentle, in fact, that their owners at the White Horse Ranch in Naper, Neb. -- now on the National Registry of Historic Places -- trained them to be performers who gave shows around the country starting in the 1930s.

By their '50s heyday, The White Horse Troupe had shared stages with the likes of Gene Autry, Minnie Pearl and Tex Cooper and performed at Soldier Field, and one played the title role in the 1945 film "Thunderhead."

According to an Oklahoma State University history, even Navy Admiral William Halsey rode one in the victory parade in New York City after World War II.

Ewing believes her horses also are related to the one that played Silver in the 1950s "Lone Ranger" TV series.

"These are really part of American history," Ewing said.

Having taken in the horses from downstate Monmouth because their owner could no longer care for them, Ewing hopes not just to nurse them back to them to health but shed some light on their legacy.

Mainly, though, her aim is to find them good homes.

She's setting up a silent auction for later this month, but insists potential owners will be screened and the horses won't merely be sold to the highest bidders.

"We're not going to give them away to anyone," Ewing said.

Looking for respite

Ewing had never heard of the American White Horse color line when she received a letter over the summer from 82-year-old Frank Mower.

He was desperately looking for a home for a herd of horses running free on his nephew Howard Mower's 15-acre farm in Monmouth.

Howard Mower, 64, had bought two horses 10 years ago from the White Horse Ranch for $2,500 each, he said. He later bought a third horse, and then the rapid breeding began.

Mower -- who'd struggled with depression and found the horses comforting -- admitted his equine knowledge was minimal, and caring for the horses became overwhelming.

"It was hard giving them away," he said. "They were magical. There was something about them -- people would stop and ask where they came from and tell me how beautiful they were."

Ewing is used to such comments. The Barrington Hills shelter she established in 2000 is dedicated to rehabbing abused and neglected animals that are close to death. Volunteers help out, but the heavy lifters are Ewing and her daughter. A donkey named Dr. Phil is among the animals currently residing at Ewing's shelter.

The white horses weren't deathly ill, but Ewing and her staff have already improved their health, ridding them of parasites and feeding them a mineral supplement to treat anemia.

They had plenty of grass to eat on Mower's farm, but lacked proper veterinary care, Ewing said.

"It's miraculous they're this healthy," she said.

'Silver' and beyond

The horses' history is one of the reasons Ewing took a chance and took custody. Her eyes light up while telling the story of the American White Horse, which was established by White Horse Ranch owners Cal and Ruth Thompson from a 1,200-pound stallion named Old King they purchased in 1917.

The Thompsons first recorded Old King's progeny in 1937 as a color line known as the American Albino Horse. As they weren't true albinos, though, they eventually became known as the American White Horse breed and their cousin the American Crème Horse.

In addition to its touring performers, the 2,400-acre White Horse Ranch near the South Dakota state line would open during the summers to teens who would train and eventually perform an end-of-season show.

He also had a separate, professional touring company, the Thompson White Horse Show, that put on shows around the country.

A show highlight was when a horse -- without a bridle or saddle -- would jump over a car with its rider's arms above her head.

"He did amazing things with these horses," Ewing said of Cal Thompson, who died in 1963.

Barbara McAbee-Woehl was one of those teens who spent the summer of 1956 at the Nebraska ranch. She had little riding experience, but the horses immediately took to her.

"Within a couple weeks (at the ranch as a teen) I was jumping hurdles and riding bareback," she said.

McAbee-Woehl now lives in downstate Thomson, but was recently in Barrington Hills to visit the horses. The ranch had another legacy for her, too.

She first met her husband, Ken Woehl, when both were teens at the ranch. They lost contact soon after the summer was over, but reconnected at a ranch reunion last year. They wed in June.

A ranch rebirth?

Though Ewing is carefully screening potential adopters, she still dreams that Thompson's original ranch might reopen.

It looks to be a long shot, though. The ranch is no longer owned by one family, but partially by the state of Nebraska and partially by a resident of Oregon, Ewing said. That makes it a lot tougher to spark a campaign to reopen the historic ranch.

McAbee-Woehl shares Ewing's dream and has been trying to contact the owners to talk about it.

Time is of the essence, Ewing said. So far, her group has spent about $1,000 per horse for care, but the group doesn't have money to sustain that long-term.

Back in Nebraska, though, it's clear the famed ranch down the road has had a long-term impact.

Bill Seipel works at the White Horse Museum, just south of the ranch in Stuart.

Seipel says the white horses are a beauty to behold, yet he's not sure what all the fuss is about. And, he says, the future of the ranch is murky. Many of the belongings at the ranch have been given away.

"I don't know if it will come back to life or not," he said.

It might not, but Ewing hopes that finding good homes for these white horses will keep the ranch's legacy alive. Mower hopes so, too.

"Whomever gets those horses," he said, "will be lucky."