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About
Us
J.L.Conkle started out in
the horse business at an early age. He traveled with his grandfather all
over Alabama and surrounding states. They bought and sold horses and
mules. To this day, he still travels to Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky
buying horses to be sold at the barn.
In 1956, J.L. met Doris
Renfroe, and as they say, the rest is history. They celebrated their 50th
wedding anniversary last year. Shortly after getting married J.L.and Doris
moved to Tampa Florida where they would later build their first training
facility.
The Conkles’ have four
daughters and one son: Donna Conkle, Debbie Conkle-DesChamps, Theresa
Conkle-Statham, Tamara Conkle-Young and James Conkle. Though they had five
children of their own, they helped raise a multitude. It was nothing unusual
for “Mama & Papa Conkle” to have at least five or more extra kids at dinner
and the breakfast table on the weekends and sometimes during the week.
J.L and Doris now have
three son-in-laws; Charles DesChamps, Ken Statham and H.C. Young. Through
the years, grandchildren have been added to the family. The grandchildren
are: Kenneth & Keith Statham, Desiree DesChamps, and Dakota Young.
Everyone is still involved
in the horse business in one aspect or another. There is a lot to be said
about the old saying: A Family That Rides Together Stays Together.
Over the years, the Conkle
family has been blessed with some good horses and great customers, some of
which have become like part of the family. Their horses have been used in
various T.V. commercials, magazine articles, country music videos, parades,
and been exhibited at the Veterans Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Children Homes
and Churches.
Many of the horses trained
at Conkle’s Walking Horse Farm have gone on to win numerous World
Championships and state titles.
J.L. and his family have
worked extremely hard to build the family business into what is considered
one of the top rated training facilities in the State of Florida and in many
other states.
| LeDon "Papa" Conkle and Bum's
Brown Sugar were featured in an AT&T commercial
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In Memory
ROCK & ROLL'S DESIGN
Owned and
Trained by James Conkle Jr.
The Legends
LEDON CONKLE
Walking In Sunshine
"This article is reprinted,
with permission, from the August/September 2003
issue of the Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse magazine."
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