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Remembering William H. Thompson
On the morning of September 1, 2023, William Hereford (“Bill”) Thompson passed away peacefully at the DeGreefe Hospice House in St. Louis, with his family at his bedside, following a fight with cancer. Eighty-three years old at the time of his passing, Bill leaves behind an incredible legacy as a longtime publisher of Saddle & Bridle Magazine, an industry innovator, an advocate for equine welfare, and a visionary who played a vital role in the creation of the American Saddlebred pleasure division.
Bill was born on July 12, 1940, to Walter and Adele Thompson of St. Louis. Bill always loved horses, following in the footsteps of his father, “Paw Paw,” who rescued horses of all types, including a circus Clydesdale named “Moosehead” that made him a hero of sorts in the local newspapers. Bill remembered all his horses fondly, including his first horse, “Princess,” who was soon followed by a Saddlebred named “Manna.” His first personal purchase was against his new wife’s wishes and aptly named Hadhisway. Bill’s other favorite horse was Royal Bobbie Sea, or “Irving,” who he showed and then retired to his Fieldstone Farm property.
In high school, Bill met and fell in love with Nancy Van Ronzelen, the daughter of Arthur Van Ronzelen, renowned publisher of Saddle & Bridle Magazine. Bill and Nancy were married soon after he finished school at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo. Bill joined Saddle & Bridle in 1963 and advanced to the role of publisher in 1965, continuing his father-in-law’s legacy in publishing. Bill and Nancy welcomed and raised two sons, Jeffrey Arthur (“Jeff”) and Christopher John (“Chris”).
Date of Official Rules: March 8, 2022
After 25 years of married life, my wife, Christy and I wanted to plan a special trip to celebrate. Of course, the show season is too hectic a time for vacations, so we planned a trip for early December. Our first thought was to go to Italy, but after checking our “bucket lists,” we decided on South Africa. My brother and I had travelled to Bloemfontein about a zillion years ago, and I remembered what a beautiful and exciting country South Africa was.
A veterinarian, a biology professor and a college senior walk into a barn, and it isn’t the start of a joke. It is a regular occurrence at William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri, where staff veterinarian Dr. Paul Schiltz, biology professor Dr. Nick Pullen and senior Joanie Ryan are working together to successfully grow a line of equine stem cells from horse bone marrow, an ambitious project that is benefitting both university students and horses.
The rediscovery of Missouri’s Saddlebred industry has taken me through towns and countryside, to meet trainers who had grown up in Missouri and some who only recently began to call Missouri their home. In these travels I encountered established trainers and assistants just starting out, those who breed, and those who teach, each one breathing life into our beloved industry, and proving through the first two parts of this article exactly what I’d hoped to – that all was not lost. “The Show Me State” may no longer have Art Simmons or Betty Weldon, but it still has a number of horse people who are determined to continue its Saddle Horse legacy. And, it seems, those travels were only the beginning.