1939-2007
Married: John Bryan Freeman
Children: Delaine Freeman Smith, and John Bradford Freeman
7 Grandchildren and 1 Great-Grandchild
Betty Bradford Freeman was born to Thomas "Lester" and Lucille Bradford in Pulaski Tennessee and soon after she and her brother Thomas L. "Buddy" and parents moved to Lewisburg Tennessee where she was raised in the middle of Walking Horse Country. Betty’s father would often carry her to the training barns with him and she would ride anything they would let her get on, as you can probably guess she inherited her love of horses from her Daddy.
She attended school in Marshall County and graduated from there. She then attended Laboratory School in Nashville Tennessee and became a licensed Lab Technician and started working in Dalton Georgia but soon came back to Tennessee to further her education and attended Middle Tennessee State College and met John Bryan Freeman. Soon after she earned her MRS. Degree and married John and they moved to Camp Lejune North Carolina.
After starting a family and living in town for several years she and John purchased some land out in the country as it was known then and this property was were their new home and the beginning of FREEMAN FOALS was begun on Crowell Lane in 1976. Betty attended every Equine Reproductive Management course she could possibly go to and began with a couple of mares and over the years has produced many World Champions but the one World Champion that was raised here in Wilson County that earned her great breeding recognition among her peers was Generator’s Santana. Ironworks, Complicated Lady, I’m A Buzzsaw, Extra Ebony are just a few that won World Championships. In her breeding career she raised over 300 foals and was looked upon by her peers as one of the breeding experts in the Tennessee Walking Horse World. She was always willing to help answer questions about foaling to any other breeder no matter the breed of horse, she loved horses of all breeds but Walking Horses were her specialty and she bred for the most natural gaited going horse.
Betty was an Executive Director and board member of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association and helped to make blood typing the horses for genealogy mandatory. She also served on one of the first Wilson County Agriculture Committees under Don Simpson. She was the co-founder of the Lebanon Democrat Charity Classic horse show here in Lebanon. Betty was a past president of the Lebanon Jacyettes. She was also a member and past president of the Year Round Garden Club here in Lebanon. She was on the Board of Directors of Hearthside Retirement. Betty was the treasurer of her Sunday School class at College Hills Church of Christ and also one of their first women bus drivers for the church bus, since it wasn’t much different than driving a horse trailer, she drove many people on class trips and for visitation.
One of her proudest accomplishments besides her horses was her family. Family came first and meant the world to her. Her family carries on her legend in the Tennessee Walking Horse World with the business of Freeman Foals still raising foals out of her legendary broodmare band and standing one of her stallions Watch Out Jose’ at stud for outside mare owners to breed to.
