35 Years & Counting
September 1, 2009
Erwin Topper pulls out a worn photo from his wallet.
Erwin Topper's photo of a young Mary Ann. (Journal photo)
“That’s how I see her,” Erwin said of the 35-year-old photo of his wife, Mary Ann. “Some people accuse me of robbing the cradle. I tell them, ‘Well maybe I did!’ I just don’t tell them how long ago the picture was taken.”
The Dawsonville, Georgia, couple celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary August 31 at the 2009 Bayer Select World Championship Show in Amarillo. Erwin is showing Talkin Sweet Impulse in western pleasure and Mary Ann is showing the 9-year-old sorrel gelding in performance halter. Besides their love for each other and their love of American Quarter Horses, Erwin and Mary Ann also share “Jack.”
Erwin and Mary Ann’s story goes back to the early 1970s.
After completing a stint in 1971 in Vietnam, Erwin was going to graduate school at Georgia State University. He was living in an apartment that also had a barn where he kept his horse. It was same complex where Mary Ann, who was working as a teacher, lived.
“She (Mary Ann) had no horses; never had a horse,” Erwin said. “And she started hanging around the barn,and she started coming to horse shows when I was showing,and I’d invite her. And this went on for several years; no other girl would come near me. I couldn’t date another girl; she was hanging on my arm. After five years, we said, ‘Hell, we might as well get married.’ ”
“He couldn’t have done any better …” Mary Ann drawled.
“No other girl would talk to me!” Erwin joked back.
So they got married and started raising and showing horses.
Erwin, Mary Ann and Talkin Sweet Impulse, aka "Jack." (Journal photo)
“Here’s how it went,” Mary Ann said. “For, like, 23 years or so, I showed trail and Erwin hauled me to every single show
and helped me get set up, then he’d have to go back home and take care of all the horses and go to work. So when I retired my show gelding about three years ago, I told him ‘You know what, it’s your turn.’ So that’s when we started looking for Jack for him to show.
“And I said, ‘I’m just going to be the helper now. You’ve helped me so long.’ So we got Jack and we started showing him,
started doing good. I was really proud. Then I started missing showing. So I said, ‘Maybe I could do halter.’”
There was one problem – Jack was a Superior pleasure horse, but he didn’t have a Register of Merit, which he had to have so Mary Ann could show him in performance halter.
“I had to hurry up and get that ROM so she could show,” said Erwin, who is retired from the Army Corps of Engineers. “In the meantime, she was practicing and got qualified for the world in open halter. Then when I got my ROM, she could start showing in performance halter.”
Now that the Toppers have found someone they can trust to take care of the horses they leave at home, Erwin and Mary Ann have been able to travel together to show for the last year.
“We had to have the perfect horse that we wanted to show when we went off by ourselves,” Mary Ann said. “It has been an adventure getting here.”
Becky Newell
Director of Editorial Content
A horse with good conformation is more likely to stay sound — as well as look great. Learn more about how conformation is related to longevity of soundness as well as appearance with AQHA’s “Form to Function — The Importance of Horse Conformation” DVD.
Check out photos from the second day of the 2009 Bayer Select World Championship Show. Click on the photos to see the captions. Some of the photos are available for purchase at the AQHA Photo Store.
Comments
Add a Comment