Tom Kirshenbaum
Tom Kirshenbaum has had a passion for horses his whole life. When he was just a youngster, Tom’s father, Joe, would take him to watch horse shows and to local stables to ride.
The Kirshenbaum family owned Wolf Brothers Western Wear, which was the premier western-wear store in the Midwest. Tom started working at the store when he was just fifteen. Tom, Joe, and Tom’s brothers, Bill and Dick, were all involved with the business, with Tom being the “go-to” for those showing horses.
The family owned the store over eighty years and Tom worked there for fifty-five years.
When Tom was around thirty years old, he purchased his first horse, Runback. He began showing the horse which led to his life-long commitment to showing. He also expanded Wolf Brothers beyond the clothing, boots and hats and added an additional level to the store to sell saddles and other tack.
As he became more involved with showing he assumed leadership roles within the Nebraska Quarter Horse Association (NQHA) and the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). He was first elected as a NQHA director in 1988 and has chaired the very successful NQHA show, the Nebraska Silver Classic, since 1989. Tom was president of the NQHA from 1994-1996 and again in 2004-2006. He has also served as vice president of the NQHA and as chair of many committees. In 2017 Tom was elected to the Board of Directors of the AQHA, as a National Director for the Nebraska affiliate.
The Wolf Brothers store was sold in 2021, but Tom continues to enjoy selling saddles and shaping hats for customers at the Boots for Less store.
Tom continues his hobby of showing and loves the competition, but he especially enjoys the camaraderie and friendship with those he has made by being involved in the industry.
Tom and his wife Kate, are parents to sons Matt and Adam, and grandparents to Katie, Joey, Laura and Jordyn.
Magnolia Gay
In 1971, Omaha grocery store owner Norman Ruback was looking for an exceptional show horse. He found the yearling sorrel mare, Magnolia Gay at Jerry Well’s and brought her back to Nebraska and into the hands of trainer, Jim Wilke.
Magnolia Gay was sired by Magnolia Pay and out of Deena Gay by Gay Bar King. She was bred by R.D. Burnside from Bellville, Texas. Magnolia Gay was bred to be a winner as her sire Magnolia Pay was an AQHA Supreme Champion, had a AAA rating at the race track, a Superior in Halter and points in western pleasure, calf roping, reining, western riding and steer roping.
A further look into Magnolia Gay’s pedigree reveals no fewer than four horses that are immortalized in the American Quarter Horse Foundation Hall of Fame.
The mare started her show career as a yearling, with Wilke at the lead. She was shown 29 times with 29 wins, including the prestigious All American Quarter Horse Congress (Congress) where she bested forty-five other yearling mares.
In 1972 the mare won the High Point Halter title (then known as the Honor Roll) with 114 firsts and five seconds, in 119 shows, with 85 Grand Champions and 19 Reserve Champions. Also in 1972, Ruback partnered with Illinois horsewoman, Gail Ross, on the great mare.
Magnolia Gay repeated winning the High Point Halter title in 1974. In 1975 she added a Superior in Western Pleasure to her resume.
At the Congress in 1975 she was sold to Duane Noble for his wife Barbara and the mare moved to Arizona. The Nobles had a goal to make the mare an AQHA Champion, so they sent her to trainer Jack Denton who added the necessary heading and heeling points. Wilke, as quoted in The Working Horse, March 2010, added, “If she hadn’t been a show horse, as far as the halter goes, she could have been a great cow horse. She was very, very cowy and quite an athlete for her size and bulk.”
As a broodmare, Magnolia Gay was the dam of twelve foals, including Noble Tradition. Noble Tradition was the AQHA World Champion 1987 weanling stallion, 1988 yearling stallion, 1989 two-year old stallion, 1990 three-year old stallion and the 1991 Reserve Champion aged stallion.
Her foals earned a total of 191.5 AQHA points.
Magnolia Gay was a Superior Halter horse, a Superior western pleasure horse, a two-time year-end High Point Halter winner and an AQHA Champion. She earned 941 halter points, with 586 wins in 610 shows. (This was before AQHA awarded yearling halter points and 1/2 points: adjusted, the mare had well over 1000 halter points).
Magnolia Gay was a phenomenal mare whose greatest accomplishments were in the state of Nebraska with Nebraska owner, Norman Ruback and Nebraska trainer, Jim Wilke.
According to AQHA records, Magnolia Gay passed away July 8, 1997.