1964-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1964 March Voice | Page 18

WILL THE
MID SOUTH
As Tennesseeans, playing host
twice annually at the National
Field Trials and the TWH National
Celebration, we are proud of our
heritage and mindful of our res­
ponsibility as we welcome fellow
sportsmen the world over to the
dual “sport of kings.”
please park in
By Betty Bledsoe
9144 Macon Rd„ Cordova, Tenn.
WALKING HORSES AT HOME IN
GRAND JUNCTION FIELD TRIALS
We are happy to report that
some walking horses we know,
made a delightful foray into dog
kingdom a few weeks ago. The oc­
casion was the running of the Na­
tional Field Trail Championship
at historic Ames Plantation, Grand
Junction, Tennessee. Mr. Reuben
H. Scott, secretary of the Trail
Associaton and manager of the
plantation, was host to the hun­
dred who make an annual pilgri­
mage from all over North America
for this spectacular event. For the
“half - time” entertainment, Mr.
Scott arranged for an exhibition of
Tennessee Walking Horses. We
lost track, counting the dozens of
movie cameras, and one documen­
tary movie focusing on: SHA­
DOW’S DANCER, exhibited by
Jimmy Waddell for owner “Chet”
Coon, Oakland, California; DARK
MAGIC, ridden by his owner, Mr.
Frank Parnell, Newbern, Tennes­
see; and LYNN’S MERRY
CHANCE, shown by his juvenile
D. O. KIBLER, Owner
TOM BOHL, Mgr., Farm Operations
Home of
Black Rhythm
owner, Lynn Bledsoe, Cordova,
Tennessee. Handling the mike for
this “horse show” was Dr. Bill
Gamier, Bastrop, Louisiana, who
with his charming wife “Boots,”
owned the beautiful mare, WHITE
STAR, TWH World’s Champion
of 1954. Their daughter, Diane, who
rode BARON DE BASTROP to the
World’s Juvenile Championship in
1958, flew up for the week-end.
Most interesting sidelight to the
field Trail Story is that the judges,
marshalls, dog-owners, handlers,
and the more-serious of the gallery
are all riding walking-bred pleas­
ure horses. We were discussing
this happy combination with Mr.
Scott at a lovely party at the home
of his sister, Mrs. Rufin Mathews,
Somerville, Tennessee, during the
trails. He pointed out that judges
Fred Shappert, Belvidere, Illinois,
and W. A. Dumas, Eldorado, Ar­
kansas, maintain a string of walk­
ing horses for just this purpose.
Mr. Dumas even sported the fanci­
est vest we have ever seen, res­
plendent in a design of bird dogs
followed by their masters on walk­
ing horses.
*
❖ :J: -J:
Mid-southerners are still “worry­
ing over’” this year’s Mid-South
Show schedule. There are so many
good shows within a reasonable
radius, it seems logical to send out
two strings of horses on an alter­
nate basis. The only problem is
that most of our stables do not
have two strings of trainers and
grooms. We may resort to closing
our eyes and throwing darts at the
calendar.
Speaking of calendars, ours
shows the Murray Farm event set
to begin on April 29. Whether to
buy or to sell or to do some of both,
the Mid-South horsemen will be in
attendance. Last words of goodbye
from all of our visitors these days
are “See you at the Sale.”
DL JOL 3 arms
TENNESSEE WALKING HORSES
* *.
The H-H Light Horse project for
1964 in Shelby County got under
way last week, and we distributed
to the young enthusiasts a very
fine booklet published by the
U.S.D.A. that we had been trying
to get for two years. Reprints were
finally made available and we were
delighted to note that the author
was none other than the VOICE'S
own Dr. M. E. Ensminger. We
would advise all of our our young
friends to add a copy of “Horse­
manship” to their library.
444-3605
MT. ORAB, OHIO
PAUL "WHITEY” WHITEHEAD
Mgr.-Trainer, Walking Horse Division
SALES
TRAINING-BREEDING