1965-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1965 September Voice | Page 16

TRIPLE THREAT
There are those who strongly felt that, he won in
1963. Many of these staunch Triple Threat support­
ers also felt that he should have won in 1964. What
was the stigma on Triple Threat? He was a horse
which seemingly had everything that a Tennessee
Walking Horse is supposed to have to accomplish
show-ring success. And yet . . . when he entered the
Celebration ring, even after an undefeated season,
his judges ruled him lacking. There was a reason!
This double-great-grandson of Wilson Allen, being
the grandson of Midnight Sun on the sire side and a
grandson of Wartrace on his dam side, possessed all
the outstanding attributes of his ancestors. His sire,
Sun’s Quarterback, was out of Allen’s Little Joe’s
Joan, herself strong in Allen blood, and his dam,
Tensa’s Gypsy Girl, was also deep in the Allen tradi­
tion. With this type of background, tracing back to
Hunter’s Allen F-10 and Roan Allen F-38, little was
left to chance. Triple Threat has always had an aura
of mystery about him. Those who know his past say
that he was foaled May 1, 1956 and was the property
of ROBERT S. ELLIS, JR. of Amite, Louisiana, who
owned his dam. His sire was then owned by GAYNELL
TINSLEY of Baton Rouge, who later sold him to HEW­
ITT BORDELON of LaFayette, Louisiana. Mr. Tins­
ley, former football coach at Louisiana State Univer­
sity and All-American there, purchased Triple Threat
in 1961 and it was not until then that he was regis­
tered with the T. W. H. B. & E. A. in Lewisburg.
There are many stories ab out the young life of this
horse. Some say that he was broke to ride by a Mr.
DUKIE PALMER of Amite, Louisiana, but was never
worked as a show horse. Others say that he was
being trained for show ring purposes and hurt his
leg, and was turned out to pasture until he was five
years old. At any rate, when he was registered he
was indeed five years old, and it was then that he
began to raise his head as a show horse. After Mr.
Tinsley purchased him, Triple Threat was shown as
an amateur mount. He won his first blue at Nacog­
doches, Texas (remember this, because there is irony
in this fact) and was shown to two more impressive
ribbons the same season.
At this point, the prospects of his becoming an
"above-average” horse became obvious and Mr. J.
GLENN TURNER, who was then very active in the
Walking Horse business in Dallas, Texas, purchased
him as an amateur horse and turned him over to
HAROLD KENNEDY, trainer at the Circle T Ranch
which Mr. Turner owned.
The 1962 Celebration showed Triple Threat entered
as the Amateur mount for Mr. Turner, but when an
accident, at the Circle T Ranch sidelined Mr. Turner,
it was decided that Harold should ride Triple Threat
in the Stallion Class and the Stake instead of the
famed Shadow’s Luminaire. Relatively unknown, Triple
Threat placed 4th in the Stallion Class and 5th in the
Big Stake. A good showing for his first Celebration!
From this time on, things began to happen. He be­
came the phenomenon of the show ring in 1963. Cap­
turing an unbroken succession of blue ribbons in the
16
Florida Sunshine Circuit, he moved directly to the
Southwest Circuit for still more blue ribbons. In 1963,
under Mr. Kennedy’s training, Triple Threat became
the first Tennessee Walking Horse to win the coveted
"Horse of the Year” Award of the American Horse
Shows Association. With this background, he entered
the Celebration with an enthusiastic following that
was unsurpassed in previous years. To describe Triple
Threat at that time was to outline perfection. He was
a big horse with amazing strength and stamina. His
deep bay color accented perfect conformation and he
possessed three excellent gaits with emphasis on a
long, striding running walk that swept the show ring.
The old-timers said he was Roan Allen, Strolling Jim
and Talk of the Town all rolled up into one. And
yet, when the judges’ cards were tallied, he was Re­
serve and not Champion.
Deep disappointment surrounded his owner and as
a result the horse was sold along with all remnants
of the Tennessee Walking Horse and the doors were
closed at the Circle T Ranch. Thus began another
chapter in the life of Triple Threat.
Mr. PAT KIMBROUGH, owner of the Suits-Me Farm
in Murfreesboro, purchased a goodly amount of Circle
T stock, including Triple Threat, immediately after
the Celebration that year. After much consideration
and discussion, the big bay was sold in the Spring of
1964 to a trio of newcomers to the Walking Horse
business from North Carolina. Mr. C. E. CLEMENT,
W. CLYDE ABERNATHY and J. B. SHERILL pur­
chased him and placed him at the Clement Stables
in Hickory. At this point, Triple Threat became the
proverbial 'bear by the tail’ as his new owners pon­
dered the question of what to do with their new horse.
Their trainer, Mr. SAMMY CECIL, kept the horse
in shape while breeding him to a considerable num­
ber of good mares. After much consideration, they
decided to try for the Celebration again and worked
out an agreement to place him with the one man who
knew him best, Harold Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy was
working out of the Harold Wise Stables in Lewisburg
at that time and was in a position to work the horse
to good advantage. Getting him late in the 1964
season, Mr. Kennedy was pushed to get the horse
in shape for the big show. It was obvious to those
who saw him, however, that Triple Threat was still
the most potent threat to the Big Stake. He still
possessed his outstanding qualities and with Harold
in the saddle he could possibly beat them all.
Again Triple Threat entered the Celebration as a
favorite and again he put on a flawless performance
of what is considered perfection in the breed. Again
Triple Threat was tied reserve! In the minds of many
the phenomenal horse was finished. He had tried
twice and twice he had been defeated. With this in
mind, his owners decided to dispose of him and he
was run through the Spring 1965 Murray Farm Sale.
His disposition was a milestone for the business and
over three thousand curious spectators and interested
parties gathered under the big tent at the famous
Middle Tennessee Farm. The bidding opened with
"twenty-two thousand dollars.” Playing the issue for
all it was worth, Auctioneer PETE YOKLEY kept the
VOICE of the Tennessee Walking Horse