fore where he had to really work . He had been at the bam ever since dawn and had worked hard without breakfast or lunch . Lonny noted that he had just about gotten everything ready and called to him at the other end of the bam , " M . L ., you run up to the house and get Mrs . Barnes to fix you a couple of sandwiches , ' fore you starve .” M . L . smiled and headed for the house without a word .
They loaded up four horses in the six-horse van and had no trouble except with a frightened two-year-old stud named BANJO . Lonny crawled behind the wheel of his van and , turning to his friend Don Hill , said , " Well , ol ’ buddy , here we go again . The 1968 season is under way .” As they rolled along , Lonny brought Don up to date on his stock and chances for the season . He lit up a cigar and settled back for the trip of about two hours ’ driving . As they talked , Don noticed
by Charles Barry Sanderson
SO
It had been almost a month since Lonny Barnes and his ground man had returned from South Dakota . The word had spread in the horse business about the Southern boy who had to be led out of a blizzard by a brood mare . They could laugh about it all they wanted to , but Lonny still didn ’ t think it was very funny . Show season had rolled around and Lonny , like almost even ’ other trainer in his part of the country , was busy putting the finishing touches ( no pun intended ) on his string of show stock .
It was a beautiful Saturday morning in April and there was a lot of activity around the stable . They were getting ready to go to the first show of the season at Marksville , a little town just east of the mountains . Lonny was going over the list of classes and was fairly oblivious of the activity in his bam . There was an air of excitement as there usually is on this occasion and he was startled by the ringing of the phone . Putting his cigarette out , he reached for it . " Lonny Barnes Stables . . .” he said in a rather gruff voice . Helen was busy making last-minute arrangements for entry fees and travel expenses , but she stopped when Lonny answered the phone . She made note of the concerned look on his face . Lonny said , " Well , sure ... I thought I would take both of them . Why ?” After a moment ’ s pause he registered some anger , saying , " Dammit . . . why ’ n the hell don ’ t everybody load up and just go to a show without all this checking on who ’ se going to take what ?” It was obvious that the person on the other end of the line was trying to explain something , and Lonny changed his expression somewhat . After smiling , he said , " I ’ m sorry , Paul . It ’ s just that . . . well , you know what I mean . I appreciate your concern .” He laughed and hung up the phone . Helen was bursting with curiosity and said , " What was that all about ?” Lonny answered by saying , " That was Paul Miller . . . you know , that fellow over the way that trains a few horses on the side . He was making a call for an anonymous trainer from Middle Tennessee who wanted to know what horses I was taking today .” Helen responded by asking , " Did he change your mind about your stock ?” Martin Luther was so excited he could hardly contain himself . He had never been to a horse show bethat Lonny seemed to be more calm than he had in years past and , laughing , said , " Man . . . you sure are different now than you were on your first show last year . Why , I can remember how shook up you were . . . thinking that everybody would be shooting at you and all .” Lonny remarked that in his own mind he really didn ’ t have any pressure on him this year . " I know ,” he said , " that I ’ ve got some good stock — perhaps the best around — but right now they don ’ t know it . The only big horse I got is BEAU GENTRY .”
They arrived at the show grounds after an uneventful trip . Pulling into the show grounds , Lonny looked around and had a fine feeling . After all those cold winter months , it was a pleasant sight to see . This show had fine facilities and the grounds were in good shape . " Man , smell that country ham . . . that just reminds you of a horse show , don ’ t it , Don ?” Don had to admit that it did and , pointing toward a Lions Club man in a white hat , said , " I believe you better follow him - the other vans are over in that field .”
The window was down and Lonny hung his head out it to make sure he got by a two-horse trailer parked almost in the drive . A voice echoed across the show grounds . . . " It ’ s about time you got here , Barnes !” Lonny looked up to see his old friend Dink Fuller . He stopped and yelled back , " I sure hope you been working horses this winter , old man , ' cause I ’ m after you tonight .” Dink laughed and said , " You got your work cut out for you , boy !” And with that , Lonny knew that the show season had started . As usual , there was a big crowd of people around Lonny ’ s truck . They just seemed to gather where top horses were . Everyone was full of questions and Lonny had his hands full trying to talk to people and get his stock ready , too . " Lonny ,” a fellow said , " I ’ ve heard a lot about your two-year-old . People say he is about the best horse you ’ ve ever had . How about it ? Lonny smiled and said , " Well ... we like him . I do
believe he is as good as any I ’ ve had , except well , I ’ ve had some good ones . Tell you what ! Wait ' til the class tonight .”
The show had gotten off to a good start . They had
a local pleasure class with about fifty cowboy horses in it that took about an hour to tie . This was fine with Lonny because he was having his share of trou-
( Continuedon page 42 )
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