1968-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1968 May Voice RS | Page 4

duce a good colt.
We asked Mr. Dean for some de­
tails regarding SUN’S DELIGHT,
and learned that he personally felt
that DELIGHT would be a great
horse ever since he was a colt. "He
just had that something special that
the others don’t have" was the way
he explained it. When asked if he
had ever wanted to sell him, he
stated that he had "offered to sell
half interest in him as a young two-
A. S. DEAN
Christiana, Tennessee
3EST HE HAD TO THE BEST HE
'•lr. A. S Dean, the breeder of
proved mat planned breeding
vcia-
- S2.500" but was really
. ,
. the man turned him down.
A„ he never considered sell­
ing him at all. He remembers when
he gave DELIGHT to Neal "Shorty”
Branscum on January 7, 1961 to
break and had visions of this colt
winning the Celebration. "Why, this
colt was the result of fifty years of
planning and breeding,” he said.
"He was the best I could develop."
SUN’S DELIGHT was treated dif­
ferent than most colts that were new
under saddle. Mr. Dean pointed out
that they never planned to show him
as a two-year-old. "I just don’t be­
lieve in burning 'em out as two-
year-olds," he said. He recalled that
Shorty showed him only twice in
1961. Once he showed him in Middle
Tennessee in front of Urban Small
and he was tied fourth. After the
show Mr. Auburn Gray of Winchester
told Mr. Small that he had just tied
a great horse down and that he
thought that one day he would be a
champion. The next time they show­
ed him was at Montgomery, Alaba­
ma, in the Southern Championship.
2
Draped in ceremonial blanket made of 1,500 roses, SUN’S DELIGHT follows trainer
Sam Paschal from the ring following impressive retirement ceremonies at (he Kentucky
State Fair Horse Show in Louisville. Owned by the Fray Escue Pontiac Company,
Covington, Kentucky, SUN’S DELIGHT was crowned World’s Grand Champion at the
1963 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in Shclbyville, Tennessee.
He tied third there and again a lot
of people thought he should have
been first.
We asked Mr. Dean why it was
that he had decided to sell DELIGHT
after he had won the Reserve title
in the Junior Championship in 1962
and he said, "I didn’t.” When we
questioned him further we learned
that he had priced the horse so high
that he thought no one would buy
him. But Mr. Escue of Covington,
Kentucky bought him for the asking
price. He added, "I should have
kept him. I never would have had to
work another lick in my life. I under­
stand that they have been offered a
fantastic price for him lately.” Our
reply was, "That’s what we heard,
too!"
We also talked with Mr. Branscum,
who is now training at the Walk-
Away Stables of Mr. Joe Getsay in
Manchester, Tennessee. Neal,better
known as "Shorty,” discussed SUN’S
DELIGHT with a great deal of en­
thusiasm. He points out that he saw
this colt for the first time in Decem­
ber of 1960. Mr. Dean had called
him and asked him to come see a
particularly outstanding colt. Shorty,
Mr. Troy Arnold and Mr. George
Henson made the trip to Christiana,
and were pleased with what they
saw. Shorty recalls that he was the
first person to put a halter on SUN’S
DELIGHT.
At the time Shorty was working at
the Arnold Farms in Winchester . 1 en-
nessee. He had a barn full of good
stock but only had about seven two-
year-olds. SUN’S DELIGHT wasn t
put into training until January- ®
fleeting on his first experiences wiw
this outstanding horse, Shorty say *
"I started SUN’S DELIGHT the
same as all my other colts. I uS ,
bridle with lines hooked to the
Voice of the Tennessee Walking ^°rse