1968-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1968 November Voice RS | Page 12

7 emte44€t < / mM&u ¥m4e Sfe by David L. Howard MISSISSIPPI STATE CHAMPION - Baine Lee and JET PARADE’S MID­ NIGHT accept the official awards and the cheers of the crow'd for their thrill­ ing victory In the Grand Championship Stake. This horse was sold shortly af­ ter the show to Martin Best of Barnwell, South Carolina, and will be shown in the future by his trainer, Huck Moss. This outstanding victory at Jackson with Baine in the saddle put this horse in the category of top contenders. For those civic groups that are interested in a short course in horse show management, they missed one of the finest three-day clinics on staging a horse show in years. The site was the Civic Coliseum in Jackson, Mississippi, and the official title was the Mississippi State Championship Horse Show’. A combination of hospitality and efficiency made this show one of the top stops on the southern show circuit this year - or any other year, for that matter. About the only complaint involving the show was concerning the numerous exhibitions between classes that sometimes were unfortunately a little overextend­ ed. However, crowd reaction to the exhibitions was enthusiastic and the performance of the United States Drum And Bugle Corps and Precision Marching Team was one of the finest exhibitions this writer has ever witnessed. It was a fitting answer to the often-heard question, "What’s happening to this younger gene­ ration?” The horse activity at the show was competitive with plenty of top horses and riders showing up in quest of prize money and trophies. There were 46 classes with almost half - 22 to be exact - of these Walking 12 Horse classes. There were 13 professional classes, while the other nine were divided between juveniles, amateurs and colts. The show management at the Mississippi Champion­ ship is experienced and hard-working, and these two essential qualities were much in evidence. Executive Secretary Shelby T. Lilly and his staff did an out­ standing job while hiring some of the best-known show personalities to handle the vital functions of judging and announcing. The Celebration-type judging team was composed of three of the best-known names in Walking Horse circles. S. W. Beech of Belfast and James Rowland of Murfreesboro represented the breed’s home state, while the highly regarded Richard Mary of Baton Rouge, Louisiana rounded out the team. Let me point out here that these three men did a top job of judging and conducted themselves in a manner fitting their responsibility. The audience stimulant behind the microphone was O’Neil Howell of Memphis, who does perhaps the best job of getting the crowd involved in the show. O’Neil was at his best and no doubt added a lot to the Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse