1969 Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1969 August Voice RS | Page 112

(Continued from page 64)
on me yet that I’m a judge. I guess it won’t hit me
until I see that first class of seventy two-year-old fil­
lies come in the gate.”
The group had been involved in light and cordial
conversation for about thirty minutes and nothing
serious had yet come up. Finally, the third man in
the group, whom Lonny had known fairly well for
several years, said, "Lonny . . . give us the real dope
on the BEAU GENTRY story. How come Dr. Greely
moved him, and is there any tie-in between that and
your judging the Festival?” Lonny sat up on the edge
of his chair and casually lit a cigar. Blowing the thin
blue smoke into the air, he looked out the window
and said, "Well ... to tell you the truth, I’m really
not sure myself. I had always heard that Alex Bartlet
had a lot of influence in our horse business but I
didn’t know it overlapped into the Festival.” Every­
one appeared to settle in their chairs for a good
story. Lonny went on, "I was supposed to get BEAU
GENTRY back about two months ago to get him
ready to show again. That was our original plan . . .
dumb as it may seem now. Anyway — ” he gestured
to Helen to fix him another drink and continued his
story, "anyway, about the time I was supposed to get
the black horse back, I got this call asking me if I
would be interested in being a Festival judge. Well,
this sort of staggered me. The next thing I knew, Dr.
Greely had received a call asking him if he would
leave BEAU GENTRY at Mr. Bartlet’s barn if I was
a judge, and he implied he would. That’s about it!”
Paul Miller asked, "And you really don’t know if
Alex had anything to do with it or not ... is that
right?”
Regardless of HOW he got to be a Festival judge,
Lonny was now very much aware of the task at hand.
The time had arrived! They had two short meetings at
the Festival office that day and had instructions to be
back at least thirty minutes before the show. Lonny
went back to the motel, left a call not to be disturbed
and tried to take a nap. Helen got him up in plenty of
time to eat and get ready to go to the showgrounds.
As they neared the showgrounds, Lonny couldn’t
help experiencing a lonely feeling. He felt as if he
were going to miss the whole affair this year for the
first time in many years. He could see the tall lights
that surrounded the arena, and missed not "having to
get a horse ready.” As they pulled into the parking
area under the grandstand reserved for dignitaries,
it seemed as if the whole stadium were closing in on
him. He broke out into a cold sweat and asked Helen
if she had any Alka-Seltzer. They parked the car and
got out. The heat of late summer seemed stifling as
Lonny stepped out of his air-conditioned automobile.
It hit him in the face with a sudden blast that caused
him to take a deep breath. "Are you all right, Lon­
ny?” Helen inquired as they approached the door to
the office. "Huh? . . . Oh, I’m all right. A little nerv­
ous, I guess. I’ll be OK.” She fixed his Alka-Seltzer
and gave it to him, laughing as the other girls in the
office inquired as to his health.
The Festival started right on time and Lonny was a
little bit more at ease as he got into the center of the
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BLUE GRASS WALKING HORSE AUCTION SALE
SEPTEMBER 19 & 20. 1969
This is your invitation to attend the Blue Grass Walking Horse Sale on the same dates as the Ken­
tucky Walking Horse Celebration in Shelbyville, Kentucky. The sale, held during the day, will be
over early enough each day to allow ample time for the twenty-mile drive from New Castle to
Shelbyville for the evening performance. The sale will be limited to 125 head. Entries close
August 15, 1969.
SALES GROUNDS 35 miles east of Louisville, Kentucky
AT 28 miles north of Frankfort, Kentucky
HENRY COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS 50 miles north of Lexington, Kentucky
NEW CASTLE, KENTUCKY (off U.S. Hwy. 421)
60 miles west of Cincinnati, Ohio
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
ART ROBERTS, SALES MANAGER AND AUCTIONEER
P.O. BOX 410
104
HARRODSBURG, KENTUCKY 40330
PHONE: [phone]
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse