LITTLE TEXAS is a catchy name and , considering the excellent show record of this horse , it is difficult to understand why he is not better known among the rank-and-file Walking Horse fans . There is little doubt that , by the end of this season , he will be much better known and there is a strong possibility that he will be wearing the mantle of the World Champion Three- Year-Old .
Bob Cooley Stables in Madisonville , Tennessee is where LITTLE TEXAS calls home . He is under the capable guidance of this rising young professional trainer who has demonstrated his ability to come up with top horses the past several years .
LITTLE TEXAS has all the ingredients you look for in a top horse . His breeding leaves nothing to be desired , as he is by the famed SUN ’ S DELIGHT and out of a GO BOY mare . He bears a striking resemblance to his sire with a beautiful chestnut color , and he already stands 15-2 hands .
He has compiled an amazing show record for such a young horse . In 1968 , as a two-year-old , he was shown eleven times and won ten blues with one reserve . This season he has been shown five times with four blues , including two victories in j unior competition . His victories this season include the Three-Year-Old Class at Lebanon , Tennessee ; the Junior Class at Carter , Tenn .; the Junior Class at Tellico Plains , Tenn .; and the Three-Year-Old Championship at Knoxville .
Bob plans to show LITTLE TEXAS four or five more times , getting him ready for his bid for the
championship at the Celebration . Bob states that " TEX ” is one of the best he has ever " thrown a leg over ” and compares him favorably with his sire ,
SUN ’ S DELIGHT , a horse that Bob knew quite well . " He ’ s built like , looks like , and goes like his daddy ,”
Bob says with great pride . " He ’ s the kind of horse that will continue to get better with age and there is no telling just what he ’ ll eventually be capable of doing ,” Bob added . The above remarks emphasize that Bob has a great deal of confidence in this horse . A brief history will demonstrate the reason .
Bob bought LITTLE TEXAS when he was only four months old . He drove out to see the horse during the middle of the night and had to use the lights on his
truck to see the colt strolling across the field . " I liked his lick as a colt and bought him right away ,” Bob
recalled . Later , he brought the colt to Madisonville and began working on him when he was sixteen months old . Shortly thereafter , Bob sold him to W . R . Campbell of Dallas , Texas . In 1968 Bob began showing him and with great success in his two-year-old season ; however , the colt was not shown at the Celebration at the end of the year . There is a very definite reason why a young horse with this kind of record was not shown at the Celebration : this same year , Bob had the great RIDGELEA ’ S DELIGHT who , when at his best , was being heralded as one of the top horses for Two-Year-Old Championship honors . While RIDGELEA got off to a fast start and was
widely promoted for the Championship , TEXAS came on more gradually and Bob was holding him back for
the future ; hence the decision not to show him in the Two-Year-Old Class at the Celebration .
As a three-year-old , TEXAS has done everything Bob has asked of him . He made a tremendous show at Lebanon , Tennessee to tag the first defeat of the
season on one of the widely-acclaimed three-year-olds showing this year . Also , he went out of his class to win junior honors at Carter and Tellico Plains . The proud owner of this contender is J . V . Renfro of Knoxville . Mr . Renfro bought TEXAS around the first of the year and has never regretted the purchase . He has already turned down several substantial offers for the horse .
Bob is also pleased with the owner of this fine horse
and states that he is cooperative in every respect . Renfro has been in the horse business many years but approaches horses from a strictly amateur standpoint . He rides and shows MERRY SUN ’ S SUNBURST , a fine black stallion that Bob sometimes shows as his stake horse .
TEXAS has several illustrious roommates at the Bob Cooley Stables , including the previously mentioned
RIDGELEA ’ S DELIGHT . RIDGELEA is owned by J . D . Lee of Madisonville , and is better than ever this year . RIDGELEA and TEXAS have been together since they were colts as Bob bought them within days of each other .
LITTLE
Bob Cooley up
Also , when he sold them to their first owners , both sales occurred with a couple of days . They have stalls side by side in the barn and have grown accustomed to each other , to say the least . One would be hard pressed to find two better stablemates anywhere in the country .
Bob is working 21 horses at his barn , and took time out to mention some of them . He is working LOVE OF GLORY for Mr . and Mrs . Leland Bacon . This aged mare is a top contender and tied sixth in the Aged Mare Class at the 1968 Celebration .
DELIGHT ’ S RHYTHM is a two-year-old to watch for this year . He is owned by Hicks Realty Company of Washington , D . C ., and has won three blues in four shows already this season . IMAGE OF SUN DUST is a five-year-old gelding that little seven-year-old Craig Bacon rides . Craig is from Rockwood , and what he lacks in age and size he more than compensates for in ability . Bob showed IMAGE successfully for Frank Metcalf before he was purchased by the Bacons .
DELIGHT ’ S DELIGHT L . is coming on strong this year in juvenile competition with Sharon Lee riding . This four-year-old sorrel gelding can do it all , and has in the past . Last year Bob showed him 24 times with 20 blues , three reserves and one sixth at the Celebration . . . an enviable record and proof of the horse ’ s great ability . ( Continued on page 76 )
4 Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse