Suddenly there was a murmur through the crowd as they came to life . There was no attendant on the gate and two horses had entered the ring . EBONY ’ S SEN ATOR , with Marvin Wilson up , was closely followed by C . A . Bobo on GO BOY ’ S BLACK ANGEL . A proclamation arose from the stands , " They ’ re going to show . . . they ’ re going to go ahead and have it .” In disbelief the crowd of over twenty thousand soaked fans settled down to watch a history-making event unfold . Slowly the horses entered the ring . Each horse seemed to sense the confusion as he entered the ring and there was a momentary pause as each made an effort to signal its rider than something was amiss . Each horse appeared to feel its way around the unfamiliar turf , unaccustomed to being ridden in several inches of water . After the horses entered the ring the judges slowly made their way to the track , each accompanied by a ringmaster with a large umbrella . The grass and the dirt were not to be found except on the east side of the officials ’ tent . The rest of the ring was covered with water . In some places it was already four or five inches deep . The groundskeeper had sent his men to open the drains but only one could be located in the water . Emmet Guy managed to communicate with the riders as he blasted the commands to begin the class . The gate was almost closed when another horse entered the ring . It was ACE ’ S SENSATION , with Wink Groover in the saddle . He had failed to get the message some few minutes earlier that they were going to show , and had to go back to the barn to get his horse .
As the first workout progressed , the rain continued to fall . It was evidence of real sportsmanship to see each trainer pick his way around , trying to give his competitors a fair chance . Most horses were shown in an entirely different manner than usual : their trainers elected to keep them away from the rail and in the middle of the track . Perhaps the footing was more secure . All riders elected to do this except one — Marvin Wilson kept EBONY ’ S SENATOR on the rail . He was by himself in this decision , as the other horses passed him on the inside , but the bold-going black stallion obviously liked his lonely position , and got better and better . Shortly before the horses finished the last workout , there was a tremendous sheet of lightning and the lights went out momentarily . When they came back on , the great Celebration ring was in semi-darkness . AH but the two east banks of lights were out . The horses slowed to a stop as the announcer checked his sound system and found it still worked . From the center of the ring , they turned on the lights above the officials ’ stand that are used to spotlight the champions . This was the only lighting on the west side as the Celebration stadium had been turned into a silver glimmer of reflections . Another blast of thunder — and £ he east lights went out a second time , and again ^frey responded and came back on . After the preliminary workout , the instructions of the judges were to rfUll six horses in on the grass and work the others . ^ Contrary to all established practices , there was no
iiicup for conformation . They did not drop the boots
\ f the finalists in this class as they had done in ail
ther classes . They did not strip the horses and judge jfi conformation , a 25 % factor in judging Tennessee
Walking Horses , a practice followed since 1939 . Most observers were prone to overlook this discrepancy in view of the situation and were eager to get on with the class . Perhaps this was the decision of the management of the show , or perhaps it was the decision of the judges . At any rate , the 1969 World Championship was void of this one element of competition .
Rumors had been circulating that there was going to be trouble if a certain rider was not put in the good workout . If such a scheme was planned , the hand of nature dampened the spirits of its instigators as no one made a move to challenge the proceedings inside the ring . The rain continued to fall throughout the class — not a gentle summer rain , but a squall ! Selected for the final contest were ACE ’ S SENSA TION with Wink Groover up ; GO BOY ’ S BLACK AN GEL with C . A . Bobo riding : THE ENTERTAINER with Joe Webb in the saddle ; SENSATIONAL SHAD OW with Wallace Brandon up ; SUN ’ S ELIMINATOR with David Welsh in the irons ; and EBONY ’ S SENA TOR with Marvin Wilson riding . Here were the makings of the greatest contest ever witnessed in Celebration history . Here was represented over a halfmillion dollars ’ worth of horse flesh . The most select animals that the Walking Horse breed had to offer were to make a final bid for the World Grand Championship in unheard-of conditions .
The judges made their way back to the track . Each horse picked his way carefully toward the edge of the grass as its trainer commanded it to make another effort . Following the pattern that he had found successful , Marvin Wilson put his horse back on the rail . Throughout the final workout it was a chore for spectators to spot a particular horse or find a rider . They all looked alike until they went through the blinding light reflecting in the water . To the spectators it was only a silhouette of GO BOY ’ S BLACK ANGEL making a great pass in the running walk or the fine figure of ACE ’ S SENSATION as he flat-footed on the reverse , head set and reaching over the rail . On the reverse the crowd came to life as THE ENTERTAIN ER and SENSATIONAL SHADOW came down the straightaway in a splashing dash for the inside turn . Both horses and riders were now accustomed to the conditions and they threw caution to the wind as they hit the back turn in a great running walk . David Welsh , who had chosen to keep SUN ’ S ELIMINATOR clear of his adversaries , made a great pass down the middle of the track in front of the big grandstand , drawing the applause of the now-lively crowd . And EBONY ’ S SENATOR was still on the rail , walking his way into the minds of everyone in the stands . The longer they went , the better he appeared to get . As the horses were called from the final canter into a walk , the big black stallion gently eased back into a flat foot walk with his thick neck arched , his chin tucked in , and still stepping high in perfect rhythm .
Again , as in the preliminary class on Wednesday , all three judges tied a different horse , mute testimony that horsemen do indeed have different opinions and do see a different show from the other side of the ring . The rain had almost ceased as they called out the winner of the 1969 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration . NUMBER 1025 . . . EBONY ’ S SENATOR with Marvin Wilson riding for Mr . O . D . " Peck ” Carlton was the new champion .
eptember / October , 1969 85