Ebony Mqsterpiece Trqces To Civil Wqr Doys ln Bedford
A historic parallel reaching back to early day, s of ' Iennessee Walking
Horse records of 100 years ago entered its second act when Ebony N { asterpiece took the championship stake at the Ft. \\' orth Exposition and Show Feb. 5 to earn his 2Ist blue ribbon out of 22 shortings.
This 6-year-old stallion, shown just once in 1959-60 and not until late in 1961, has emerged from virtually " unknown " ranks. Yet alreadv he has become a front-running favdrite for
the 1962 norld championship by sweeping rnajor fall shows that follou ' ecl the National Celebration at Shelbvville. The horse is owned by 2S-year-old
Billy ' Hale of Gallatin, Tenn., a yor-rthful building contractor whose personal leap to fame as a businessman is being imitated by the first
Tennessee Mralking Horse shor, v animal he ever owned. Trainer-Rider
Sam Paschal of Nlurfreesboro, Tenn., is handling the stallion with his practiced skill. Mrs. Hale shares her husband ' s interest in [, bony.
Hidden For 3 Years
] Iastel ' piece, the " Hidden Horse "
of three 1 ' ears, has a heritage that rt ' ill match any in the fielcl. He is a lineal
clescendant of the unsnrpassecl Earnheart ' s Brooks F-25, one of the tno greatest sires of the breed cluring the
Reconstruction Davs follou ' ing the
Cir-il \\' ar.( The book, Biographv of the Tennessee \\' alking Flor: se,- shorrs Earnheart ' s Brooks to be the granclson of a stallion ridden to the South bv an uni < lentified Union seneral. He trided rhe stailion--Olcl Drivcr.-. f ' or a fresher iiioiri; t ai ] lilcr,-si: rith \ Iike Il: l. riheart ' s srnithy in Bedford County.)
At the Ft. Worth show Masterpiece was tied for the blue by Judge S. W. Beech, Jr., of Belfast, Tenn. Second was Shadow ' s Luminaire, 5-year-old star stallion from Circle T Ranch, owned by NIr. and Nfrs. J. Glenn Turner of Dalias.
The Ebon1, jervel has alreadv established a luscious recorcl r, vith bhie ribbons for: Scottsville, Ky., stallion-
S _ efding class and grand championship; Thompsonville, Ky. open stake; Bor, vling Green, Ky. stake; McNIinnville, Tenn. stallion-gelding class; Augusla, Gu, stake; Nashville.| unior
Riding Club grand championship: Goodlettsville, Tenn.. stallioh-geldine class; Tennessee State Fair Horse
Show stallion-gelding class; Kansas
City American Royal stallion-gelding class and grand championship; Chicago International stallion-gelding class and championship stake; anti
both the stallion-gelding class and grand championship at Ft. \ Arorth.
This is an arnazing record for any horse, but even more so when one
considers the faining system used on this stallion. lle was held out for an cntire year as a 3-year-old after rvinning the Z-year-old Championship of the \ Arorld at the 1958 Celebration. Ebony Masterpiece was bred and foaled at Solitude Stock Farm, a showplace that borders ahnost a mile of U. S. Highway 3l-W at Goodlettsville, in Davidson County, en route from Bowling Green, Ky. to Nashville, Tcnn.
Sired by Son. ol Midnight lle was sired by the rugged Son of
I { iclnight( also known as Skipper ' s
Son of N { idnight) out of Lady Lee, a daughter of Old Merry Boy. His maternal grand dam was Kate Turrentine wllo traces to Earnheart ' s Brooks.
On the sire ' s side his grarrd dam was
Princess Allcn. Ebony gained his stfength and
siner, r, s on the broad acres of Solitude Stock Farm. The famous trainer, Bucl Seaton, began to ride him as a spring 2-1 ' ear-old. Clay Simpson of Bowling Cleen. Kr. r ' otle dorvn Highr, r ' a1 3l- \\' one clar,, saw Seaton r ' r ' orking the colt in tl-re fielcl. He bought the colt but left the holse n ' ith Seaton for training.
The trainer " brought him along slowly," the story goes, and shor, ved him only two or three times before the 1958 Celebratinn. There he took thirc [ irr tl. re stallion-gelclirrg ciass for l-1 ear '-oitis then took the l-r ear '-oicl
World Championship later in the show with Seaton riding for Clay Simpson. That was the year Sam
Paschal \{ on the World ' s Grand Championship on Setting Sun for
] I.) L Bullarcl of Nelvport, Tenn. Ebonr ') Iasterpiece then strangely disappeared { rom the shows for almost nto full vears. The horse l, as returnecl to Solitucle Stock Farm and brought along very slowly. Tlvo-year-olds. are not required to canter in competitioi-r.
The promising young stallion was rested from competition and " trained real slowly " as a 3-year-old.
Canter '€ Put on)' at 4
In fact, the canter was not put on him until the horse reached. 4 years old. It was thought the canter " might mess up his flatfoot walk and running walk." lle was shown only one time as a 4-year-old, at the Chicago show in December. 1960.
Meanwhile, Seaton had transferred training activities to thc Okley Hayes Stables of Herrin, Il1. and he took the horse therc. An advertisement in the
196l Celebration Blue Ribbon announced Ebony ' s sale to Mr. and Mrs.
Billy Hale of f) riftwood Acres at Gallatin. The Hales have also gathered l4 broodmares there in their splendid building.
Seaton startecl showing Ebony N4asterpiece in the summer of 1961. Paschal said he watched the horse closely.
Hale came to see Paschal one day ar-rd asked him, " What do you think of Ebony Masterpiece?"
Sam replied, " He ' s the greatest \, Valking show horse living."
" If you think that I ' ll buy him," cleclared Hale. " I will buy him ancl you keep him and show him."
So Paschal called on the telephonc for the plice, and the next morning went to get the hr-rrse. He made the rouncl-trip between I I a. m. one day and 5 a. m. the next day, reaching
Irome July 27, 1961.
Since that day only one person
other than Paschal has been on Ebony ' s back. Seaton was invited to ricle the horse in the Celebration exercise ring for spectators to see him in action. The stallion did not shor. t ' in the 1961 Celebration but began to shorv immecliately thereafter I ' vith Paschal in the saddle. Paschal calls Ebony second only to Setting Sun in intelligence amon € i horses he has
r-ic1den.
Ebony tr { asterpiece has a rare pedigree in that it shows a Brooks strain on both the sire side and the dam side. Here ' s his background:
SI RE: Son of \ lidnight( Skipper ' s). by Midnight Srrn. by Wilson ' s Allen, by Roan Allen F-38 out of Rirdie Messick F-86; Midnight Sun ' s dam, Ramsey ' s Rena by Dement ' s
Allen out of Dena; Son of Midnight ' s dam,
Princess Allen. by Slippery Allen. by \ Vilson ' s Allen out of Molly Roser Princess Allen ' s darn, Mary Coble, by Major Allen out of a daughter of General Brooks;
DAM: Lady Lee, by Merry Boy, by Roan
Allen F-38, by Allan F-l out of Gertrude F '-84; Merry Boy ' s dam, Merry Legs F-4, by Allan F-l out of Ncll Dement F-3; Lady Lee ' s dam, Kate Turrentine, by Lynch ' s Stonewall,\ ilcn, by Roan Allen F-38 out of Rose Stonewall; Kate Turrentine ' s dam, Baby Lee by N { odrell ' s Stonewall out of Flora Lee, she being by Show Boy Brooks and he by Earnheart ' s Brooks F-25.