14 September , 1962
Celebration Story
( Continued from Page 12 )
Horses , Any Age or Sex , Riders 50 Years and Over . Who won ? Frank Mason , Dallas , Tex . on Sun ’ s Go Boy Again . Who ' s Frank Mason ?
Newcomer Takes Title
A relative newcomer to the Tennessee Walking Horse picture — not really from Dallas but from Grapevine , Tex . He is another of the somewhat plentiful millionaires who have found that in the Tennessee Walking Horse ride they can enjoy pleasures of life that no one can buy with any amount of money . ( A man worth many , many millions told me exactly that .)
Why did Frank Mason of Grapevine win one of the most coveted World ' s Championships that nobody can buy ?
Answer — because he bought the right horse — Sun ’ s Go Boy Again — the 4-year-old Stallion who in 1961 won the Three-Year-old Walking Horse Championship of the World . These facts are lost to thousands in the stands who do not remember — but people who know Walking Horses and know what judges are- doing , understand it all .
Finishing second behind Frank Mason for the reserve title was : Joy ’ s Go Bov , fames E . Sherman . Florence , Ala .
Then came another Texas Breakthrough .
“ Yellow Rose ’’— Blonde Jan Wright
The Yellow Rose of Texas “ turned blonde ’’ when 10-year-old Jan Wright " talked and clucked ” her Walkaway Dark Shadow to the World ' s Championship for Walking Mares of Geldings with Juvenile Riders 12 years and under . Jan had been doing it all year in other shows . During a vacation visit in Middle Tennessee in July she defeated 30 men riders in four open classes that she had to enter to keep her horse showing — because there were no ladies or juvenile classes and little Jan just “ could not ” tide against her father in the amateur . So she just beat the other 30 men .
LiiLle girls — who are darlings of the crowd — have handicaps placed upon them when they show against older people . But Friday night at the Celebration Little Jan — surely the world ’ s greatest rider , girl or boy , per pound with her 84 pounds in the saddlefaced an even greater handicap . Her horse , perfectly trained , easily the best horse of its class in many shows , made a little mistake ( Bumped A Horse ) before the 16,000 pairs of eyes . Everybody saw it — a great big " OH ” came from the stands — where cheers for Jan had been rising as she rode by .
The average little girl — untrained in competition — would have broken into tears and figuratively “ run to her mother ” for sympathy . But this girl who had faced competitive events on the track that equipped her for future handicaps — did not cry — she just rode . And she rode that little mistake right off the track — like people are supposed to do — and when the result of this heart-warming event was announced , all those people who admire courage in the saddle clapped , hollered and whooped with happiness . There was no doubt that the little girl with the great horse was the best in the arena that night . A wonderful story about Lhis will be written in a child ’ s book of Walking Horse Stories that is being undertaken by a friend of the Voice Editor . ( She lives in Laurel , Miss .)
Reserve Champion of the World in this 13-year-old juvenile class was Liule Red Rooster , ridden by his owner , Danny Stubbs , Jackson , Miss .
Then came another great big Texas event in the Walking Horse World .
Doodles Wins On Her Father ’ s Faith And Her Mother ’ s Horse Her Father ’ s Faith and her Mother ' s Horse took Voice Cover Girl Doodles Thompson , age 14 but older looking in the saddle , to a peak of achievement never before performed by any 14-year-old person ( girl or boy ) in the World ’ s Championship event for Juveniles , 13-18 years , Riding Walking Mares or Geldings . She did it on Six-year-old Fair Warning one of the breed ’ s alltime greatest mares — who won world ' s championships in her class as a two-year-old , three-year-old and as an aged mare — and placed fourth in the Grand Championship stake of 1960 . None of her previous riders ever gave Fair Warning a more sincere , more determined or more purposeful ride than Doodles — facing some of the greatest handicaps ever confronted in a Celebration event .
Doodles is the girl who refuses to recognize the impossible — because no one , really understanding Celebration competition , could picture an inexperienced rider of 18 months competition ( as told in the August Voice ) beating 18-year-olds of year ' s experience in riding . Just a year ago Doodles had been excused at the Celebration when her horse threw a shoe . Older folks apparently thought it was not worth taking time to reslioe the horse . So she left the ring confused , perplexed , somewhat broken-hearted . But she told us when we saw her in May , “ I ’ ll be there in the Celebration .” We thought a win to be absolutely impossible , just as did Frank Mason who was among the first to greet her at the gate as she came out to be swamped by Texas boy friends and girl friends — supremely happy .
Jan And Doodles Celebrate With Kisses
But our big noment of that night came when little Jan Wright , age 10 — herself a rider of a world ’ s Champion just an hour beforegrabbed Doodles around the neck and kissed her everywhere she could reach . These two girls had been “ competing against each other ” in Southwest Circuit shows , but they are friends . And in that class at the Celebration it was “ Texas Against the World ” as the Lone Star State became the only state outside of Tennessee ever to take both juvenile World ’ s Championships at the Celebration .
And never before , in the Big Show ’ s 24 years had a 14-year-old won the 18- year-old class . A great big moment in Celebration History took place . And the big secret was the horsebought by Robert F . Thompson in April from Joe Bales of Thomasville , N . C . and given to his wife , Mrs . Mary Virginia Thompson so their daughter could ride Lhis mare to a world ' s championship . This precious child story of the Tennessee Walking- Horse World will also be written in language the smaller children can understand by our friend in Mississippi . It will become one of the world ’ s greatest books for children — we predict . The Voice will tell you more about this book as it develops .
A great big cheer arose from the crowd when Announcer Emmet Guy read out 441 as the big winner , as blue-coated Doodles wheeled Fair Warning and walked her to the stand in center ring — and received the trophy before the largest Celebration crowd ever to see a ] 4-year-old in this situation — but most in the stands did not know the story of this girl A friend of Doodles told us in May " Doodles is good in everything she
( Continued on Page 16 )