1966-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1966 December Voice | Page 25

your friends.” The party was supposed to start about
6:30 in the evening but people began to show up as
early as four o’clock. Helen was on a ladder putting the
finishing touches on a Christmas tree when she heard a
manly whistle. A voice said, “Boy o bo.y ... if you are
Santa Claus. I sure want you to come to my house.”
Startled . . . she turned around to see Dink Fuller and
two women standing in the hall. “Hello Mr. Fuller, come
on in,” she said, “I’ll be finished here in just a minute.”
Dink introduced her to his wife and his sister-in-law, Bess
Fagan. About that time, Lonny came in the barn and
Dink introduced Bess to him. Helen tried not to show her
feelings as Bess said, “so you are the young man that
Dink has been talking so much about.” She brushed her
blond hair out of her eyes and added, “I need to get in
the horse business.” Helen smiled casually and said, “We
like it.”
by Charles Barry Sanderson
The farrier stepped aside so that Lonny could take a
good look at TIGER BAY’S feet. “That’s about right,
Tom” ... he said. “Just put those keg shoes on him
now and he should be in fine shape.” Tom went about
the task of finishing the job while talking to Lonny and
Little Joe about TIGER BAY. Tom had put the first
pair of shoes on this horse as a coming-two colt and had
been proud that he had been the only farrier to lay a
hand on his feet. Lonny had to give Tom all the details
about the mishap that they had at the Southern Cham­
pionship show and what the Vets had told him about
TIGER BAY. “All I know,” said Lonny. “is that the Vet
at the show told me he had probably injured his neck in
the accident and just couldn’t get enough air due to
swelling.” On the advice of his own veterinarian, he was
taking the shoes off him and letting him rest until Spring.
Everyone at the Lonny Barnes Stables felt confident that
TIGER BAY would be back as a three year old.
It was early December and things were slow at the
stable. Lonny had just returned from a trip to Middle
Tennessee where he had purchased three coming-two colts
to start. He had sold two of these colts to a couple of his
best customers and the third he was saving to work for
himself as an investment. Sitting down with Helen in the
barn office he said, “Dear Heart ... do you know that we
have had a pretty good year?” Helen laughed and glanc­
ed at the horse shoe of roses on the office wall and said
. . . “all things considered, it has been a good year.”
“I don’t mean just winning the Championship , he said,
I mean money-wise too! It looks as if we made about
$6,200 this year, free and clear.” While Lonny was on
this positive note, Helen said . . . “yes, and Christmas
is only about twe weeks off.” Lonny sat up straight in
his desk- chair and said . . . “CHISTMAS ... I have
been so busy I haven’t even thought about Christmas.
“Well, you better start thinking about it, cause we got
two young’uns who think Santa Claus rides a Walking
Horse and he is bound to come their way on the 25th
of this month.”
Lonny laughed and got himself another cup of coffee.
As he sat there looking at the steam rise about the cup
he said, “you know what ... we ought to have a Christ­
mas party at the Lonny Barnes St ables!
Even Helen was surprised at the response to their in­
vitations to a Christmas party. In only a weeks time
they had contacted all of their customers and some other
trainers and had given out a general invitation to bring
December • 1966
The party went well until about eleven thirty that
night. All the food had long since been eaten and the
real “party boys,” most of whom Helen didn’t know to
well, had set up a bar of their own. Helen didn’t mind a
little drinking but in her mind things were beginning to
get out of hand. There were well over a fifty people still
in the barn and the record player was going full blast
when she noticed that Lonny wasn’t anywhere in sight.
Casually she started to look around for him and finally
located him in the office. That did it!
The first thing that greeted Lonny the next morning
was his two kids running through the house yelling at the
top of their lungs. As he rolled over, the light coming
through the window hit him with a blinding flash.
“Helen . . . get those kids out of here!” There was no
response and he sat up on the side of the bed trying not
to notice the dull pressure a real “hangover.”
Helen was busy cleaning up the kitchen when Lonny
finally made it to the coffee pot. He carefully poured a
cup of hot, black coffee and sat down at the kitchen
table. “Let’s have a Christmas party . . . sure, Let’s
have a Christmas party,” Helen said under her breath.
Lonny looked up and said, “Now, it wasn’t all that bad.”
“How do you know,” she said, “I doubt if you remember
anything except that . . . that Blond, whats-her-name.”
Helen spent the next fifteen minutes telling Lonny what
an-----he had made out of himself and reminded him
that little Joe would need some help in cleaning up tTie
barn. As an after thought she added, “Oh yes . . . the
mare that they were riding last night ended up over at
Mr. Franks barn. He called about six o’clock this morn­
ing and said you better come get her or he is going to
make dog meat out of her.” Lonny rubbed his head and
said . . . “Oooh . . . boy. I don’t remember nothing
about no mare.”
Lonny stood in the hall of the barn and surveyed the
mess. “Little Joe” ... he yelled. “Yes sah,” came a
voice from the other end of the barn. “We better get
right oyer to Mr. Franks place and get our horse.” Little
Joe snickeded and said, “Mista Lonny, didn’t no hoss get
away last night. That was Mista Dink and them other
fellas what called you this morning. They been out all
night and wanted to get you out of bed.” “Why those
*%#*&—1***,”hesaid.
All things considered, it was a good year for Lonny
Barns . . . hangover and all!!
(Continued Next Month)
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