COVER STORY
Donald Paschal Aims at The Championship
If ever a horse entered the Celebration ring that could be called " everybody’ s favorite,” it would probably be GO BOY’ S ROYAL HEIR. This eight-year-old black stallion has all the outstanding qualities that our breed demands and has them in abundance. He is bred as well as a Tennessee Walking Horse can be, with MERRY GO BOY as his sire and MERRY MAR- QUITA as his dam. On the bottom side of his pedigree we see that his dam was by SIR MAUGRAY out of STRAUS’ MERRY MAID by MERRY BOY. So... as far as bloodlines go, this 1968 Celebration contender can rest easy. As an individual, GO BOY’ S ROYAL HEIR is flawless in conformation( see unretouched photo by Les Nelson) and he has the natural ability to perform the gaits of the modern-day big-time show horse with a minimum of effort. Standing fifteen-three, he has the size to go the route when the go5
story of GO BOY’ S ROYAL H been so uncomplicated, howeve luck” horse in many resry '' career. ets tough. The > not always een a " hard
" Urious
As a young he not regarded as get his growth urn that time he had been
. xlerent trainers who kept trying iu &_____ conform to
modern training techniques. The big break in his career came when he was moved to the Green and Hugh Stables in Shelbyville, Tennessee, as a four-year-old. Mr. Hugh recognized that there was " something different” about this horse and felt that perhaps an oldtime training program would suit him better. This program consisted of nothing but riding. Little effort was made to get him to hit the " big lick,” and one day, almost by himself, he finally figured out what it
was that they had been trying to teach him for four years. As a four-year-old he was shown sparingly but effectively by Buddy Hugh with Toby Green acting in his capacity as " the best ground man in the business.” They were effective enough to persuade owner Hank Sheely of Dallas, Texas to part with him.
The next stop for ROYAL HEIR was Beech Grove, Hill. Steve con-? that this was nd he was al-
'' T-chased
• rly t
Tennnssee, and the stable of vinced two of his long-time * " the next World’ s Grand Ch most right. GO BOY’ S
for an undisclosed? Hills, California
sissippi. Steve: 1965 season ai third in the big su be a different story _ undefeated season, trainei i to
. ver an to the big ring again and this time he was the popular favorite by show time. All went well as the Aged Stallion class progressed. GO BOY’ S ROYAL HEIR made a flawless
performance and, as they lined up before the big grandstand, Mr. Hill made one final pass toward the
end of the line. Unknown to him, however, another rider was shifting his position and they ran together in a clash of flying heels, hats and dust. The result was several broken ribs for Mr. Hill and a bruised horse. They were placed in the reserve spot that night and failed to make the Grand Championship Stake class three nights later.
Still regarded as one of the truly great natural horses of the breed, GO BOY’ S ROYAL HEIR was being groomed for yet another try at the roses When his popularity prompted Dr. and Mrs. C. L. Sexton of Florence, South Carolina, to inquire about him as a
possible amateur mount for their granddaughter, Candace Williams of Fayetteville, North Carolina. With trainer Donald Paschal acting as their advisor, Dr. and Mrs. Sexton decided to purchase ROYAL HEIR and move him to Woodbury, Tennessee, to begin training as an amateur horse. For the first time in his seven-year career, ultimate success was to be his in the 1967 season. After an undefeated season, Candace Williams put her best effort forward and, after a brilliant performance, reached out for the roses and the World Amateur Championship at the 1967 National Celebration.
By the time that spring approached the Middle Tennessee landscape in early 1968, the word was out that Donald Paschal would be riding GO BOY’ S ROYAL
HEIR in yet another " ride for the roses.” Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Williams, working with Dr. and Mrs. Sexton, made the decision to place ROYAL HEIR in Donald’ s hands and to purchase another horse for their daughter to ride in amateur competition. This they did, and GO BOY’ S CHATTERBOX soon became a stablemate to his famous half-brother. The 1968
August, 1968 7