1968-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1968 July Voice RS | Page 18

the greatest Walking Horse man that ever lived. Di-
Greely looked up at the picture and said, "So did a
lot of others, Lonny. So did a lot of others.” Without
thinking, Lonny added, "Do you reckon that he ever
had to buy one of his Festival victories, Doc? Di.
Greely laughed and said, "Hell, no! He came in the
ring to win and dared 'em to tie him down. He knew
he had the best stock, though, Lonny. His were the
greatest Walking Horses in his day.”
They ordered breakfast and just sat there, looking
around the room, sipping coffee and awkwardly wait­
ing for the other one to say something. Each was
afraid that the other one would ask the question. Fin­
ally Lonny could take it no longer. He looked Di.
Greely square in the eye and said, "Doc . . • how
much does it mean to you for BEAU GENTRY to win
the Festival?” Dr. Greely almost spilled his coffee.
"Why . . . ah . . . Lonny, it means a lot to me. Why?
As he looked down into the amber liquid in his cup -
almost as if he were seeking an answer from the cof­
fee grounds - Lonny said, "1 don't think 1 can go
along with anything that isn't on the level. I don t
care how much money is involved, 1 just ...” Dr.
Greely tapped his cup with a spoon and, getting
Lonny’s attention, he said, "I don’t think I’ll go along
either, Lonny. You about ready to go?” Lonny took a
last bite of country ham and, smiling, said, "Yep!”
As the Lincoln pulled up to the big barn, Lonny and
Dr. Greely noticed that their partners were already
there. Lonny looked at Dr. Greely and said, "Well . . .
let’s go see if we can round out 4 SQUARE Enter­
prises.” Closing his door with a bang, Dr. Greely
smiled and said, "I’m with you, ol’ buddy.”
The events of the next few hours reminded Lonny
of the famous smoke-filled rooms of the pre-forties era
when politics was carried on in the rooms of hotel's
instead of in the capital. He could hardly believe his
ears. Here he was, in a meeting of supposedly honest
businessmen who were making plans for his horse to
win the big stake at the National Walking Horse Fes­
tival as if they were planning a Sunday picnic.
He began to fit all the pieces together in his own
mind. They knew what prospective judges they could
count on and what judges would be a problem. They
knew what horses would put up the most competition
and which trainers could be talked into doing "less
than their best" with their stock. In all instances the
exact method of getting all this done was not dis­
cussed but everyone seemed to take it for granted
that someone in the room would "get it done.” Lonny
sat in the far corner just listening. He never said a
word; just listened. Dr. Greely didn’t say much either.
Occasionally he would nod approval or disapproval,
or at least indicate that he understood.
One of the men in the group finally said the magic
words. "Now then, Lonny. Have you got anything to
say?” Lonny was startled. He sat up in his chair and
said, "Have I got anything to say? Well, yes ... as a
matter of fact, I have. Who the hell says that BEAU
GENTRY will be the best horse in the ring that night
anyway? None of you have seen him work in almost
two weeks and it’s over a month until the Festival!”
There was a moment of silence, and then one man
spoke up and said, "Now listen here, boy! We didn’t
invest all that money in that black stud just because
we like horses, and if you think w*e are going to take
any crap off a two-bit horse trainer, you’re . .
That
was as far as he got. There was one man in the room
18
who had been in the horse business a long time. He
knew horse trainers and he immediately knew that his
associate had said the worst thing he could have said
"Hold it, fellows . . . hold it! Let’s finish up over a
a0od steak. Com’on . . . I’ll treat everyone.” He open­
ed a closet in his office and grabbed a bottle. Putting
his arm around Lonny’s shoulder, he led him out the
door, saying, "Com’on, ol’ buddy . . . you’re the most
important man in the bunch. I’m sure we can work
everything out so nobody does anything wrong.”
(Next Month — A Decision)
WALKING HORSES COMPETE SECOND YEAR
IN A ROW IN NORTH DAKOTA: STATE
ASSOCIATION FORMED
For the second year in a row, Walking Horses were
featured in two classes at the North Dakota State
Championship Horse Show held at Rugby, North Da­
kota on June 7, 8 and 9. Last year was the first time
the running walk was seen in a North Dakota show
ring and this year established the Tennessee Walking
Horse as a show animal. Many spectators came back
this year to see these unusual horses