1968-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1968 November Voice RS | Page 4

he experts say that the key to success in the show horse business ?
is to "get the right horse together with the nght trainer and owner.
Both
MS*£^££2?
Ml
add Sore
one more horse
to tne list of outstanding prospects for the 1969 World Championship.
we will have to
SyfjK
S S
hoS^eTrV11
5-
4
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse
For our 1968 Reserve Champion Three-Year-Old Walking Horse, it
has been a case of "success all the way.” Fromthefirst moment that
Joe and Judy Martin saw REFLECTION’S SHADOW they felt that he
was one of the best prospects that they had ever seen. In discussing their first
opinion of this colt, Judy Martin says, "Harold Beckler invited us ou o is arn
to look at this horse and we were very much impressed with him. He was a
big, loose-going colt that just looked like he would walk. We were a bit upset
when we learned that several other trainers had looked at him and were not
too impressed. We began to wonder if we really knew what we were doing
when we contacted two other people to go into partnership with us.
The record books now clearly indicate that they did indeed "know what
they were doing,” as their horse has been a consistent winner and a
championship threat ever since he hit the showring in 1967 as a two-
year-old. When Joe and Judy got together with Mr. Buddy Payne of
Gallatin, Tennessee and their sister-in-law, ’Sonia Wiser (wife of the
late Eddie Wiser), to buy this horse, they were working for Fray Es-
cue in Hebron, Kentucky. Shortly after they purchased him they
moved to Wartrace, Tennessee to open their own stable, and were
very pleased to have a colt of the calibre of REFLECTION’S SHA­
DOW to show people. This was in October of 1966 and a long hard
winter of riding lay ahead before the show season opened again in
the spring.
Much to their surprise, this colt proved to be the most outstanding
horse they had ever started. Call it luck . . . intuition ... or horse sense!
Call it what you will, but by any standard this horse must be rated with the best .
As a young horse he started walking almost too soon. His program was one of
easy riding because he was just doing too much for such a youngster. After only
two months he was attracting a lot of attention throughout Middle Tennessee and
it was a hard decision to turn down a handsome profit on several occasions.
By the time the show season opened there was a lot of talk about "the big black
stud that Joe and Judy wall show in the two-year-old classes.” The rumors about this
horse were soon confirmed as they took the Gallatin, Tennessee show
by storm to w7in a very7 impressive blue. He was not shown again
until the Celebration where he tied third in a great .class of top
two-year-olds. He followed up his Celebration show with a clean
victory at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, giving rise to much specu­
lation about the coming season.
Throughout the 1968 season everyone wondered, "Where
is REFLECTION’S SHADOW?” "Why hasn’t he been
shown? It was hinted that he had been injured_
or that he had failed to take his canter — or that
they were having problems with him. For six months
Joe Martin w7as content to let "barn talk” carry
horse and his reputation along. Few7 people saw
v 0rk and there was indeed considerable specu­
lator. a to whether or not he would be entered in the
ejebraron. As the tempo of the week’s activity built up
lo a peak during the Celebration, Walking Horse enthusi-
' ;fe P,cking out their favorites for each event. As the
■e
)\d
Stallion
Class drew near
there was
of is, until the gate opened
Kk thfrinr Sald a ab°Ut
REFLECTI0N’S
SHAD0W
. . a . lot
that
■?.ul che 1967 World Champion Two-Year-Old and Re-
was
at
the also a TJ?^ of talk about the _1967 Futurity
'33 is anvmdk^
good judges of horseflesh. If their favorite
0- J.968 is any indication of t’ppir Vnntni^
, v
°~~ ~ j —fc>wkj
uwacucou. ax tuc**
diem what they came to see He ch/ !j^n
should be well qualified, because this is
in ;k n!kW.ed.,three Jood
both ways of the ring, and was
outstanding in the Stud Class in
the final workout. Few people
missea nu tremendous running walk in which he ~~u:u?x
exhibited , an ~ V
** in ^e vast Celebration stadium
stamina. H e was Reserve Champion in both classes and served warni!^?^!.^ amount of natural ability and
to contend with in the future.
mng to all competitors that he was a horse
What about the future? REFLECTION’S SHADOW will be shown
will show at Baton Ron
era onrl
— --
Rouge
and then Veiu^£3Ew2t
fi
T