to ride a World ’ s Grand Champion ?” In an instant Lonny got a fleeting vision of millions of people out there in their living rooms , just waiting for him to make a mistake . He had thoughts of all the Walking Horse people in the country looking to him as the representative of their breed to do a good job for them . His voice was weak as he said , " Well , Mr . Daniels . . ■ I suppose it feels just the same as winning the top spot in any sports event . I feel mighty proud to . . His voice got gravelly and he cleared his throat . " I feel proud to have had such a top horse and such fine people helping me .” The announcer turned to Dr . Greely and said , '' Doctor , how about you ? Does this represent a long-time effort on your part as owner ?” Dr . Greely , not wanting any trouble with his partners , said , " Darrell , first of all I want to point out that I sold part interest in BEAU GENTRY shortly before the Festival to a group of businessmen called 4 SQUARE Enterprises . . and he went from there to briefly tell the story of BEAU GENTRY — how ne had acquired tne norse , and a little about his background and breeding . Both
I TO QUEST
The hot lights seemed to penetrate everything around Lonny Barnes as he squirmed in his seat , trying to get comfortable . He looked about him . . . thing deeply as if the air were thin . His heart r ded , • ad he took out a handkerchief to wipe the
!. - i fro nis face as a trickle rolled down past his He thought to himself , " I ’ m not sure I ’ m ready n ; believe I had rather go through the big again .” Lonny squinted to see past the lights , ing to see who had just come into the studio . He ognized Dr . Greely being greeted by the program ector . Looking at his watch , he noticed that it was jst four minutes until they went on the air . Dr . Greely came over to Lonny and extended his hand . Lonny stood up , took another deep breath , and shook hands . He had a weak smile as he said , " Let ’ s hurry up and get this over with . I ’ m not much for interviews . . . especially on television .”
Everyone got quiet as the announcer took his place . The director said , " One minute .” It seemed like an eternity until the director spoke again , saying , " You ’ re on .” " Good evening , ladies and gentlemen . . . and welcome once again to the Darrell Daniels sports show . . . brought to you tonight by that old favorite of yours and mine ...” All through the introduction and the preliminaries of the sponsors , Lonny sat in mute , strained silence . . . waiting for his cue . " Tonight we are privileged to have with us two men who have recently made a little sports history themselves . As most of you know , the Tennessee Walking Horse National Festival — one of the greatest sports events of the year — was held recently , and tonight we are lucky enough to have with us the man who rode the World ’ s Grand Champion , BEAU GENTRY , to one of the greatest victories ever seen . On my left is Lonny Barnes , a professional Walking Horse trainer for many years , and the fellow with the big smile is Dr . George Greely .” Turning to his left , the sportscaster looked at Lonny and said , " Mr . Barnes . . . how7 does it feel
A BLUE by Charles Barry Sanderson
Dr . Greely and Lonny Barnes were very much aware of the tremendous opportunity and responsibility they had — to do a good selling and public relations job for the breed — and they did it well .
After a few7 minutes , Lonny relaxed and really became involved in the discussion of the Walking Horse business and the role of the professional trainer . He told a little about his personal background and mentioned that he was a member of several national organizations , including the Professional Trainers Association . He began to anticipate the next part of the show and sat Dack in nervous excitement as the sportscaster said , " And now , folks , let ’ s see some of the highlights of the Grand Championship Stake and watch Lonny Barnes and BEAU GENTRY in the last few minutes of the Festival .” Turning to Lonny , hef said , " Would you and Dr . Greely like to narrate this film for us , Lonny ?” By this time Lonny and Dr . Greely were in the swing of things , and he turned to his right to view the film on the studio monitor . " Darrell ,” he said , " this looks like it might be right after we started to the rail for the last workout . That ’ s me coming up at the right of the screen and the horse between me and the camera is the one that tied third .” He went on , saying , " You will notice that the big stadium is jam-packed and there ain ’ t much room nowhere .” He raised an eyebrow and looked at Dr . Greely with a sheepish grin , since the doctor had admonished him to use good English instead of barn talk during this interview . He regained his composure and continued his step-by-step review of the big stake . As Dr . Greely took over the mike , Lonny settled back in his chair and watched .
Lonny had an eerie feeling as he watched the excitement of his last performance unfold before him . Sweat broke out on his forehead and in his mind he was back in the midst of the contest . He could hear the roar of the vast crowd as the horses reversed and he stopped to loosen the curb chain on his horse .
10 Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse