1969 Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1969 August Voice RS | Page 64

He turned off the motor and went back inside the
house, flipping a half-smoked cigarette out into the
yard as he slammed the screen door. "Damnation!
We’ll never get there if this phone doesn’t quit ring­
ing. HELLO!’’ he said, with a slight note of obvious
anger.
Helen knew in an instant that something was wrong.
She saw the familiar dark eyebrows turn down and
Lonny got a "determined look’’ on his face. She had
seen it before, and braced herself for the onslaught of
anger that she new was coming. Without any pleasant­
ries, Lonny said, "I’ll tell you what, Mr. Wild. You go
back and tell your cigar-smoking friend that I’ll be
amazed if Tommy Brynner and I get together on our
MTV
QUEST
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/V BI j UE
by Charles Barry Sanderson
The pressure was beginning to build as the fateful
day approached. As a judge for the 1969 Tennessee
Walking Horse Festival, Lonny Barnes was under no
obligation to anyone except himself and that, to him,
was considerable. Lonny remembered the words of
old J. Penley Blackburn, one of the few living men
who had seen the breed begin, who had stopped him
before he had judged his first show one night and
said, "Boy ... if you tie horses, you're going to make
a few friends mad — but they’ll get over it. If you tie
riders as a favor, you’ll make obligations you’ll never
outlive." Lonny had since found out how true this
statement was.
During the past few weeks, Lonny had been working
out his own problems relative to judging the Festival.
He re-read the rules several times and had gotten
satisfactory answers to questions he had regarding
procedure and changes. He purchased a new white
. venu.g jacket and two new hats, and Helen got him
•ome -ther new clothes to wear during the week of
she . Lonny surprised Helen by giving her a
• . p new one-hundred-dollar bill with instructions to
go buy something sharp. I want you to be the best-
looking gal there." She did!
Helen's mother came to look after the children dur­
ing the show, and they made arrangements for them
to see the show the first three nights and then go
back home. School started before the show was over,
and little Lonny had to register the first of the week.
It was going to be somewhat hectic for everyone.
About 3:30 P. M, Lonny had almost finished load­
ing the car. Helen looked at the pile of clothes and
boxes in the back seat and said, "It looks as if we’re
moving for good." Lonny looked with a grin and said,
"Why don’t we just stay here?" They both laughed
and went about what they were doing to finish the
loading.
As Helen started to lock the back door, the phone
rang. She muttered something under her breath and
ran back inside to answer it. "Lonny . . . it’s for you.’’
64
cards even by accident, much less by design.’’ He
listened intently, and added, "What do you mean,
'What’s it worth to get the chestnut horse tied?’ Are
you trying to bribe me?’’ He listened again and finally
said, "Is that a threat or a promise?’’ Without saying
another word, Lonny banged the phone down and
stomped out of the house.
For almost two hours Helen and Lonny had ridden
along without saying too much. Lonny was in deep
thought and she didn’t bother him. Occasionally one
of them would break the silence with some small talk
but neither of them mentioned the Festival. As they
neared the small town that became "The Horse Capi­
tal of the World’’ during this Walking Horse extrava­
ganza, Lonny looked at Helen and said, "I just have
a feeling that this is going to get a little bit hairy.’’
They checked into the motel, and spent almost an
hour getting everything in order. They were comforts
able, and were pleased with the suite that had been
provided for them. It was very nice, and was complete
with an adjoining living room that overlooked the
swimming pool. The phone had rung a couple of times
and Lonny had brief conversations with some friends.
He called to inform General Hohan that they had ar­
rived, and asked what time the meeting was for the
next day. Everything was fine and Helen was busy
fixing a couple of drinks when she heard a knock on
the door. "I’ll get it, honey,’’ Lonny said as he walked
in his stocking feet toward the door. He opened it,
and there stood his good friend, Paul Miller, and a
couple of other trainers. "Com’on in here, fellows . . .
you all know Helen,’’ Lonny remarked as he stepped
aside and invited them in. "You guys want a drink?’’
he asked, as he motioned to Helen to get some glas­
ses. One young fellow laughed and said, "That’s a
switch ... a Festival judge buying the drinks for ex­
hibitors!’’ Lonny went about the job of putting ice in
the glasses and said, "Well, it really hasn’t dawned
(Continued on page 104)
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse