Buddy Hugh , a professional trainer from Shelbyville , Tennessee , first saw SPECIAL DELIVERY as a rawboned yearling that showed little potential . The colt was bom on Hank Sheely ’ s farm in Bloomfield , Kenandis out of the first mare ever to be bred to SUN S DELIGHT , the 1963 World Grand Champion .
While her first breeding did not result in conception , she was later declared ' fin foal ” and this chestnut
colt was the result . DELIVERY was one of two yearlings that Buddy started for Mr . Sheely in the fall of 1966 . He recalls that they made a genuine effort to sell him and his companion for a paltry sum and couldn t get any takers . He was not a pretty yearling and was in sad need of nutrition . The first time we saw SPECIAL DELIVERY he was a fledgling two-year-old that still needed some groceries . It was around the first of spring in 1967 , and
Buddy showed him four times before the Celebration that year and entered the championship contest undefeated , with outstanding victories at Etowah ; Boaz , Alabama ; Madison , Tennessee ; and the Spring Jubilee at Columbia . His performance at the Celebration was excellent , and he emerged as the Reserve Champion in both his class and the Two-Year-Old Championship . Still he did not attract the attention he deserved as the big discussion throughout the
winter months that followed was primarily about the " champion ” and others in the class . As a three-year-old , SPECIAL DELIVERY made even more progress on his climb to the top . With Buddy Hugh riding , he was acclaimed the victor at Smiths
Station , Alabama ; Searcy , Arkansas ; Etowah , Tennessee ; the Columbia Spring Jubilee ; and Pulaski , Tennessee . It was at this final performance prior to the
( Right ) Marking the target date of Friday , September 5 , Buddy Hugh and Toby Green make plans for
SPECIAL DELIVERY in the Junior Championship as Mrs . Janie Hugh looks on with pride .
( Left ) This fine action photograph by Les Nelson indicates the type of ability that Celebration enthusiasts can expect when SPECIAL DELIVERY enters the ring for owner Hank Sheely of Dallas , Texas .
( Lower Left ) Buddy Hugh proudly holds the reins of SPECIAL DELIVERY , his contender for the Junior Championship at the 1969 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration . He is undefeated in competition this year and is ready for the contest
Buddy was riding him in front of his new stable , then operated privately by Mr . Hugh . He was a pretty colt
with fine bone and the makings of good conformation . With a lot of natural ability and an attentive nature , DELIVERY liked his job .
As a two-year-old , he progressed rapidly and by early summer began to take on some weight He entered the showring for his first contest at the Etowah , Tennessee Civitan Horse Show in May of 1967 . In a fine class of young horses SPECIAL DELIVERY emerged victorious and suddenly became a genuine contender . He had attracted a lot of attention but was still not on the lips of everyone as were some other
young horses in the area .
August , 1969
Celebration that the " Buddy Hugh bandwagon ” began to roll . People began to swap allegiances when they saw the fantastic show being put on by this remarkable chestnut stallion that night in Pulaski . During the week of the Celebration , large crowds of SPECIAL DELIVERY fans flocked to the Buddy Hugh Stables on the old Wartrace Road in Shelbyville to see him work . By the first of the week , just a few days before the three-year-old class , Mr . Hugh had a fine edge on
his horse . He was ready . We joined a crowd on Monday to see him work and insisted , if that is the word , that we see him exactly as he would be shown . . . with boots on . We were convinced that SPECIAL DE LIVERY would have no peer at the Celebration in the
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