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Following a practice established the previous year, each entry in the Grand Championship Stake Class entered the ring by number and at the running walk. As the first entry hit the gate in a truly great flowing running walk, the crowd put up a great roar. One by one, they came in the gate and the reception accorded number 35 was good, but not necessarily outstanding.
When the announced said, "' All entries take the rail to your left,” the crowd of 25,000-plus settled down to watch the show. At this point it must be indicated that Betty Sain was no newcomer to the professional show ring. She had exhibited horses for several years in open classes, competing with professional trainers all the way. She knew her way around the ring and did not feel that she should be regarded any differently from the other exhibitors.
In this ring it is every " man” for himself, and one cannot help recalling the movie of several years ago in which a young lady had to disguise herself and tuck her hair in a jockey’ s cap in order to compete in a nationally famous horse event.
After the preliminary workout, five horses were requested to take the rail: GO BOY’ S CHATTERBOX, Bud Seaton up; JOHNNY MIDNIGHT, Sam Paschal up; GO BOY’ S SUN DUST ' Bud Dunn riding; DUKE’ S HANDYMAN, Hershel Talley doing the chores; and SHAKER’ S SHOCK ER, Betty Sain up.
Betty Sain did nothing more than show her horse. She competed in truly professional form, staying on the rail whenever possible and taking advantage of every break that came her way. It was a long class, and SHOCKER, as he is now known, stayed with it all the way. He was in superb condition, and obeyed every command of his trainer. On one momentous occasion, when it became apparent that the pressure was being put on her, Betty laid the crop to her mount and got the " extra effort” necessary to get out of a spot. The crowd made little note of the efforts of another rider to " take her on the rail’ because they had witnessed this many times before in professional competition.
On the rail was another horse being shown to perfection. GO BOY’ S CHAT! ERBOX was coming on strong. Experienced Walking Horse enthusiasts were beginning to pick up this fancy bay stallion with Bud
Seaton riding, as he was getting better and better as the class wore on. CHATTERBOX, who came into the ring a virtual unknown, was making a show of it.
Bud Dunn kept his GOBOY’ SSUN DUST on the rail, showing to perfection. He, too, had a large portion of the crowd pulling for him. Hershel Talley, riding one of the greatest " running walk” horses yet seen in the big ring, made his bid for top honors with several spectacular passes that tempted the crowd to change their allegiance. Sam Paschal, always a favorite with Celebration audiences, managed to keep a great number of followers on the rail yelling, " Come on, JOHNNY!” as the pre-Celebration favorite, JOHNNY MIDNIGHT, was showed to best advantage.
Around and around they went— then on the reverse, with sweat flowing from every pore and every muscle strained to the fiber. The call judge, Jack Moorman, determined to make every horse prove his worth, worked the class all the way to the finish. Judges George Henson on the North turn and David Welsh on the East straightaway moved back and forth to catch an accurate glimpse of every movement. They were looking for flaws; searching diligently for the horses that were " fading” and giving out. Some began to " string out behind,” others began to tire greatly and lose the fineness of their gaits. Still others nosed out to catch more air in their burning-lungs. When the running walk was in full swing on the reverse, the roar of the crowd drowned the announcer’ s plea for the flat-foot walk as two horses made another complete pass before the grandstand in the fast gait. When they were all finally stopped and the lineup was in order on the north end of the show ring, the crowd remained motionless and virtually silent as the judges made their marks.
It has been said that " Americans are always for the underdog,” but the underdog theory does not apply here. SHAKER’ S SHOCKER was not an underdog: he was the 1965 Reserve Champion Three-Year-Old and had won the Junior Stallion Championship just three days before this event. Betty Sain, while popular, had never been a great crowd favorite before, and she had ridden in several Celebrations prior to this show. The appeal of this team in the Big Stake had several interesting facets. Itwas the first time, to our knowledge, that a woman had ever ridden in the Big
Stake. SHOCKER is a big black stallion and Betty Sain was a little 112- pound dedicated WalkingHorselover. Quite a contrast to the other exhibitors. Betty also had the advantage of a red coat, making her easier to see in the ring.
Another interesting aspect of the twosome’ s popularity is the fact that the vast majority of the Celebration audience is not active on a big scale in the Walking Horse business. Perhaps they felt that THIS horse and THIS rider represented their best interests and they could identify with this team more easily than with the other riders and their mounts. At any rate, Betty Sain and SHAKER’ S SHOCKER did a great job of maintaining the support of the crowd during the class. They gave ' em what they came to see... a horse show!
It is impossible to describe the tide of enthusiasm that pierced the night air as announcer Emmet Guy announced the winning number. Even people who had horses in the class stated that they let out a whoop when number thirty-five was called out... then, regaining their composure, waited with anticipation to see how their own horses tied. Pandemonium broke out all over the grandstand as Betty rode SHOCKER up to the spotlights to receive the horseshoe of roses emblematic of supremacy in the " horse world.” Her mouth was full of cotton and she was obviously shaken and pale. SHOCK ER, still heaving from the ordeal, listened to her every word as she parked him for the photographers.
Back at her stable, the little sign was still in place. Throngs of friends and the curious milled about, fighting for a look at the horse. Kids clamored for her autograph, and Mrs. Virginia Sain asked her if a little girl could have SHOCKER’ s ribbons. Betty stopped long enough to look up and say, " She sure can. She’ s the same little girl that got them when he tied reserve in the Junior Class last year.”
Betty set about the task of cleaning up her horse, just as she had done every day since the last Celebration. She answered a lot of questions, and talked on the radio. There were a few tears, some laughter, a lot of small talk. A few people even had to " eat some roses” after advising her that it couldn’ t be done just a few hours before.
Betty kept saying, " I can’ t believe it. I just can’ t believe it.” But those
( Continued on page 92) 80 Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse