1969 Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1969 November Voice RS | Page 16

As Lonny looked back over the past few year, he
remembered some of the high points and some of the
low points of his short career as a professional trainer
Sitting on the fence between the house and the barn’
he pondered the past and wondered if he would ever
be as happy doing anything else. With a certain
amount of nostalgia he recalled the distinct thrill of
winning his first world championship. That was some­
thing he would never forget.
As he sat there whittling in the afternoon sun of an
early winter day,- he recalled how scared he had been
when he judged his first big show, in Florida. He
smiled at the memory of his encounter with the "big
men’* of the horse business. They had tried to influ­
ence his decision and had vowed to get him because
he didn’t go along. He thought, "Maybe they got me
after all. Maybe they got us all!”
Almost without thinking, Lonny slowly made his way
back to the barn. He was in deep thought as he gol
out an old broodmare and saddled her up. The horse
had been a show mare and had won her share of blue
ribbons some years back. She had been a favorite of
Little -Joe’s, and Lonny couldn’t help recalling all the
good times they had had before Joe died. A cold chill
went up his back as he thought back to the early
days of his horse operation and how hard he and Lit­
tle Joe had worked. He had noticed lately, too, that
Martin Luther had begun to look more and more like
his father as he got older. In a way, Lonny felt he
was letting M. L. down, but he was sure he could get
along. He was a good young horseman and a lot ol
people were looking for good help.
i
I TV
CfctTEST
by Charles Barry Sanderson
Looking back over the past few years, Lonny Barnes
could not help feeling that the horse business had
been good to him. Kver since his childhood he had
loved horses, and his close association with the birth­
place of the Tennessee Walking Horse had naturally
led him to prefer this breed. Since opening his own
stable in March of 1966, he had been fortunate and
achieved a measure of success in a very difficult busi­
ness. He had suffered several setbacks but also had
many victories. In the short span of four years he had
accomplished more than a lot of men who had been in
the business for many years.
He tried to rationalize the decision he was facing.
He had discussed everything with Helen and had to
admit that she had a point about the problems of the
Walking Horse business. He was still a young man,
just thirty-two years old, and with two years of college
and some real good contacts he felt that he could get
along fairly well in some other field of endeavor. Still
... in the back of his mind was the fact that he really
loved the horse business and the people in it.
In reviewing the situation, Lonny had to take into
consideration that he had made a good living as a
professional trainer. He also had to admit that there
were some things about the business that had always
bothered him. things that always gave him a feeling
of insecurity about the future. For one thing he, like
all other professionals, was always concerned about the
lack of rules and regulations, and the fact that there
was really nobody that could enforce the rules they
did agree on. It was extremely difficult to follow the
general rules and suffer defeat by someone who didn’t
or by a judge who didn't care. He had spent a lot of
time thinking about all of this.
16
Riding slowly over the top of a little rise, he could
see the south pasture. It didn't loo k the same without
horses grazing. Lonny suddenly felt very lonely. The
old mare eased along in a slow flatfoot walk, nodding
her head with every step in perfect rhythm. One-two-
three-four . . . one-two-three-four . . . Lonny could feel
the deep nodding motion through his body and it was
very relaxing. He made his way to the fence near the
road and walked along the fence. A rabbit jumped up
and ran across in front of the old mare. She never
jumped or faltered. Lonny picked up an imaginary
gun and said, 'Pow! pow! Got him!”
It was getting dark and a cold mist was rising from
the ground. Lonny had covered just about every inch
of the farm in the past two hours and had mixed emo­
tions about the situation. A thousand memories went
through his mind, some good . . . some bad. He re­
membered the time the yearling ran away with him
and the time that he had broken his leg. He remem-
beied the exact spot that he had been when his first
good two-year-old had hit that first big lick as a year-
mg. It doesn't take long to become attached to a
piece of property, and Lonny Barnes had really come
to love this place.
Back at the house Helen was busy packing. The
trucker wQuld be there in the morning to load up and
she still had a lot to do. Lonny came in just before
nrff*ei
with°ut saying much, fixed himself a
' y"lm drink- Helen saw him cork the bottle and
fr ’n. Tou
he feeling pretty low, sugar.” honny
i Tnedanc^ said, "I’m still not sure we’re doing the
ifeht thing, honey.” As Helen worked around the
tait ei? Setting supper ready, they made some small
k about their prospects for the future. Lonny sat
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse