Middle Tennessee/Celebration Memories

OGM, Rock-A-Bye told me the real story on how Loretta Noe got the nickname "Blue Bird".
One on the grooms or assistant trainers at Vic's barn put Jensen Violet, that purple medicine
they used on horses, all over her hands and it would not wash off for weeks. They started calling
her Blue Bird after that.

what does it say on the side of the old truck in the picture Razor ?Who is the girl laying out?

Anybody remember the walking horse painted in the bottom of the pool. Larry Lowman and I did that years ago...don't know what the motel was called at the time, might have been when Bob Buckner from CA. owned it and it was called the Plaza International....sure was hot in the bottom of that pool when we were painint it.

How many different names did that motel have?

barn2648 wrote:

what does it say on the side of the old truck in the picture Razor ?Who is the girl laying out?

Barn the people in those Holiday Inn Pictures are: Top: Razor and Anne Daugette Middle Left: Razor Middle Right: Anne Daugette.
Now you see why ole Razor stayed at the Holiday Inn! Bottom; Burt Daugette.
I have Included another Holiday Inn parking lot picture of that old horse van.

Old Graymare wrote:

I have been AWOL for a while, but I have been doing some "catch-up reading". I taught school with Loretta Noe in Bedford County. The last time I heard from her, she was still teaching. I think her family still lives at the same place. I haven't seen her in ages, but would love to visit with her.

Bluebird hangin' at Vic's

Just like I remember her! She was a hoot at school. I remember that "purple medicine" and how long it took to wear off as well. Wonder which of Vic's assistants put it on Loretta??

MIB, thanks for the welcome back!

Another great Middle Tennessee Memory was visiting the different trainer's barns.
One of my most vivid memories was visiting Sam Paschal,s barn. It was in Murfreesboro.
In fact it was called City View Stables. Back then a lot of the barns were in town not out in
the countryside as they all are today.The first thing you remember about Sam's farm was
every single thing was painted red and White. The fenceing, the barn, the Truck, the tack
trunk, even the water and feed buckets. Sam's Cadillac was red with a white interior!
The first time we went to Middle Tennessee,1959, we went to Sam's. We were complete
strangers. He treated us like Kings. He spent several hours entertaining us. Setting Sun,
1958 World Champion, followed Sam around like a puppy dog with no halter or lead line.
Sam was an unusual trainer in that he only trained a few horses at any one time and spent
countless hours with each horse. I can only remember one amateur that had a horse in training
With Sam. Mr. Pat Kimbro from Georgia had Alvin with Sam. Sam was the most gracious host,
but at lunch he always went home and ate with his Mother! He was the consumate showman.
I'll never forget the throngs of people that followed him and his horses to all the shows. They
loved Mr. Sam as much as they loved Settin Sun, Beloved Belinda, Ebony Masterpiece, and
Sun's Delight.

Somethin I have always been told about Mr. Sam was his incredible memory for people's names and faces. It was said that if you met him he could always remember your name and when he met you.

Another thing peculiar about Mr. Sam was that he only showed in Middle Tennessee.
I can't recall seeing him anywhere more than 60 miles from Murfreesboro. I guess
he had to be home with his mother every night. He didn't have amateur riders that
wanted to go to the big shows like Montgomery , Baton Rouge, etc. His horse van
was very small. I think it only had room for 3 horses. He would pick his one night
shows in Middle Tennessee and carry one horse. I think he checked to find out
what the competition would be to keep his horse undefeated.

Hey Razor,back in '63 he ventured up to Cincinatti with Sun's Delight and if I remember right I think he brought Beloved Belinda along also.He beat Marvin Wilson and Black Southern Aire in the stake class,Marvin tied reserve but the crowd went crazy when they called Marvin's number.Southern Aire was the BEST I'd ever seen him that night.Oh and Sam's Momma was with him sitting railside.Sam was a SUPER showman as was Marvin and it was a GREAT class.

Sam Paschal did quite a bit of traveling as an ambassador to the breed it appears.

I've posted several old newspaper articles on here in the past that have Mr. Sam Paschal traveling quite extensively around the country promote his World Grand Champions. These are in the archive somewhere.

In 1958, Sam & Setting Sun traveled all over the country for exhibitions. One of note was in Middlesboro, Kentucky where he led the parade for the dedication of Cumberland Gap National Park.

In November of 1963, Paschal traveled to the Cow Palace in San Francisco, where he won the TWH stake with Stormy Midnight. I believe the horse was California-owned, if I'm not mistaken, and stayed in that state following the show. Later that year, he took Sun's Delight to Pasadena, California and rode him in the New Year's Day Parade of Roses. Sun's Delight's owner Fray Escue and his daughter also rode in the parade.

The retirement ceremony for Setting Sun was in Montgomery, Alabama. Sun's Delight was retired at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville. Not sure where Ebony Masterpiece was retired.

I also have a photo on here somewhere of Sam & Setting Sun winning a class at Fitzgerald.
I am guessing that's probably Fitzgerald, Georgia? That's a long way from Murfreesboro !!!

I did see Sam ride Suns Delight in the Rose
Parade. But I just don't recall seeing him show
Any of his World Grand Champions. Outside of
Middle Tennessee prior to winning the Celebration.
Maybe he did venture into Kentucky with Suns
Delight.Are there presentation pics in the archives?

According to the Walker's West website Fray Escue purchased Sun's Delight and put him with Mr. Sam late in the fall of '62. So he actually only showed him the '63 show season before winning at the Celebration in August. So there wasn't a lot of time for showing him out of Tennessee.

Razor, I think some of the articles have photos with them. Not sure exactly where they are.
Seems like one of em also had Sam winning the stake at Bowling Green, Ky with Ebony Masterpiece, but I'll have to look that one up also to be sure. I'm guessing Mr. Paschal probably didn't show far from home unless he had a customer that lived outside Tennessee.

Another early Middle Tennesse memory for me was the first time we visited Vic Thompson's Barn. It was in
1959. At that time Vic's barn was in shelbyville on Madison Street on the lot where the Duck River Electric Co-Op
now stands. As I remember the Barn was very close to the street with only just enought room to park cars between
the street and the barn. It was on an embankment. You had to go up 8 or 10 steps to get to the barn. The workout
area was behind the barn.There was not a lot of acerage there. Vic was his usual outgoing self. He took Sun's Jet
Parade, 1957 World Grand Champion, out of his stall so we could take pictures. He put my sister on Go Boy's Wonder,
1959 World Champion Pony. She road him in the hallway bareback with his tailset still on. We were thrilled. Vic had
a gruff exterior but he was very nice to us as strangers at the time.

Razor, was this the barn you speak of?

Smitty that looks like it. In '59 there were steps up to the front door and shrubs along the front wall. What's the story on this picture?

Razor,

That photo was part of an ad posted a few years back by one of our members. I recall him mentioning that this was Vic Thompson's old barn, if I'm not mistaken. The ad stated the name of the barn was Locust Valley Stables on Highway 41-A in Shelbyville. It was owned at that time by Mr. & Mrs. J.N. Burch and Willard Tenpenny was the trainer. This photo was taken around 1949, roughly ten years before you visited this location.

Razor, you have a very good memory for those old barns. I, too, visited Sam Paschal's barn as a child and was treated like royalty. I also remember Vic's barn being on the Tullahoma Hwy. His house was right across the street and at the time it was built, it was considered very opulent. By today's standards, it is just an ordinary house. Then he moved out on the Unionville Highway and built a large Southern style house. I noticed Sunday that that house is for sale. Mr. Sam's farm on the Franklin Road has one old barn still standing. There are houses built all around it. I keep thinking I will get a picture of it one of these day to post on here before it gets torn down in the name of progress as well. Mr. Pat's farm was across the road and down a bit from there and is all subdivisions now.

OGM. I remember when Sam bought that farm on the Franklin highway(96?)We were at his barn one day and he packed us all in his Cadillac and
road out there to show us his new farm. Everything was red and white there too! He was so proud of it. Now that you mention it, I do remember that
Pat Kimbro had a farm out there too.This was in the latter part of the 60s I think.

I know a tale about one of MIB's daddy's first visits to Vic's barn. But I better not tell it here - he might want to tell it though. I wish he would!

Looks like MIB is mum. So I will tell a story about one visit to Vic's barn.
It was a Friday. Vic and his men were getting ready for a one night show.
Horses were being washed, tack cleaned,and the truck packed. A man and
His "son" wandered In and watched the proceedings. The "son" was sitting
On the tack trunk. When it was time to load the trunk on the trunk,
Vic in is usual gruff voice said "boy get off that trunk and help put it
On the truck!" the man looked at Vic and said, " Vic, that's my daughter!"
First time I ever saw Vic speechless. He immediately turned and walked out
The end of the barn towards his house. He didn't return for several hours.

Now that is funny. The newspaper writer said Ebony's Darling Lady and Laura Brandon "trotted" to top honors.