Kentucky, Ohio & Indiana Memories

Bill used to down here to S C in January for the World Coon Hunt. Thousands of folks from all over the country come down for what is the coon dog hunters equivalent of the Celebration.
H T Derickson won it one year. They tell me dogs that can compete at the top level in that thing can sell for well into six figures.

I think Dry Ridge belongs on that list of unusual names for KY towns. So does Needmore. I forgot to look for Cadiz. One of my old long-lost college pals was from Cadiz.

Here's Reve's Little Boy & Sherri Deitz. Pound for pound, the best LITTLE horse there ever was in my opinion.
I have posted this same shot before, but in a much smaller size.


....and here's a magnificent head shot by Dixon.

Loved, loved, loved that horse. Remember how his mane used to flop with all that headshaking he did?

Yes, Graymare, I do remember how his mane tossed back in rhythm too I might add. Having ridden him once, I also remember having to put more pressure on the stirrups just to hang on, cause that little hoss's rear end dropped about 3 feet when you took off and his head was right back in your face.

Speaking of his mane, I have seen Reve in the cross-tie many, many times and always noticed his mane was shorn down on his neck further than most of the horses in Bob's stable back then. I notice the same thing again in the Dixon shot. It just occurred to me that because Reve had such a short, thick neck.........that MAYBE Bob was trying to uncover some of it to make it look longer or more attractive. ???????? Just a thought.

Not that Reve needed any help. We all know he did not.

Those of you who are familiar with downtown Lexington, Ky will relate to this shot.
That is Court Day downtown at Cheapside, next to the Courthouse.

Wow. That was right on the cusp of cars taking over from horses as primary transportation. Plus, talk about "you couldn't stir 'em with a stick." :)

This is one of the nicer stud shots I've ever seen. Almost looks like a Saddlebred at first glance. I like this horse's head and neck, stance, look in his eye and also the background of the photo. This was Chief Wabash, a horse B.C. Cotton stood at his farm in Dry Ridge, Ky. He was a direct son of Midnight Sun and out of a mare by Gold Bond. That's Mr. Cotton's house in the background, I think.

This PORTRAIT was done by Shirley Paulette, who made all walking horses look like saddlebreds. Remember the one of Pride of Midnight! She also did one of Sandra Wilson on an amatuer mount. Her dad was Ralph Paulette a 40's photographer.

Yes, that was Mr. Cotton's house. Mrs. Cotton was my class's first- and second-grade teacher. She was one of my favorites. And, of course, I used to see her at the horse shows.

She was so generous that, when it came time for us to photograph our class's "Senior Superlatives" (Most Likely to Succeed, etc.) for the school yearbook, she let us bring a photog into her home. We set up some great shots. To give you an example, "The Funniest" was of the two supposedly chasing each other up the stairs (the girl had the broom.)

Unfortunately, the photog (an outside hire) messed up, so there were NO usable photos from that day. (38 years later and, yes, I'm still ticked off about it. Thwarted editors are like elephants - we never forget. )

But the home was beautiful.

Rambler,

Wasn't Mr. Cotton's farm right next to the interstate (I-75)? I haven't been up that way in a while, but I seem to recall seeing that house, and maybe a barn. As for N. Kentucky, Burlington was one of my favorite horse shows. Also, I just had a flashback............I remember spending the night in Florence during that show and going to see "Star Wars" for the first time at the movie theatre there with several other "juvenile auxiliary" members, chaperoned by none other than Miss Terri (Rayburn) Mosely. When Star Wars first came out, it was unheralded and unpromoted..........nobody flocked to see it, except us of course. It took several weeks for the hoopla about this movie to get around....

Smitty - It wasn't very far from I-75, but it was right on US 25, just north of Dry Ridge. You could see the house not too far from the road. His neighbor to the north toward Crittenden was the state police barracks.

I saw Star Wars before it hit big, too. I wouldn't have gone on my own (sounded gory, says the lady who now watches CSI in HD while eating dinner.) But my date insisted that it wouldn't be gory, so off we went. He was right, but he wasn't Mr. Right.

Burlington was my FAVORITE horse show, too. I loved all the variety. It must have been one of the last shows to still have a western parade class with several entries. Loved all that cowboy bling. One of my faves was a blood bay whose rider wore all white and silver. I'd always thought I was forever a palomino girl, until I saw that shiny bay.

Speaking of girls, here's a real "chick note" -- One of the beauty queen ribbon girls that night wore this pink and silver tunic evening pants set that looks like those pant-and-tunic combos that you sometimes see Pakistani women wearing. I'd never seen anything like that before (this was about 1969 or '70). I thought that was the coolest outfit EVER.

One of my long-time favorite memories seared forever in my brain is her in that outfit giving the ribbon to that glittering bay.

The Super Sport & Billy Ray Parrish. Winners of the Kentucky Celebration in 1969. (See above results)
He was a full brother to The Super Stock, I think.

Never heard of the rider, but did Emmy Downs own the horse at this time?

Billy Ray Parrish trained at Mallard Farms of Georgetown, Ky. Had some pretty decent stock, it appears. Don't know what became of him, as he seemed to disappear about the time I got into the biz. Emmy Downs of Louisville did own The Super Sport at this time. If you will check the above results, you'll see that she won the ladies class at that same show. I think Bill Sledge had The Super Sport later and I also remember Ronnie Vincent having him and standing him at stud near Bowling Green. I think he carried the flag on him one year at the Ky Celebration. The Super Sport was a reserve World Champion Three-Year-Old, tying right behind Ace's Sensation.

Didn't Mack Motes have the Super Sport at one time????

Deedy I know that you remember Mac having him for Emmy Downs ---- don't you?

I suppose yall are right about Mack having him. I was just getting into it at that time. Just a pre-teenager, if you can believe that. I have to rely on documentation on anything before 1973.......that's where you guys come in !!!

In looking at the Ky Celebration results above, I notice several things:

• Buddy Kirby is training for Claude Brown
• Tom Cottle is training for Herb Roberts
• Petie Warren made the trip up from Tennessee
• Bob McQuerry had some good horses for S.M. Tutt of 3T Farms
• Berry Coffee showed, not sure who he was training for at the time
• H.T. Derickson & Billy Jackson showed in the Amateur class
• Holly Liddell, James Farris, Vickie Hensley and Debbie Wells showed in the pony class
• Deedy Whittemore's name was Deedy Saufley
• Bobby Burton was training for the Liddells at Continental Stables in Louisville
• Tony Martin was training the Dericksons at Van Bert Farms, Stanton, Ky
• A.R. Gordon had some nice horses

All of this is news to me. I was only 8 years old at that time.

I was looking at the Lexington picture and it sure does not resemble the Lexington I knew. Bobo always brought horses to the Lexington show and Hill and I always came too. I remember one year on our way in there was a tornado. We had already arrived; but the horses were still enroute. I was worried to death about them...I could have cared less about myself. We lost all power at the hotel (I think it was a Ramada) there was a Holiday Inn beside of us. The hotel staff sent everyonew to the basement in a big conference room with flashlights. After the tornado passed over we were allowed back upstairs; everything was pretty well intact at our hotel; but over at the Holiday Inn a portion of the back was missing. Had just disappeared. That was my first experience with a tornado...sort of shook me. Bo called us and said they were safe...had taken shelter at a barn somewhere on the outskirts of Lexington. Funny thing...I was never scared for anything but Hill....that's a kid for you!

Hill, what Lexington Show would that be? Was that when the Jr. League offered Walking classes???
Sorry, but I don't remember Lexington ever having a big show, except a couple at the Horse Park in the 80s.

Yes; I think it was called the Jr League Show. It would have been in the late '60s. I think we showed on a portioned off section of a roadster track. We also showed in Louisville once; but I don't remember it well. We showed in Lexington several times.