Kentucky, Ohio & Indiana Memories

Smitty, did you hear that the KY Celebration has been cancelled for this year?

First I heard that news. I'm kinda "out of the loop" up here! I checked the story on the WHR and the reason given was "economic conditions". I am assuming they mean general economic conditions or maybe KWHA economic conditions or maybe even both (?)

Times are indeed tough, but other shows are going on. I find that reason hard to fathom.

Cancelled? I thought they'd moved it to July this year. A while back, I saw where they got it out of that week before the WEG, the usual week of the show. Hotel rooms woulda been nut$y expen$ive if they'd kept it then.

Go Boy's Merry Maid & Chuck Finney of Ripley, Ohio, which is right across the river from Kentucky.
Not a great action shot, but this pony was a Reserve World Champion Walking Pony in 1976 with Kelly Dunaway riding.

Papa's Last Son & Bob McQuerry

B. Major Wilson & Marvin Wilson

I'm Johnny Be Good & Sam Sorrell


I'm Johnny Be Good with Sam & Company after his Celebration win

Horse show ring, Shelbyville, Ky, 1940

Far be it from me to suggest any kind of diversion from our Trivia site, but I imagine Fran would appreciate any Kentuckians chiming in on her blog with ideas for side-trips for visitors to the WEG.

http://www.discoverhorses.com/blogs/feis-50-days-weg-video-alltechs-dr-pearse-lyons-kentucky-may-not-be-aachen-it-will-be-wonderful.htm-0

When you read her article, you'll see where she suggests visitors ride a walking horse. If you have a farm that would welcome WEG visitors and is an easy drive from Lexington, you might want to post some contact info in her comments section.

You'll probably have to register (it's free). I posted some info about Harrodsburg, but I'm not as familiar with, say, Woodford County or Frankfort or Cynthiana or many other areas that might make a good day-trip from Lexington, especially of non-horse related things.

Midnight Sun's Beau & Tom Cottle

The Owingsville Lions Club Horse Show
One of the Country's Best for 65 Years
Linda Denton • Mon, Jun 28, 2010

     It’s “Hoss Show Time!”  That’s been the cry for the first week of July for as long as I can remember.   In fact, the Owingsville Lion’s Club Horse Show has been around a lot longer than I can remember.   It all began in 1944.  By 1948, it was held only on July 4th, but there were two shows that day, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.  The Lions Club didn’t keep track of how many attended the afternoon show that year, but estimated the evening crowd at approximately 2000.  From there, things only got bigger, with a wide variety of breeds and riding or driving styles in competition, making the show a major attraction for both spectators and exhibitors, and a rare tourism boon for Bath County for the last 65 years.   Over those years, the afternoon shows were dropped, but the evening competitions gradually expanded to four nights, running from July 1st through the 4th.   This year, we’ve dropped back to three nights with the opening night on July 2nd.       
    You will, presumably, be hearing all about that in the next few days, from a variety of sources.   In this column, however, we’ll focus on some of the Owingsville Lion’s Club Horse Show’s rich history, specifically those top-of-the-decade-years, 1950, ’60, ’70, ’80, ’90, and 2000.
     In 1950, the Club’s sixth year in the horse show business, things were growing by leaps and bounds.   New stables were added to the park with the addition of a second barn, and Kendall Springs Road, which up to that point had been gravel, was blacktopped in time for the horse show.   Dr. A.B . Plummer, of Millersburg, judged all but the jumping class, a job handled by Mrs. John P. Lair, of Cynthiana.   Instead of the organist that we’ve been accustomed to over the last several decades, music for those two nights was supplied by the Mt. Sterling High School Band.  Charming Melody, out of Grayson, with E.R. Back up, won the 5-gaited Stake.  The 3-Gaited Stake was won by the DeAtley & Combs entry, Montgomery McDonald ridden by Earl Combs.  The Junior 5-Gaited Stake, an opening night feature, was won by Highland Flower Girl, owned by Dr. W. A. Graham and ridden by Arthur DeAtley.  Country Bill Allen, ridden and owned by Bethel’s Stock Dicken, took the Bath County Walking Horse Stake. 
     If you’ve gone to the horse show over the years, you’ll probably remember Jimmy Richardson saying something like, “It doesn’t rain on the Owingsville Lions Club Horse Show, this is just a heavy mist.“   It might have been pouring cats, dogs, chickens, and geese, but it was,  “just a heavy mist,” and the show went on regardless.  In 1960, though, the weather must have been really untenable because for the first time in its 16-year history, the show, featuring 27 classes, was postponed a day because of rain, and was held on July 4th and 5th, instead of the 3rd and 4th.   According to the newspapers of the time, the Owingsville show was bringing in some of the best horses in the nation, a fact attributed then, and in the years since, at least in part, to the proximity of the Lexington Junior League show which comes up shortly after the fourth.  J.H. Sommerville managed the show that year and winners included Strawberry, owned and ridden by Sharpsburg’s Wick Shields in the Bath-County-Pleasure-Horse Class…Miss Giant Killer, owned and driven by Charles B. Shaffer, of Miami Florida, won the Roadster Stake…King-of-Spring, with Tom Byron up, won the 5-Gaited-Horse-Shown by-an-Amateur class…Alluring Lady, owned and driven by Dr. H.C. Holton, of Florence, won the class for Fine-Harness-of Any-Age-or-Sex ...and the Fancy-Turnout-Pony class was won by Miss Kentucky, of Flemingsburg’s Lakewood Pony Stables , shown by Donnie Carpenter and Henrietta Doyle.
     The 26th annual Lions Club Horse Show in 1970, boasted a record crowd of over 5-thousand, in spite of the fact that the park was soaked by rain just hours before opening night festivities.  Marshall Coyle was the ringmaster, and Miss Bath County, Henrietta Colliver, and her court were on hand to present ribbons and awards.  Royal Command, owned by Oak Crest Stables, of Marietta Georgia, won the 5-Gaited Championship with Steve Oki up.  Their ribbon was presented by Dottie Lawson, while the D.C. Dotson Memorial Trophy was presented by Tom, Joe, and Champ Maze.  Richmond’s Sun Dust Go Boy, owned by Janice Reeves and ridden by veteran trainer Bob McQuery, won the Grand-Championship Walking Horse Stake as well as the L.E. Richardson Memorial Trophy;
      There don’t seem to have been any earthshaking developments for the 1980, 1990, or turn-of-the-century shows.  The Ringmaster in 1980 was Tom Byron.  Congressman Carl Perkins, who had the honor for years on end of crowning Miss Bath County, did the honors for new queen, Lisa Highley.   She and her court were escorted by Mark Swartz and Randall Crouch.  Members of the queen’s court included Colleen Bromagen, Leslie Taul, Kerry Jane Suttles, Kim Ritchie, Becky Razor, Nell Conway, and Melissa Manley.  The night’s top honors went to Delight’s Eight Ball, with Jumbo Boyd up, in the Grand Championship Walking Horse Stake.  The proud owner was Lexington’s Lyda Caudill…Sweet Georgia, owned by Pendleton Land and Explorations, of Denver Colorado and ridden by Bob Gatlin, won the 5-Gaited Grand Championship, while Marsha Slaughter, on board Dream On, took the Championship-Boy-or-Girl-Rider class.   
     Record crowds were once again on hand for 1990’s 4-night show.  By that time, rider and trainer Bob McQuery had become a regular exhibitor at what was one of the country’s most well-known and prestigious horse shows.  That year, he and Ebb’s Black Charger won the Championship Walking Horse Stake for the third year in a row.  Tommy Clouse, on board Lassiter, took the blue in the 3-Gaited Championship Stake for Mr. and Mrs. Lanny Geer of East Bernstadt.   Donnie May rode Magic Menace to victory in the Racking Horse (Style Only) class for owners Arland and Janice Downey of Greensburg.      
     By the year 2000, the Lions Club had 56 years in the horse show business.  Things were still going well with four nights of competition featuring some of the country’s best horses and riders.  The Grand Championship Walking Horse Stake that year was won by Major Splash ridden by Rodney Dick of Columbia Tennessee’s Twin Hills Training Facility, while on the amateur side, Kayla Lilly aboard Lady, won the class for Juvenile-Pleasure- for-Riders-13-and-Under. 
     To find out more about horse shows of the past, visit your local library and look for Tom  Byron’s book on the subject, or check out my notebooks on May Day which include the horse show because Miss Bath County and her various courts play a part in that too.

smitty wrote:

I saw Tom show at Owingsville summer before last. He is still training somewhere in Ky......I THINK. Believe he might have been training up in northern K-Y for a while. Cadillac will know for sure if I can find her.......

tom cottle, he is in mt.Sterling ,ky been there Quite awhile, still training and alive and well,

Good to hear that Corky. He has always been a fine horseman and rode some good ones.
Two I remember were Grand Copy and Major's John Boy. I know he rode some top stock for the Roberts in Irvine as well, but that was a little before my time. I'll see if I can find some more photos.

The Deacon & Paul "Whitey" Whitehead in 1968

Roger Beau & H.T. Derickson

Threat's Black Magic & Tom Cottle

Go Boy's Midnight Rambler & Carolyn Cole

1967 Owingsville Show Results

I heard a couple of days ago that the Owingsville show was going to be discontinued, anyone know if that is true?

Haven't they had some Gov. problems in the last couple yrs. That will do it .

Tarquin & Mose Oppenheimer

I always wanted to ride that horse.

Tarquin was a pretty good little hoss no matter what trainer he was with.I'll never forget the nite Don Galloway won the 15.2 class at the Cele. with him.

I asked Frankie about Owingsville and she said that the person who manages the show said (how about that chain of "saids"??) that as long as they were in charge, the show would continue.