Tennessee Walking Horse WGC

Every now and then a special bond occurs between a father and a daughter. It all began when my dad saw a Christmas promotion in the newspaper stating that Lowes home improvement store was giving away "Dusty" the pony on Christmas Eve, no purchase necessary. Dad was only 9 years old, but he got my grandmother to drop him off at Lowes the morning of the drawing. "And the winner of Dusty the pony is . . . Andrew Waites (my dad)!” Dad then got a job at a Tennessee Walking Horse stable where the owner agreed to board and feed Dusty in exchange for my dad’s working at the barn after school. Two years later, the owner took my dad to the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. It was then that my dad saw Reves Little Boy crowned World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Pony. My dad told himself that if he could ever afford a "real" walking horse, he would want it to be just like Reves Little Boy and win the Pony World Grand Championship. When I was around 8 years old, my dad took me to a Walking Horse barn. I loved riding the huge, high stepping show horses, so my dad bought me my first horse. No other thrill topped showing in a ring full of horses with a great audience watching, even though most of the time I came out without a ribbon. More importantly, showing provided a gateway for a father/daughter relationship unlike any other I know. I began to dream about winning a World Grand Championship. After several years, my dad presented me with Prime Poison, a spectacular horse and together we became the leading contenders for the Juvenile World Grand Champion Walking Pony. At the Celebration however, I was disqualified over a minor technicality. To make matters worse, I was the leading contender again the next year, and was once again disqualified for another minor infraction! Not giving up, I returned to the ring for a third and probably last time. This time, Prime Poison and I won the preliminary class and qualified for the World Grand Championship the