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World Grand Champion in
2001 |
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Pride's Jubilee Encore #912786 |
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It was a hometown
horse winning a hometown game, and whether the fans were from
Shelbyville or not, Encore was the buzz in the stands.
His is a story of hometown pride. Pride's Jubilee Encore is owned by
the partnership of Kay Dennis, Charles and Florence Terry, and Jerrold
Pedigo. His sire is the 1986 World Grand Champion Pride's
Jubilee Star, and his dam, Lady Fame, is equally as famous. She
is the dam of The Skywatch, Flashy Fame, Generator's Fame, and
numerous other talented horses. Shelbyville breeder Bonnie Woosley
bred Encore and still owns his dam.
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Long time walking
horse fans and Shelbyville residents Kay Dennis and her neighbor and
friend Mr. Filey Patterson purchased Encore as a three-year-old in
September of 1994. "Filey told me that we could own a few
average horses, or we could get serious and own one really good
horse," Kay Says, "So we went for it. Filey had seen Encore
earlier and knew he was the horse we need needed He was right, too. At
Encore's show in November of 1994, people were just wild about him."
Filey was right. Encore was a show horse through and through.
Under the direction of Shelbyville's Bill Bobo, Encore garnered
numerous wins in open and amateur competition. In 1995, he tied third
in the Celebration Stake. He's earned one of the top five ribbons each
of the three times he had been shown in the stake. He also
placed reserve to Masquerading in the 1997 Celebration in the Amateur
Championship with Kay in the saddle.
The pair owned Encore together until Filey's death in 1995.
Then, Filey's sister, Alla Mai Ray, became Kay's partner with Encore.
Over the next few years, Encore was in training with a few different
trainers. In 1999 Kay and Mrs. Ray selected Allan to oversee Encore's
career. Due to health reasons, Mrs. .Ray decided to sell her
interest in Encore last June. |
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Enter Charles
and Florence Terry, customers of Allan's for many years.
"I had seen Encore show over the years, although I hadn't seen
him work or show for about eight months I knew he was a good
horse," says Charles, "but I really bought him based on Allan's
reputation which is above reproach. Allan thought Encore was
under-rated. He believed the stallion had the deep
down makings of a World Grand Champion. He approached Jerrold
Pedigo about becoming a part of their dream as well, and a very
good partnership was farmed with Kay last June.
Allan never wavered that Encore
was World Grand Champion material The new partners realized that
much needed to be done if he was to be a serious contender.
Since he hadn't had a heavy show schedule, the public needed to
be reminded just what a good horse he was getting. A serious
campaign got underway to establish Encore's presence and make
his name a household word.
"We didn't have a lot of time, so we decided to approach it like
a political campaign," says Charles. There were buttons,
banners, billboards, and balloons with pictures of Allan and
Encore. Yard signs were set up all over the city, and
Shelbyville residents quickly rallied behind their hometown
horse. |
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Allan and Encore became the sponsor of
a race car in the Goodyear's Dash Auto Race Series, a preliminary
series for the Winston Cup Series. The car had a full action shot of
Allan and Encore painted on the hood. The same was also painted on the
side of the cars tractor-trailer. Not only did the car actually
race, it was on display near Encore's stall during both Saturday
nights of the show. Shelbyville residents loved it!
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One of the many reasons the 2001
National Celebration was extremely special for the residents of
Shelbyville and for fans of the Tennessee Walking Horse, was that it
was a true "hometown" horse who took control on stake night and
emerged victorious. Pride's Jubilee Encore is Shelbyville-bred,
Shelbyville-owned, and Shelbyville-trained. The fantastic
ten-year-old black stallion made a tremendous that Saturday night, as
he had the previously Saturday in the qualifying event. He was
the image of the perfect walking horse- His head was high and
set back, he had a deep striding walk that set him apart from the
other horses in the ring, and he walked the way a walking horse is
supposed to walk. He covered ground and he did it with flair. |
"It was probably
the best show of his life," says Encore's rider, professional
trainer Allan Callaway. "We had worked really hard to get
Encore working at the level needed for a stake horse. A
horse like that has to have the strength, ability and endurance to
do it, and not every horse has that stature. If it's there,
it can be brought out and developed. That's what happened
with Encore "
Allan knew what he was doing. Each time Encore circled that
ring, he kept getting better and better and better. The crowd kept
get getting louder and louder and louder as they decided who they
thought ought to be the World Grand Champion. When the
spotlight' landed on Allan and Encore, the crowd absolutely went
wild. |
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During stake night,
there was a live remote with a local radio station. There, the
partners gave away a free stud fee, polo shirts, hats and more to
excited fans. By the time the stake horses were ready to enter the
ring, fans were ready to roar. And they did!
"We could not have been more excited," said Jerrold Pedigo. "This was
a dream come true for all of us. It was a lot of hard work promoting
him and getting him ready for the stake, but it was definitely worth
it." |
Encore and Connie Painter,
who calls herself his number one fan.
Encore, Allan Calloway, and Connie => |
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Photos above contributed by Connie Painter of
Wicked Walkers.. |
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So, what are the
plans for this Shelbyville champion? According to the partners,
he and Allan will represent the industry at numerous events in the
coming year. He will also be retired from the show ring and
stand at stud. Already he has quite a few colts on the ground and
there are a handful of yearlings ready to start in the fall. Kay's own
three-year-old gelding, Encore Encore was Encore's first colt to go
under saddle. He has done extremely well in both amateur and
open competition with Allan and Kay riding. Expectations are
that his other offspring will carry on the family traditions.
"We believe that Encore is everyone's horse," says Charles
"We intend to promote Encore and his offspring very heavily to mare
owners, in the show ring, and at sales. While we haven't yet worked
out the details, we intend to show our appreciation and support to the
mare owners who select Encore."
Winning the stake is a dream come true for Allan and Encore's owners.
It's also a dream come true for Shelbyville. He's a true hometown
winner!
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If you wish to print off
this pedigree, click
HERE
to load a black and white copy. |
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If you have a story or photos of Pride's
Jubilee Encore
that you would like added to this page, please forward them to
Walkers West.
<==2000
2002==>
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