WHITE PINE, Tenn. - The Smoky Mountain Walking Horse Sale was the place to be on Friday and Saturday, February 22 and 23, 2002 if you wanted to see all kinds of horses and lots of people. The staff of the sale, held at The Great Smoky Mountains Expo Center in White Pine, Tenn. was extremely pleased with the event. It was evident that the Walking Horse industry is flourishing!
The bidding was brisk and competitive on everything from broodmares, yearlings, pleasure, spotted, racking and performance horses with plenty in every category. This year’s sale started on Friday at 2:00 p.m. instead of the customary 6:00 due to 291 horses being cataloged. A special session with two-year-olds was held on Saturday afternoon.
Cash’s Old Glory topped the sale and the bidding was very competitive with several wanting this top stallion and show horse that was presented by Jason Hughes of Chad Baucom Stables. Several rode the talented stallion as the bidding continued. When the bidding ceased, Cash’s Old Glory’s new owner was Green Valley Stables. Karen Rector stated that “Someone said that he was the highest priced walking horse to sell at public auction in 12 years.”
The reserve spot went to Major Affair, consigned by Scott Beaty for Carl Forte and was purchased by Bernie Duncan to be campaigned as his amateur mount under Kenny Lawrence’s direction. The top selling two-year-old and third overall in the sale was Sunfire’s Sunny Boy, ridden by Chad Baucom and purchased by Martha Neff.
The fall edition of the Smoky Mountain Sale is scheduled for Nov. 8-9, 2002 in White Pine, Tennessee. Sale statistics follow:
TOP FIVE AVERAGE $21,570.00
TOP TEN AVERAGE $14,210.00
TOP TWENTY AVERAGE $9,500.00
TOP FIFTY AVERAGE $5,623.00
TOP TEN LIST
Horse Consignor Buyer
1. Cash’s Old Glory Chad Baucom Green Valley Stables
2. Major Affair Scott Beaty Bernie Duncan
3. Sunfire’s Sunny Boy Chad Baucom Martha Neff
4. Ice Cold Ritz Jack Way Bill Dooley
5. My Evil Coin Kenny Lawrence Marcus Mitchell
6. My Southern Star Newton Parks Linda Stone
7. Front Page Generator Willis Stables Jack Morgan
8. Bo-Mar’s Ultimate Reality Tim Wheelon Donnie May
9. Peddler’s Play Time Groover Stables Sherri Mullins
10. A Major Factor David Landrum Larry Wheelon