reposted from T-G

A community effort recently saved the tombstone of a former world grand champion Tennessee walking horse.

Ebony's Threat's Professor was owned by Dr. Bob and Curtice McCloy and was trained by Ronal Young. He was the 1993 4-year-old world grand champion. He died Aug. 2,1994, from complications of colic. He was brought home from the clinic and laid to rest at Ronal Young's Stables on Highway 64 West.

The McCloys have a deep passion and love for the Tennessee walking horses, especially their own, as well as Ebony's Threat's Professor. They still own A Strong Dollar and Generator's Silver Dollar. They built a beautiful headstone for Ebony's Threat's Professor's headstone with his name etched and painted on one side and on the other side a hand-painted portrait of their beloved horse and trainer, with date of birth and death etched underneath.

Link Webb bought the Ronal Young Stables property and continued to care for the stone. Then the barn was sold. The headstone was put on Craigslist for sale for $400. Elizabeth Hord-Hallauer and Christopher Givens with Chris Givens Stables of Murfreesboro agreed the monument needed to be saved.

The headstone was moved to a new location for storage last week. (T-G Submitted photo)

Elizabeth Hord-Hallauer contacted Tanya Hopper, who then contacted the McCloys and met Beth Lawwell, Young's daughter. Hord-Hallauer called and secured the sale of the headstone.

The Lawwells went to work on how to move the headstone. Beth reached out to Doak-Howell Funeral Home, who donated their truck to move the monument. Farrier Jerry Lewis paid for the labor. The McCloys repaid Hord-Hallauer for the monument and agreed it should be donated to The Tennessee Walking Horse Museum. Francis Bates and several Wartrace residents are working on moving the headstone to a yet-to-be determined location in Wartrace.

The McCloys agreed they wanted to leave their horse buried where it originally laid by the barn.

-- Submitted by Elizabeth Hord-Hallauer to T-G