Equine Obituary - WC Call Me Ted
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
World Champion, Call Me Ted, was laid to rest at Southbrook Plantation, home of Dr. and Mrs. Dale Cannon, Jr., in Sumter, SC on February 21, 2011.
Call Me Ted was out of a Pusher mare and sired by the beautiful bay stallion, Ted Williams. In the winter of 2008, Rae Martin assisted in the sale of Call Me Ted to Larry McLaughlin. He was featured on the Walking Horse Chat's Freak of the Week. Under the direction of Rae Martin, Call Me Ted won his first blue ribbon at Fayetteville, Tenn. with Sam Martin in the irons. Martin again made an outstanding ride at the 2008 Celebration and earned the title of Two-Year-Old Gelding Reserve World Champion.
He was acquired by Dr. Dale and Emma Lee Cannon of Sumter in the fall of 2008 for the amateur ranks and remained in training with Martin Training Center. Emma Lee made her debut on Call Me Ted at the Carolina Classic Horse Show in Easley, SC making the blue ribbon ride in the Two-Year-Old Amateur class.
Call Me Ted's first victory as a three-year-old was at the South Carolina Ladies Auxiliary Horse Show in April 2009 again with Cannon in the irons. At the Land O’ Sky horse show in Ashville, NC, Call Me Ted continued to be competitive in the open division as Sam Martin took the blue in the Three-Year-Old Mare & Gelding class. Call Me Ted and Martin entered the ring at the 2009 Celebration in the Three-Year-Old Gelding class on opening night. Out of 19 horses, Call Me Ted received a fourth place ribbon, earning two first place ties.
Wednesday night, September 2, 2009, Call Me Ted won the title of Three-Year-Old Amateur Mare & Gelding World Champion. He was the first offspring of Ted Williams to obtain a World Championship title. It was also the first World Championship for Emma Lee Cannon.
In December of 2009, Call Me Ted was awarded with the 2009 Amateur Three-Year-Old Gelding of the Year and Reserve Three-Year-Old Gelding of the Year. He also was voted by readers of the Walking Horse Report and The Scoop as Three-Year-Old Amateur Gelding of the Year and Three-Year-Old Reserve Gelding of the Year.
"Call Me Ted had a unique presence in the show ring and loved the camera. He will be greatly missed. A special thank you to Larry and Dale for making Ted available to me and to Rae and Sam for the countless hours of training that brought him to perfection. And thanks to all who supported and cheered for Ted during his career. You all made this a once in a lifetime dream come true," said Cannon.