| SPIRIT OF MIDNIGHT came to the
Celebration in 1959 and in a class of 52 two year-olds, won second
behind SHADOW'S HEADMAN. In 1962 he came back to Celebration
and won third behind MACK K's HANDSHAKER EBONY MASTERPIECE, both of
which became World Grand Champions. In 1963, SPIRIT won third
in the Aged Stallion Class behind SUN'S DELIGHT and TRIPLE THREAT,
both future World Grand Champions.
Although SPIRIT
never did win the Grand Championship he did furnish his trainer,
Steve Hill with some pleasant moments. One such incident involved
Steve's close friend Pluck Miller. As Steve remembered the incident
he, Steve, was riding SPIRIT at the barn when Pluck Miller drove up.
Like most horsemen Pluck had some suggestions to offer as to the
proper training routine. Pluck yelled out, "Steve, flat walk the
horse, you hold him too tight, let him relax." Steve knew some
things about SPIRIT that Pluck didn't know. "I had a big long bit on
him and it was already bent straight. I had two curbs on him so if
one broke he couldn't take to the woods, so I said, "Get on him
Pluck, he's working good now, show me how to ride him."
Pluck liked the idea and replied, "Yeah, let me ride him." Pluck was
anything but an amateur when it came to riding horses, having ridden
most of his adult life. The thing was, Steve didn't tell Pluck to
hold his feet away from SPIRIT.
Pluck mounted the horse, put his feet close to the stallion's side
and off they went into the wild blue yonder. As SPIRIT made his way
around the ring Pluck's feet gripped tighter and tighter and the
tighter he gripped, the faster SPIRIT went. As the horse rounded the
corner Pluck yelled "Let me off, let me off. Catch him." From the
sidelines Steve counseled "Don't fight him, just relax and let him
do his thing." All the time the horse was getting faster and faster.
Pluck kept yelling, "Stop him! Stop him!, now come on this is not
funny."
Steve then told Pluck to take his feet away from the horse's side,
lighten up on the reins and say WHOA! The horse responded as Steve
believed he would. "Now I want to see you take him around the ring
in a running walk," Steve instructed Pluck. Pluck replied, "I'll
quit telling you how to ride him, I wouldn't ride him again around
that ring for anything."
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