Dark Spirit's Rebel was a

Tennessee Walking Horse The Tennessee Walking Horse or Tennessee Walker is a horse breed, breed of gaited horse known for its unique four-beat running-walk and flashy movement. It was originally Horse breeding, developed as a riding horse on farms and plantations in t ...

who won a World Grand Championship in 1992. Nicknamed Rebel, the horse was trained by

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

resident Bud Dunn. After his show career was over, Rebel sired the 1999 World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horse,

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

Life

Dark Spirit's Rebel was a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

foaled in 1984, sired by Pride's Dark Spirit and out of Bridle-Vale Penny. He was bred by

Harlinsdale Farm Harlinsdale Farm is a historic district in Franklin, Tennessee that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. It dates from c.1900 and had other significant dates in 1935 and 1945. Its main horse stable, the centerpiece of ...

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020 Uni ...

, the former home of the notable sire and show horse

Midnight Sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...

. He was sold to Frank and Shirley Neal at Harlinsdale's 13th annual production sale.

Career

Dark Spirit's Rebel was initially trained by Ramsey Bullington, who had previously won one World Grand Championship. In 1990 he was moved to Dunn and Son Stables in

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner, and had a population of 40,184 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Florence is l ...

. The Neals initially planned to have Steve Dunn train and show Rebel, but he was concentrating on another horse and Rebel was paired with Steve's father, Bud Dunn. Dunn entered Rebel in the 1992

Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration (TWHNC), sometimes known as the Celebration, is the largest horse show for the Tennessee Walking Horse breed, and has been held annually in or near Shelbyville, Tennessee since its inception in 19 ...

, where the pair won the preliminary class before entering the World Grand Championship. Dark Spirit's Rebel was the favorite in a class of 13 horses, and when he won the record crowd of 28,000 began screaming his name. The win was the first World Grand Championship for 74-year-old Dunn, who had been training horses for over 40 years. In an interview after the win, Frank Neal noted that, while he was proud of owning a World Grand Champion, "We are even prouder of the fact that our horse finally enabled Bud Dunn to accomplish this." The owners also commented that 13 was a lucky number for Dark Spirit's Rebel; he was the 13th horse purchased at Harlinsdale Farm's 13th production sale, had the 13th stall in Dunn's stable, and arrived in

Shelbyville, Tennessee Shelbyville is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Bedford County, Tennessee. The town was laid out in 1810 and incorporated in 1819. Shelbyville had a population of 20,335 at the 2010 census. The town is a hub of the Tennessee Wa ...

(location of the Celebration) 13 days before the World Grand Championship, among other examples. After his show career, Dark Spirit's Rebel sired a limited number of foals. Among them was

, who won the 1999 World Grand Championship, ridden by Bud Dunn.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Dark Spirit's Rebel and Bud Dunn at the 1992 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration
Individual Tennessee Walking Horses 1984 animal births Individual male horses World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horses