RPM 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 1999. As a four-year-old, RPM was sold for $1.25 million, estimated at the time to be the highest price ever paid for a Tennessee Walking Horse. RPM was trained by Bud Dunn, who also trained the horse's sire to a World Grand Championship in 1992.

Life and career

RPM was a

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

stallion sired by Dark Spirit's Rebel, the 1992 World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horse, and out of Ebony's Emmy Lou. As a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the ...

, RPM was sold to Pete Hammond and Bob Kilgore for $100,000 and put in training with Bud Dunn of

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 ...

, who had also trained Dark Spirit's Rebel. Dunn showed RPM to the three-year-old World Championship at the 1997

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 ...

and the four-year-old World Championship in 1998. The same year, RPM was entered in the open World Grand Championship and won reserve. Dunn was aiming RPM at the World Grand Championship the next year. However, in May 1999, RPM was sold to TR & N Partners for $1.25 million, making him one of only 5 Tennessee Walking Horses to ever be sold for over one million dollars. At the time, it was estimated that RPM's price might be the highest ever paid for a Tennessee Walking Horse. The new owners moved him to Sammy Day's stable 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 ...

. Shortly before the Celebration, Day was convicted of bribing a judge at a different show, fined and put on suspension. RPM was returned to Dunn's training and won the World Grand Championship. In 2000, RPM was retired to stud at Bridlewood Farm and then sold to Jaclyn Smith in 2005. Smith moved RPM to Rising Star Ranch near Shelbyville. RPM was found sick on the morning of July 20, 2005. He was being taken to the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

veterinary hospital Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both ...

when he died of an obstructed bowel caused by

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube (small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content ou ...

complications.

Pedigree

RPM is

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders an ...

3S × 3D to the stallion Pride of Midnight, meaning that he appears third generation on the sire side of his pedigree and third generation on the dam side of his pedigree. RPM is inbred 4D × 4D x 4D to the stallion

Ebony Masterpiece Ebony Masterpiece was a Tennessee Walking Horse stallion who won a World Grand Championship in 1962. After his show career he retired to stud, where he sired over 3,500 foals, six of which also became World Grand Champions. Life Ebony Masterpiec ...

, meaning that he appears thirce in fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.

References

{{Reflist Individual Tennessee Walking Horses World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horses