Ebony's True Grit is horse champ

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The 1975 world champion walking horse, Ebony's True Grit, came up the hard way in competition. But the 8 year old bay stallion's owners have been involved in walking horse competition less than five years. Ebony's True Grit won the grand championship walking horse stake Saturaday night to climax the 37th annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. Ridden by Joe Fleming and owned by Long Leaf Stables of Shelbyville and Chatom, Ala., he took the coveted title over Shades of Carbon, wihch was sold last week for $300,000. True Grit is the third world champion sired by Ebony Masterpiece, the world champion in 1962. Last year he was runnerup in the big stallion class and the grand championship after finishing in sixth place in the aged stud class and seventh in the grand championship in 1973. His owners, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Wilcox, all of Chatom, Ala., said they have been involved in walking horse competition for four or five years. Earlier this year, True Grit on the stallion class at Jackson, Miss., but lost the championship to High Chapparal. Fleming, 24, became the champion's trainer-exhibitor last fall. He will be retired at the South Championship Horse Show in Montgomery, Ala., in November and will begin stud duty next year, his owners said.