everybody was hollerin' and throwin'
up their hats. Then the knights galloped around the ring once and went
out at the big gate, and come up and promenaded around the
amp'itheater with the gyirls they had crowned. The knight that got the
blue ribbon took off ten rings out o' the fifteen. He rode a mighty
fine horse, and Sam Amos, he says, 'I believe in my soul if I'd 'a'
been on that horse I could 'a' taken off every one o' them rings.' Sam
was a mighty good rider, and Milly used to say that the only thing
that'd make Sam enjoy ridin' more'n he did was for somebody to put up
lookin'-glasses so he could see himself all along the road.

"Well, the next thing on the program was the gentleman riders' ring.
The premium was five dollars in gold for the best gentleman rider. We
was waitin' for that to commence, when Uncle Jim Matthews come up, and
says he, 'Sam, there's only one entry in this ring, and it's about to
fall through.'

"You see they had made a rule that year that there shouldn't be any
premiums given unless there was some competition. And Uncle Jim says,
'There's a young feller from Simpson County out there mighty anxious
to ride. He come up here on purpose to git that premium. Suppose you
ride ag'inst him and show him that Simpson can't beat Warren.' Sam
laughed like he was mightily pleased, and says he, 'I don't care a rap
for the premium, Uncle Jim, but, jest to oblige the man from Simpson,
I'll ride. But,' says he, 'I ought to 'a' known it this mornin' so I
could 'a' put on my Sunday clothes.' And Uncle Jim says, 'Never mind
that; you set your horse straight and carry yourself jest so, and the
judges won't look at your clothes.' 'How about the horse?' says Sam.
'Why,' says Uncle Jim, 'there's a dozen or more good-lookin'
saddle-horses out yonder outside the big gate, and you can have your
pick.' So Sam started off, and the next thing him and the man from
Simpson was trottin' around the ring. Us Goshen people kind o' kept
together when we set down in the amp'itheater. Every time Sam'd go
past us, we'd all holler 'hurrah!' for him. The Simpson man appeared
to have a lot o' friends on the other side o' the amp'itheater, and
they'd holler for him, and the town folks was divided up about even.

"Both o' the men rode mighty well. They put their horses through all
the gaits, rackin' and pacin' and lopin', and it looked like it was
goin' to be a tie, when all at once the band struck up 'Dixie,' and
Sam's horse brok