In the late 1960’s there were several saddle clubs in the mid-south area, each holding their own shows, but there was no place for amateur riders to experience mid-level amateur horse shows. SASCA, the Southern Amateur Saddle Club Association, was created to fill that niche. The organization grew so rapidly soon it had to be divided into two groups, side A and side B. Horse shows started at 6 p.m. on Saturday nights and there were so many entries, they often lasted until well into the early morning hours. The shows offered a variety of classes: western pleasure, barrel racing, flags, saddle horse classes, and more.
On October 12, 2013, members of SASCA, and their families, who had shown from 1965 to 1975 were invited to get together for a reunion. Glen and Julie Hatchett offered to have it at their spread, near Rossville, TN. And June Trusty was trusted to get names, addresses, and start sending out invitations. As the date for the reunion approached, over 200 people from multiple states had RSVP’d to attend.
The idea for the reunion came as Glen Hatchett and Bob Smith were talking about old friends after a funeral they had just attended. They had just lost an old horse showing friend and started wondering what happened to their many other horse show friends when they were active in SASCA. “So we decided to get together with them before we lost another one,” Glen explained. Thus was born the idea of a reunion of folks who had actively been showing in SASCA in its early years. “There are a lot of folks here that I haven’t seen in 40 years,” Bob said. “Back then, folks showed the same horse in everything – western pleasure, barrels, flags, speed events. We all rode the same horse in various events,” Bob and Glen explained. Diamond was Glen’s horse.
Several saddle clubs were represented, including Graceland, Briarwood, Frontier, and more. “There were riders from wide variety of disciplines represented,” said June Trusty. “Every class that SASCA offered was well represented.”
There was a wide range of age groups represented, too. Bill Spence and Laverne Lamphere represented the oldest attendees, while the youngest were June’s grandson Jackson, age two, and Glen’s granddaughter from Texas, age 6 months.
Leesa Micci, her two-year-old grandson Lawson Stafford, and her mom, Laverne Lamphere, represented three of the four generations of her family who have been showing SASCA. Her daughter Tara Stafford could not attend because she was showing at a barrel race that day.
The SASCA folks continue to gain members on their facebook page. If you want to learn more about the group, see June’s photos from reunion, old photos from the shows, or join, visit SASCA Saturday Night Horse Shows on facebook. There is also a SASCA facebook page with information about current shows.
On October 12, 2013, members of SASCA, and their families, who had shown from 1965 to 1975 were invited to get together for a reunion. Glen and Julie Hatchett offered to have it at their spread, near Rossville, TN. And June Trusty was trusted to get names, addresses, and start sending out invitations. As the date for the reunion approached, over 200 people from multiple states had RSVP’d to attend.
The idea for the reunion came as Glen Hatchett and Bob Smith were talking about old friends after a funeral they had just attended. They had just lost an old horse showing friend and started wondering what happened to their many other horse show friends when they were active in SASCA. “So we decided to get together with them before we lost another one,” Glen explained. Thus was born the idea of a reunion of folks who had actively been showing in SASCA in its early years. “There are a lot of folks here that I haven’t seen in 40 years,” Bob said. “Back then, folks showed the same horse in everything – western pleasure, barrels, flags, speed events. We all rode the same horse in various events,” Bob and Glen explained. Diamond was Glen’s horse.
Several saddle clubs were represented, including Graceland, Briarwood, Frontier, and more. “There were riders from wide variety of disciplines represented,” said June Trusty. “Every class that SASCA offered was well represented.”
There was a wide range of age groups represented, too. Bill Spence and Laverne Lamphere represented the oldest attendees, while the youngest were June’s grandson Jackson, age two, and Glen’s granddaughter from Texas, age 6 months.
Leesa Micci, her two-year-old grandson Lawson Stafford, and her mom, Laverne Lamphere, represented three of the four generations of her family who have been showing SASCA. Her daughter Tara Stafford could not attend because she was showing at a barrel race that day.
The SASCA folks continue to gain members on their facebook page. If you want to learn more about the group, see June’s photos from reunion, old photos from the shows, or join, visit SASCA Saturday Night Horse Shows on facebook. There is also a SASCA facebook page with information about current shows.
