Chesapeake Style Online

16
Accopatough~My Delicate Flower~Chieftain Of His Kingdom
By Paula Shipman
Accopatough is my
special friend. Bubba
is what we call him
and he is a huge but
gentle standardbred,
for the most part. Bubba can be
a bit temperamental—he is not
a horse for the inexperienced or
a wanna be horse person. When
we were breaking him, he would
only let me pick his back feet up to
be cleaned out. Gaining a horse's
trust is very important to me and
I never, ever want to do anything
to lose that trust once I have it.
e named Accopatough
belonged to Chief Accopatough,
the right-born and true king of the
Rappahannock Indian Tribe. Chief
Accopatough died in April of 1651.
One of Bubba's nicknames—
Delicate Flower—is for a reason.
Bubba is somewhat of a nervous
nelly. At Rosecroft Raceway,
in Maryland, I was getting
Stirseventimes, “Nutty”, ready to race
in the barn area and Bubba was in the
race paddock waiting for his race. Jan
came to the barn where Nutty and I
were. She had a ustered look on her
face and said, “Would you Please go
see your horse and calm him down?”
I laughed and headed to the
paddock to temper the wild beast and
as I walked in I could see he was being
a bad boy. He was throwing his head
up and down and wiggling all over the
place and the man who was hired to
stay with Bubba was about to have a
nervous breakdown. Bubba saw me,
nickered and calmed right down, just
like a little kitten.
I was so proud of
that moment!
Accopatough
($25,528), was
born in Warsaw
on May 28, 2003
and has a record
of pacing a mile at
Colonial Downs
as a four-year-old
in 1:52 at. He is
out of Fanci Nansi
($3,104) and sired
by Palmetto Dear
($271,541). Bubba's
Grand Sire, on his
Dam's side, Nansemond ($448,436)
defeated the remarkable Albatross
($1,201,470) in the 1971 Little Brown
Jug. It was the most surprising
upset in the Jug's 26 year history.
Albatross was Harness Horse of the
Year in 1971 and 1972 and at the time
of his retirement he was the richest
standardbred on the planet. On his
Sire's side
there is
Tyler's Mark
($289,100).
e blind
stallion,
Tyler's
Mark, sired
Four World
Champions
and a Little
Brown Jug
winner
in Nick's
Fantasy
($614,167).
e
foundation
mare
for this
family was
named Fly
and all that can be found on her
is a tattoo number 351836. Fly
dates back to the late 1800's.
Bubba's Great Grand Dam, Leta
Long ($9,321) born in 1940, who
produced the “King of Queens”,
Tar Heel ($119,148), was known to
be an ornery mare. Well, the apple
didn't fall far from the equine tree as
Bubba's Dam, Fanci Nansi, is quite
Spring 2013
possibly the most cantankerous
mare that I have ever worked with
in my entire life. I love Nansi, I just
don't necessarily like her every day.
Bubba and Nutty ($27,933), were
best buds as well as stablemates.
ey bunked across the shed row
from each other and were turned
out, on their days o, either in
adjoining paddocks or together.
Bubba was the most successful
of Nansi's ospring out of seven
living foals. His half sister, Two
Opals ($6,005), retired as a
harness horse and has found a
new vocation as a speed racking
horse. We called her Two Two,
and she was quite a character.
Bubba is just an over-grown lap
horse really. He does have a bit of an
attitude with some people, especially
blacksmiths, no matter who it is.
Bubba plays the role of a chief when
he is turned out with other horses.
Bubba raced his last race on
12/10/2011 at Rosecroft Raceway.
His last year of racing wasn't his
best, he was ready for a little rest
and recuperation. I hope to one day
be able to give him a permanent
home. I plan on breaking him
to ride this spring. I have sat on
him but that's pretty much as far
as it went because with Bubba
you have to take baby steps.
I can't say for sure if
his racing career is truly
over, only time will tell.
Full Circle is a USTA
program that connects
two or more people
with a shared concern for a horse
for the purpose of assisting that
horse if/when it is needed. Both
the American Quarter Horse
Association and Jockey Club have
similar programs. Email fullcircle@
ustrotting.com or call 877-800-8782.
From top left, Bubba, Bubba
and Paula, Two Opals. Paula
and Ryan Shipman photos.
pshipman@chesapeakestyle.com