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
Spring 2013 17