Dave Clarke

[JPFASB]

Dave Clarke quietly passed away today at his home in Georgetown, Ky. He was
80 years old. He worked for many years for both Garland and Frank Bradshaw.
He was the only person who rode both WGC Lady Carrigan and WGC My My.
Dave was never a person to seek the limelight but he made and sold many top
horses. Fellow horsemen regarded him as a master horse trainer.
Josie Forbes

[canter]

Dear Josie,

Thank you so much for sharing with Trot.org. Mr. Clarke was truly a legend to all who knew him. He worked, taught and trained with the very best in the American Saddlebred industry.

May Mr. Frank and Mr. Garland hand over the reins to Mr. Dave for a few passes in our Show Horse Heaven.

God Speed, Mr. Clarke. My sincere sympathies to those close to his family and friends.

Most Sincerely,
Bess

[lshiely]

My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family. Some great ones have passed lately, some names we know well, and some that were not in print as often, and sometimes the hidden treasures are the ones the breed will miss the most, without even knowing how much they contributed.

[Sit]

I only spent time with Mr. Clarke one time, but it was memorable and seems like yesterday. We went to his barn with some friends who were looking at a three-year-old gaited mare. I think he owned her and she was being worked by a nice trainer we knew.

They put me up on the young gaited mare and after each trip up and down the aisle, Mr. Clarke said: "Rack her again! This time a little faster!" After a few trips, we were flying and that little bay mare was racking up a storm.

I asked him about the immortal MyMy and he told the story of the great mare and her demise and slow death over several days after her last win at Louisville. He was with her every moment. It was so very sad to hear the story, but so very touching too.

I asked about the great Lady Carrigan and he told us stories about her too. I asked about some of the other champions that Mr. Frank and Mr. Garland had, but all he would say about some of them was one dismissive word -- "Counterfeit!" It was clear that the two mares were just too great for him to allow any other horses to share their pedestals.

I am very sorry to hear of his passing and my sympathy is extended to his family. I'm honored to have spent some precious minutes with him in August 1998.

[Lucky]

I met Mr. Clark a few years ago not knowing of his employment history. He was working a driving horse outside in a farely small area. He did not use a whip and he never once asked the horse to trot. That horse was dripping wet and came back to the barn exhausted. It was amazing to watch him get so much out of that horse.

[PercussiveRider]

Mr. Clarke was a very good man. I first met him when I was about 12 years old at the Lexington Junior League. He had worked for my Grandmother and her father training their horses in the early days of his training career, and she was not expecting to see him at the show because she hadn't heard from him in about 30 years. She saw him, teared up and ran and gave him a great big hug. We talked for a few minutes and sometime during the show, he invited us out to see his barn. We got there and he said he had a horse ready and asked if I wanted to ride it. I was thrilled to do so. He put me on my first show horse, and the ride was amazing!!

He was such a nice man and he will be greatly missed by all that knew him. God bless him ad his family.

[KYBlue]

I met Dave about 15 years ago. It was always a treat to visit his barn on Saturday mornings and listen to his stories of Mr. Frank and Mr. Garland, and one in particular about how he got to warm Lady Carrigan up before her class at Louisville.

I always made a point to stand beside Dave when we were watching horses work. There was no better classroom in the world!

We were watching a Gaited Mare class at Lexington one year, and I noticed a big powerful mare that looked to be about the same color as My My. I said, "Dave does she remind you of My My? He said, "That mare is not as good as a bump on My My's butt!" I got the message!

When my son was born, Dave insisted that we use a crib that had been in his family for years. I thought that was pretty special.

If you wanted to find Dave at lunch time, the Plum Tree in Georgetown was a safe bet. I was in there last week, and found myself looking around the corner to see if Dave was at his usual spot.

I was in South Carolina during the memorial service, and regret that I was unable to attend. Dave will most certainly be missed. God Bless him and his family.

Lisa Duncan