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From
the Back Cover --
It was Sunday, April
8, 1984, a beautiful Easter morning in south Texas, the morning of the
Masters Finals at the opulent Crawford Farms on the outskirts of Carrizo
Springs. It was a glorious day for Smart Little Lena shareholders and
for the CHA industry, a special day since the great stallion had once
again made history. Already he was the
first horse to win the CHA Triple Crown and that day he won the Masters,
adding yet another jewel to his crown. No other horse had won as many
major victories as Smart Little Lena. As cameras flashed in the arena,
Don Crawford, the owner of Crawford Farms and mastermind behind the
prestigious show stood visiting with his wife Laney and Karen and Bill
Freeman and Antoinette and Hanes Chatham, the masterminds behind the
Smart Little Lena syndicate. “As we talked about this impressive feat,”
began Hanes, “Don told us, ‘I know it was special to have won the Triple
Crown, but with this win, Smart Little Lena has done even more than
that. He’s won the Grand Slam!’”
The Grand Slam. In baseball, it is a home run hit with all three bases
occupied. In tennis or golf, it is the winning of all the major events.
Grand Slam means achieving the highest rung on the ladder, it means
becoming the crème de la crème of any profession. That April day in
1984, Smart Little Lena became the crème de la crème of the cutting
horse industry. He became the Grand Slam Champion.
Gala Nettles was the best author for a book featuring Smart Little
Lena’s show years since he was a subject she knew well. As a close
friend to all of the Freemans, Gala has listened to the tales about
Smart Little Lena as she enjoyed evening dinners in numerous Freeman’s
homes, shared in the joys as well as the grieves of the family, and
already written numerous articles and even books about them. Shorty
Freeman chose her to write his biography, Just Shorty, which naturally
paralleled the life of Doc O’Lena, the sire of Smart Little Lena. Bill
Freeman chose her to work
with him to produce the best selling instructional book Cutting,
Training the Horse and Rider and she wrote the coffee table book Doc
Bar, the sire of Doc O’Lena and the grandsire of Smart Little Lena. She
is, indeed, a walking library on the Freeman dynasty and the horses they
rode. In addition to personally knowing her subject matter, Gala also
personally knows the cutting horse industry. Besides writing for
numerous magazines and newspapers, she is
married to cutting horse trainer and Hall of Famer Ronnie Nettles,
providing hands-on experience in the very field in which Smart Little
Lena succeeded. Gala received her BA. Degree from Baylor University and
her M.A. Degree from Sam Houston State University. She has written 16
earlier books and eight instructional booklets.
Gala Nettles
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