Aiken County Rambler from Aiken, South Carolina • Page 15

AlKflttOUNTY RAMBLER, 23, Clearwater Family Loves Barrel Racing Horse and rider stand momentarily like a coiled spring at the entrance to the ring. Then with a flick of the whip and a shout they catapult into the arena, round a barrel at the far end, and race out in a matter of 10 to 15 seconds. This the Western Barrel Race, which delights kids and adults in a crowd. Hair-raising Western events have become increasingly popular at area horse shows. They provide a thrill for those who may not be knowledgable about the finer points in judging gaited, walking and pleasure horses.

C.D. (Jack) Giacobone and his 9-year-old son, Anthony, of Clearwater recently returned from the Georgia State Quarter Horse Barrel Race finals with three of the top trophies. Anthony wdn- the junior title in the Pole Bend -'in which the horse skids around poles placed 21 feet apart and the Basket Weave, in which the rider weaves in out between five baskets. His father's horse Sir Diamond, ridden by Billy Dye, won the Arene Race Championship. Good times for negotiating a "clover-leaf pattern" are 19.10 to 19.20 seconds, Giacobone said.

Jack began competing in Western events about 10 years ago, He had always had a as a lad, and also had a trail horse which he enjoyed riding out from his semi- ruralhome off Pine Log Road. He has since acquired five top quarter horses Cherokee, a Anthony in Barrel Racing and Bending Contests on Cherokee, 23-Year-Old Veteran 23-year-old veteran which Anthony Georgia. Giacobone's wife Susan and daughter Kendra, age 3, are strong supporters, although they do ride in shows. Young Kendra already has her own pony. Sometimes Giacobone makes the tour with two friends in the Pine Log community, Gene Ray Keenan and Ricky Ison.

They travel in a truck with crew cab. pulling a four- horse trailer. "Quarter horse racing and barrel racing is getting to be a big thing," said Jack. "There is better prize money. You get a percentage of entry fees and it may run from $200 to $500 in different events." During the week Jack is the owner and operator of Midland Paint and Body Shop located out from Clearwater at the intersection of Highway 421 and Storm Branch Road.

rides; Smokey Shotgun, which he rides, Sir Diamond and two others he is training. He buys his horses in South Georgia after they have had initial training, and then spends another two years getting them used to the patterns of Western racing. Getting-the horses geared up for lightning entry into the ring is an important part of the training. "Every horse in an individual," explained Jack. "With some horses you have to get them roused up.

With my horse Cherokee, you wheel him around and get him relaxed, then drop the reins and give him his head. He's off like a shot." The family goes off nearly every weekend during the season, competing in one to three shows in South Carolina, North Carolina or Jack Cfacobone and Daughter Kendra Poie with Smokey Shotgun maculate. Son Anthony helps with the grooming of the horses and It is doubtful if a neater establishment could be found. The shop, a separate office building and cleaning of the stalls, the grounds around are kept immaculate. In the office there is a shelf filled with riding trophies won by father and son.

Giacobone's 4-acre home place and stables are also kept iro- "It's good family recreation," said Giacobone of the Western racing, "Everybody gets involved. If I went out to play golf on a weekend. my youngsters it." Loses Despite Gallant Effort It was so close and yet so far away when it was all over with. What it was was a gallant effort by the undermanned Silver Bluff Bulldogs to, pull off an upset of the undefeated Aiken Hornets, but the Hornets staged a furious rally to claim a 14-12 victory. The Silver Bluff-Aiken slugfest was one of a number of exciting games around the county last week.

In other matches, North Augusta took the measure of Evans, 10-3, to make a clean sweep of Augusta area schools, Midland Valley's Mustangs knocked South Aiken out of the unbeaten ranks in a 14-0 shutout, Saint Angela was overwhelmed by Calhoun Falls 3314 and Mid-Carolina got past Ridge Spring-Monetta by a 27-7 SCOTS Silver Bluff head coach Clayton Chriswell, who has seen his playing ranks drastically, depleted by injuries, was the picture of total frustration and dejection after the loss to the Hornets. Said Chriswell: "We didn't to lose this one. I am taking anything away from -Aiken. They have a fine football team. But if we ever deserved to win a game it was this one." The Bulldogs, who saw their record fall to 1-2 with the loss, put the clamps on Aiken for a full three quarters and were nursing a 12-0 lead when the Hornets began their game.win- ning rally.

The Aiken club drew within four points at 12-8 midway the final quarter when quarterback Bernard Carter found tight end Marion Mays with a 20-yard touchdown pass, then ran for the two-point conversion. Then, the Hornets came back less than two minutes later to tally the winning six points by blocking a Bulldog punt at the Silver Bluff 14. Linebacker Jessie Blocker picked up the loose ball and scored from six yards out. In the opening period, Silver Bluff returned an Aiken fumble from the Bulldog 44 to the Hornet 16. From there quarterback Steve Glover threw a screen pass to halfback Wayne Bates who went in to score, giving the Bulldogs a 6-0 lead.

In the third quarter, the Bulldogs' Curtis Wright intercepted a Carter pass at the Silver Bluff 42 and 10 plays later the score became 12-0 when Glover completed a nine-yard scoring pass to end Charles Cummings. Elsewhere, Coach Reed Charpia's Midland Valley club, now winners of two straight after an opening loss to Aiken, throttled the South Aiken running attack and used a bit of trickery in the process to post one of their touchdowns. The Mustangs, leading 7-0 in the third quarter, lined up for a field goal, but Vance Coleman ended up passing to Glen Widener for a first down at the South Aiken one. JoJo Brown then ran across for the score. In the first half the Mustangs tallied their first touchdown on a 12- yard run by Dana Leaverette.

Brown kicked both extra points for Midland Valley. South Aiken's offense sorely missed running back Richard Smith, who was held out of the game because of a foot injury. Thorughbred quarterback Raymond Roundtree managed to get 87 yards rushing but it wasn't enough to pick up the slack caused by Smith's absence. North Augusta's Yellow Jackets, who have beaten Rich- Academy, Butler and Evans while racing out to a 3-0 record, used a strong defense that held Evans to only 143 yards total offense. The Yellow Jackets first spotted Evans a field goal, then tallied a touchdown on a 12-yard run by Mark Shedrick and added a field goal of their own on a 32-yard kick by Jimmy Crawford.

Saint Angela, winless last season and now 0-3 so far this year, managed to get out on top of Calhoun Falls by an 8-0 score and then led by 14-7 before the Flashes got their offensive machinery in high gear. The Saint touchdowns came on a 52- yard pass play from quarterback Bonnie Griffith to end Matt Park and a one-yard run by Billy King. The game was played at New Ellenton Youth Sports Athletic Field. WHY SUFFER? NECK i ii SHOULDER ARM BACK SLIPPED NUMBNESS IN ARMS AND MUSCLE LEG These pains are danger signals! WE SPECIALIZE IN EXAMINATION AND TREATMENT OF THESE PROBLEM CASES. I HEALTH INSURANCE (MAJOR MEDICAL) LIABILITY (AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS) WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION (ON JOB) MOST INSURANI CASES ACCEPTED I Why Suffer wondering if you can be relieved by (Chiropractic treatment? For an appointment, call AIKEN CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC PA Dr.

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