Out on Parole: 3-25-1997 to 1-21-2018
From the February 2018 Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse
reprinted with permission

Out On Parole was one of those very special horses that doesn’t come along every day. He was raised by Dr. Judy Moore of Shelbyville. At the time of his foaling Stan and Amber Porter were working for Dr. Moore. The morning after his birth he ran up to Amber Porter and blew right in her face. Amber fondly nicknamed him Booger. The high headed, alert little foal actually preferred the company of people to that of horses. The Baskin family has always credited Oops’ sweet nature and outstanding personality to the experiences that Amber Porter and Oops shared when he was a foal.

As a coming Two-Year-Old Out On Parole was placed under the direction of Bud Dunn and Son Stables by then owner, Pete Hammond. Knowing that the Baskin family was looking for a Two-Year-Old for amateur competition, Steve Dunn contacted Roger Baskin who saw the immense talent that the young horse possessed. From a single video sent to Randall Baskin and with much encouragement from Roger, Randall made the decision to purchase the talented young stallion.

In December of 1998 the Randall Baskin Family purchased Out On Parole and Lisa Baskin fondly nicknamed him Oops. It soon became apparent that Out On Parole was no ordinary horse and the decision was made to campaign him for Two-Year-Old Stallion honors with Steve Dunn.

Oops probably wouldn’t have accomplished all the he did without the excellent guidance of the father-son team at Bud Dunn and Son Stables. After all, it was Bud and Steve that broke him to saddle and it was Steve that guided him through his exemplary show career.

By the time that Out On Parole became the 2002 World Grand Champion he had accomplished numerous accolades: Reader’s Choice Two, Three and Four-Year-Old Horse of the Year, later adding 2002 Horse of the Year. WHTA Two, Three, Four and Five-Year-Old Horse of the Year; 1999 Two-Year-Old World Champion & Grand Champion; 2000 Three-Year-Old World Champion; 2001 Four-Year-Old World Champion & World Grand Champion(Unanimously).

Following the 2002 Celebration the Baskin Family enjoyed sharing Oops with the rest of the world! He made many exhibitions all over the south. At the Dixie Jubilee in Baton Rouge, Louisiana he not only put on a fantastic exhibition, but showed his outstanding disposition by allowing countless spectators and exhibitors take him for a spin. Steve Dunn and Out On Parole thrilled 105,000 fans at University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium for Homecoming and the duo was shown three times to millions of viewers on national television.

Oops went on to be an excellent ambassador for the breed as a breeding stallion. Up until this past Fall he continued to sire amazing colts. He has 800+ colts registered with the TWHBEA and a few more to be born this coming Spring and Summer.

In August of 2013 Out On Parole was officially retired from the Show Ring. As he made his last pass in the Big Oval he still had the big heart, the big motor and the beauty of a spectacular Tennessee Walking Horse. Bud Dunn once said that “Out On Parole had it all” and he did.

OOPs came home to Autumn Crest Farm in February of 2017. He was a month shy of turning 20 years old and he was still breeding. He spent this past year outside rarely being coaxed into the barn. He rolled in the mud, watched the wild turkey and deer on the farm and was purely spoiled by his family. He ate as many peppermints as he wanted and would still show that awesome disposition by coming to the fence to greet anyone that stopped to see him.

The Baskin Family feels truly blessed to have been such a big part of Out On Parole’s amazing life. He was a horse that you could talk about all day. We want to thank Steve Dunn, each and every person that cheered on OOPs in his show career, the many, many people that bred their mares to him, the many people along the way that took care of him, especially, Autumn Crest Farm Manager, Mike Spangler, and
the entire staff at Tennessee Equine, but most of all thank you to everyone that loved this incredible horse as much as we did.
 The Randall Baskin Family