Last Sunday, a picture was published in the Lifestyles section of this paper entitled, “Do you know this horse?”

The owner of the picture said it was taken in 1971, but was curious about who the owner was. Those who knew the owner of the horse were urged to contact the Three Valley Museum in Durant.

Curator Nancy Ferris said the response was overwhelming and many people called the museum identifying the owner, as well as relaying stories about the “courthouse horse.”

One of those people happened to be the owner’s daughter, Karolyn Davis.

“My daddy was a wonderful man, the best daddy in the world,” she said of her father. “That horse was his baby.”

Davis’ father, Dewey Reese, worked as a custodian at the Bryan County Courthouse. Davis said every Saturday, her dad would ride the horse, named Pam, to the courthouse. Reese would let the horse graze on the courthouse lawn while he worked.

“He rode that horse every Saturday, even in the sleet or snow. The only time he wouldn’t ride it was in it was raining because he didn’t want to get wet,” she said.

Davis said Pam was born in April 1956 to a mare named Dipsy Doodle.

“What a name!” she laughed. “I don’t know who the dad was, but back then, we didn’t know those kinds of things. Little girls weren’t supposed to know.”

Davis’ blue eyes sparkled with excitement as she told stories about Pam.

Apparently, Pam had quite the personality.

“Anyone could ride that horse but me,” she laughed. “I would get on her and she would walk really slowly, dragging her feet, then as soon as Daddy couldn’t see us anymore, she would take off running and jump over fences and run under trees.”

Davis said her father would leave the doors of the courthouse open to allow fresh air to come in while he was cleaning. It wasn’t uncommon for Pam to enter the courthouse and roam around, pressing her nose against windows and mirrors, messing up what Reese had just cleaned.

“Horses are like four-year-old girls – they’re just like children,” she said with a smile.

On one occasion, Davis said her father walked out of the courthouse and couldn’t find Pam. A man drove by and asked him, “Are you looking for a horse?” Reese told the man he was and the man replied, “She’s over at Colvert Dairy, she’s just grazing.”

Davis was delighted that so many people recognized the horse in the picture and remembered her father.

“He was the best daddy in the world,” she said quietly. “If he knew so many people remembered, he’s just be tickled.”