[2] When The Black Night Shade was 16 months old, Chandler sent him to trainer Jimmy McConnell's Formac Stables, located in Union City, Tennessee, to begin his early training.
He contacted a couple he knew were looking to purchase a Walking Horse, Tom and Judy Waite, and they bought The Black Night Shade sight unseen.
McConnell showed The Black Night Shade sparingly as a two-year-old, because he thought the colt was too small and underdeveloped in comparison with other horses his age, as a result of being bottlefed.
The Black Night Shade won his first blue ribbon in the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration as a two-year-old.
The Black Night Shade won the class and for the rest of the season competed against aged horses, except at the Celebration.