1966-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1966 October Voice RS | Page 21

The judging this year was excellent. There were, as is
to be expected, a few isolated instances in which one or
the other LOST a horse or two, but for the most part, the
judging came from wise and concentrated effort. No one,
to my knowledge, has any doubts regarding the integrity
of Mr. Henson, Mr. Moorman or Mr. Welsh.
The “big moment” of the celebration, as everyone now
knows, was the last workout of the Big Stake on Saturday
night. Throughout the eight days that preceded this event,
the crowd had been a loud and lusty participant in each
class. This is a marked contrast to last year, in which the
crowd sat silent and unresponsive to the events within
the showring. WHY! For several years there has been an
aura of suspicion surrounding the horse show ring. The
mass of Walking Horse enthusiasts, mostly people with
one or two horses who do not participate on a big scale,
view the judging of small horse shows from week to week
during the summer with a certain amount of criticism.
In some instances, they see the “big name” trainer get
tied on a lesser horse. They witness what apparently is a
“swap out” from one trainer to the other. They see a
horse tied which is obviously in poor shape and they won­
der. Many people say “it don’t make no difference what
they think. They don’t know nothing. Besides . . . what
have they ever contributed to the Walking Horse busi­
ness?” Well ... it did make a difference this year at the
Celebration. This is not the “losers lament” which we hear
from time to time from the poor losers in our ranks. These
people complain when all they need is a better horse.
JUST RETRIBUTION
After a considerable amount of study and discussion, it
becomes obvious that the people in the grandstands who
picked up one lone rider in the final class of the Celebra­
tion with enthusiasm unseen before in the history of the
show, seized upon THEIR chance to “strike back” at
all the injustices handed out to them in the past few
years. Everyone, trainers included, who had been “tied
down” unjustly . . . everyone who had been caught in
the “swap-out” . . . everyone who “thought” they had
won a class outstanding only to be tied second to a local
area favorite . . . lashed out all at one time with such
fury as to effect a decision as a body.
There were other factors too! Everyone comes to the
“big show” with a pre-determined favorite: A sentimental
favorite perhaps, but at least they knew who they wanted
to “holler for”. As the week passed, the chosen favorites
of the majority had faded and as the big gate swung open
on Saturday night of the Big Stake the crowd had no
one to root for. Consequently, they turned to the only
logical choice ... an apparent underdog . . . Miss Betty
Sain and SHAKER’S SHOCKER.
This is in no way a reflection on the other professional
trainers in the showing on that fateful night. It is only an
in-depth study which stimulated the more than 23,000
Walking Horse fans on the final night of the Celebration.
Did the crowd tie the winner that night? Our judges state
that they have never let the cheers of the crowd influence
a decision and they didn’t that night either. Some observers
state however, that the winner of the class could have won
on any of the top three horses on that night, (an interest­
ing observation). Many say the best horse won and would
have won with any other rider. One think is certain how­
ever . . . this is one Celebration that will be discussed for
many a year and as the chill of winter settles over the
OCTOBER, 1966
land and Walking Horse enthusiasts gather around the
fire, the discussion will eventually turn to the night that
“that girl” won the Celebration.
WHAT DO OTHERS THINK?
Regarding the outcome of the Celebration this year,
there are other areas of consideration outside the Walking
Horse business which should not be overlooked. For in­
stance: What do the other breed enthusiasts say about our
Walking Horse now? Discussion has brought up the ques­
tion of “how would a similar competitor have fared at
the Lexington Horse Show where the World Grand Cham­
pion Gaited Horse is crowned.” It is the general consensus
that the prospect of such an outside favorite ever getting
a “shot at the crown” of the Gaited Horse World would
be quite remote. Professional pride . . . established stan­
dards of the business ... a firm bond within the ranks
of the professional trainers would have all contributed to
the impossibility of such a thing ever happening in the
the impossibility of such a think ever happening. Right or
wrong . . . this is the general opinion.
Is the Walking Horse business “Bush League?” . . .
we do not think so! It is just that our breed is still in
its second generation of growth and we still have a long
way to go to approach the professional level of some
other breeds. Many of the training techniques of the
Walking Horse have been learned from these other breeds,
but they knew how to use them to best advantage fifty
years ago, when the Walking Horse was still the Planta­
tion Florse.
As time progresses, and we form a clear separation be­
tween our Pleasure Horses and our Show Horses, the
image of the professional trainer will be up-graded to
a new and more advantageous level. As the new show
barns slowly come to the forefront and the ramble-down
shack of a stable on the hillside of Middle Tennessee
finally collapses, we will see a new era of progress and
popularity for the Tennessee Walking Horse. We are in
no way “knocking” the facilities or the ability of our many
fine professional trainers who do not now have the advant­
age of a new, modern stable. We are merely pointing out
that with time comes progress and with progress comes
knowledge and confidence and, of course, prosperity.
HOW HUMANE CAN YOU GET?
Hot on the heels of the Tennessee Walking Horse
National Celebration comes the various charges, news re­
ports and rumors regarding the activities of the Humane
Society at this show. It is true! They were there. They
were there by invitation and not by chance. They were
invited by both the Celebration officials and the Breeders
Association. (And I might add ... by the VOICE). They
came, they saw and they acted. In fact they acted within
the law in one incident in which a violator was appre­
hended in the act of “applying a blistering agent to the
right front foot of a show horse just before it was sche­
duled to perform.” This one isolated violator was charged
and fined for his activity and justly so.
Most disturbing were the wild rumors that spread
around the showgrounds regarding the activities of the
Humane Society and their charges of various trainers.
Rumor had it that Mr. Wink Groover had been appre­
hended and fined $2,000. Another stated that Mr. George
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