1968-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1968 April Voice RS | Page 15
The following letters of commendation were received
by your VOICE editor, and we reprint them herewith
for your consideration.
WALKING HORSE TRAINERS ASSOCIATION
HOLDS SUCCESSFUL MEETING WITH
NATIONAL HORSE SHOW AND
HUMANE REPRESENTATIVES
March 15 and 16 marked a milestone in the history
of the Walking Horse breed as the newly organized
Walking Horse Trainers Association met for the sec
ond time. With over a hundred and fifty members and
associates in attendance, the organization1 put its best
foot forward in a joint meeting with the highest offic
ials in the horse world. Attending the meeting were
Mr. James Balckwell, Executive Secretary of the Amer
ican Horse Show Association, New York City; Mr. Ce-
bem Lee, President of the American Walking Horse
Association, Oaks Corners, N. Y.; Mr. Rutherford Phil
lips, official representative of the American Humane
Association, Denver, Colorado; and Mr. William C.
Tune and Mr. Sam Gibbons, The Celebration, Incor
porated, Shelbyville, Tennessee.
Together, these men met in a two-day session to
discuss and take action on some of the most preval
ent issues concerning the Tennessee Walking Horse
today. Mr. Vic Thompson, President of the Trainers
Association, was moderator for the event and did an
excellent job of keeping the best interest of the Ten
nessee Walking Horse as the prime subject. He an
nounced that there were now over two hundred voting
members of the Walking Horse Trainers Association
and that progress in all areas of Walking Horse activi
ty should be the prime objective of the organization.
Mr. Wink Groover, acting as Chairman of the Rules
Committee, announced that the Trainers Association
would adopt the rules of the American Horse Show
Association for 1968 and added a resolution of their
own which stated that all members of the Association
were to maintain the highest standards of professional
activity and that all horses exhibited by members
would be clean and in presentable condition both in
and out of the showring. An understanding with Mr.
Phillips, of the Humane Association, was that the
Trainers Association would strive to handle all cases
of ill treatment to Walking Horses. If an effort by
this organization to correct the situation failed, then
they would officially request action by the Humane
Association.
On Saturday afternoon, March 16, Mr. C. A. Bobo
and Mr. Richard Mary met with the Directors of the
Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ Association in
Lewisburg, who were having a board meeting of their
own and were unable to send a representative to
Shelbyville.
April, 1968
"Dear Mr. Spencer:
"We are greatly encouraged with the attitude of the
Walking Horse Trainers which was presented at the
meeting in Shelbyville, Tennessee on March 15 and
16. The Trainers and Judges are the only people who
can eradicate the conditions that have existed in the
Walking Horse division and, if they carry out their
plans, the adverse publicity which the breed has re
ceived over the past number of years can be quickly
eradicated. I can assure you that the Association will
give the Walking Horse Trainers our entire support
in this effort.
"Very truly yours,
JAMES H. BLACKWELL
Executive Secretary
American Horse Shows Association, Inc.”
"Dear Bruce:
"I thought the meetings held in Shelbyville March
15th and 16th were excellent and, as the diplomats
say, very fruitful.
"I have already expressed my opinion that the or
ganization of the Trainers is something which has
long been needed and it can be the answer to our
Walking Horse troubles.
"Certainly the interest of the American Horse Show
Association and the American Humane Association
was well indicated by the presence and participation
of their top men, James Blackwell and Rutherford
Phillips respectively. This movement has everything
going for it and let’s hope it gains momentum and is
pressed to a successful conclusion.
"Sincerely,
CEBERN L. LEE
President
American Walking Horse Assn., Inc.”
"Dear Bruce:
"At the quarterly meeting of the Tennessee Walking
Horse Breeders’ Association held in Lewisburg, Ten
nessee on March Sixteenth the Board Directors were
very pleased to have two representatives of the Train
ers Association meet with them. Mr. Charles Bobo,
their First Vice President, and Mr. Richard Mary, one
of the Directors of their Board, came to discuss devel
opments which had taken place during the first two
meetings of their organization.
"The Directors of the Breeders’ Association are in
sympathy with the Trainers Association to insure
humane treatment of Tennessee Walking Horses and
wish to cooperate with them in all things for the
betterment of the breed.
"We want to extend to the Trainers Association our
good wishes and best hopes for their successful future.
"Very truly yours,
JEROME B. RYAN
President
T. W. H. B. A. of America, Inc.”
Dear Bruce:
May I take this opportunity to thank you and the
staff of Voice Publishing Company for the help you
have given me and the Walking Horse Trainers Asso-
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