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- (Continued on page 37) 17