their advertising program ran . They printed a fine color booklet describ ing the breed which they made avail able to 4-H Club members . The over all results of this program are not known as yet as we do not know what type of follow-up the Associ ation had planned .
By May of this year , horse shows were going strong over most parts of the country and the Tennessee Walking Horse was receiving much more cooperation from every quar ter than ever before . Primarily due to the efforts of the Trainers Associ ation , we had received assurances from various organizations , including the American Humane Association , that they would leave the settling of our problems up to us and would be come involved only when they were invited . Thus far we have made some marked improvements , but most au thorities agree that we still have room for more improvement in the area of humane treatment of our horses .
New products became an import ant issue for horsemen during the 1968 season and the most talkedabout line to hit the market was JUDGES ’ CHOICE , manufactured by Maw-Vack of Aurora , Ohio . Mr . Buddy Moore , a well-known Tennes see Walking Horse personality , was named as regional sales manager and forthwith embarked on a pro gram to introduce the new line to the Walking Horse business . Thus far they have done exceptionally well with the products , which include a vitamin supplement , hoof dressing , shampoo , and other products .
From coast to coast the Tennessee Walking Horse was gaining in popu larity as the season picked up mo mentum . In May the 1968 California Walking Horse Celebration was a great success at the Pomona show grounds . Stables from all parts of the West Coast made the trip for this show and all indications are that the " big-time ” Walking Horse is becom ing ell-established in that part of the country . Bob Lindsey from Little Rock , Arkansas was the judge and he put the blue on the true gait . Winners out there these days could compete just about anywhere in the country and get along .
Later on in the yeartheTennessee Walking Horse Breeders ’ Associa tion let the contract for a new color film of our breed . Progress on this production is not known at the pres ent but it should be finished some time after the first of the year . More about this later as RoCo Productions gets into editing this film .
In June everyone headed to Colum bia , Tennessee and the annual Spring Jubilee . This outstanding show saw GO BOY ’ S ROYAL HEIR emerge victorious in a great class with WAR- LOCK being reserve . We saw several outstanding young horses come into the limelight , including EBONY ’ S OLD CHARTER , and COPY ’ S REC ORD , winners of their respective Two-Year-Old Classes . Attendance was at an all-time high and enthusi asm was at a peak for this show this year . Another attraction was the fine show that GO BOY ’ S CHATTER BOX made in the Amateur Class . He had some work to do to surpass his performance in this same ring the year before . ACE ’ S SENSATION es tablished himself as " one of the greats ” with a fine performance here . He , as did some others , went on to win World Championship .
The American Walking Horse Asso ciation held another fine school and show in Quentin , Pennsylvania in May that attracted enthusiasts from many parts of the country . A lot of these same people made the trip to Tennessee to attend the State Fair Horse Show in Nashville the latter part of June . It too was a good show that saw a lot of horses taking aim on the World Championship contest just two months away .
' Way out in Clarksville , Arkansas , the Joe Webb Riding Camp was com pleting the third successful season as a major summer camp with two sessions running from June into July . Joe moved most of his show horses from Searcy to Clarksville , and really had his hands full trying to work horses and manage his camp , too . They had a great year at camp and it looks as if next year will be even better .
An item of interest was the intro duction of a record album about the Tennessee Walking Horse that came out in July . Produced by King-Arnold Enterprises , the record related the history of the breed and had personal interviews with several notables in the Walking Horse business regard ing judging , training and breeding . To date they have sold a considerable number of these records and have done much in the promotion of this breed .
The middle of July saw the final stretch before the Celebration as top horses began to emerge after being under wraps most of the season . Hor ses in all categories began to come to the forefront and make themselves known as " contenders .” By the mid dle of July it was announced who the judged of the 1968 classic would be , and then and there began the annual guessing game as to " how they would do .” A few short weeks later , we knew how they did and the 30th Annual Celebration was history . With a total of 1,662 horses entered , the 1968 show was the largest ever .
After the Celebration , everyone headed down the rail toward the deep south shows , including Jackson , Mo bile , Baton Rouge and Montgomery . Thus ended the year 1968 that saw a lot of improvement in almost all areas of Walking Horse activity and saw the groundwork laid for contin ued improvement in many areas .
There were several events during the year that saddened Walking Horse enthusiasts . The death of Jack Darnell , well-known Walking Horse trainer from Huntsville , Alabama , in early November was a blow to his many friends and associates . Jack was one of the real gentlemen in the horse business and he was well-liked by everyone who had known him .
Another event of note was a dis covery by Mr . George L . Lenox that a colt was registered by error to CARBON COPY during the year . In his efforts to learn how this was accomplished , Mr . Lenox discovered that the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders ’ Association had , for many years , been registering some colts in a manner contrary to their by laws . As a result of his efforts , the Breeders ’ Association released a bul letin in September stating that a properly executed APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION must be filed before a colt can be registered . Cus tom had established the practice of using a " transfer slip ” in lieu of an Application for Registration , thus making the prospects of false regis trations much easier than it should have been . Mr . Lenox also received approval of the Board of Directors to make a thorough study of the rec ords and books of the Association , and has had several of his employees working in this capacity for several weeks . It is our understanding that he will make a complete report to the Board at their regular quarterly meeting in December . More about that later !
Pleasure horses have been much in demand this year and our breed has headed the list of " most-wanted ” from coast to coast . We have received many reports on fine representatives of our breed that have participated in a grand scale in distance rides and other contests for pleasure horses . More and more people are purchas ing top bred Tennessee Walking Hor ses and are training them strictly
December , 1968 35