afternoon the Three-Year-Old Class was completely eliminated as none of the original seventeen entries made the check . A meeting of the show committee followed this event and , after considerable discussion , they decided to " follow the rules as interpreted by the Steward and the Vet ’’ ( with which we agreed ). A certain amount of concern was registered with regard to the physical handling of the horses ’ feet by the Vet . According to one interpretation , the individual inspecting the horses must determine " from eye level ” whether or not a horse qualifies to be shown . We understand that a ruling on this interpretation is to come from the A . H . S . A . soon .
This is the show that originated the " pre-show inspection ” and it appears that , like Dr . Frankenstein , they have created a monster that has finally turned on its makers . There is no way that individuals who are unconcerned or inexperienced in the training , showing and handling of Tennessee Walking Horses can effectively " inspect ” our horses as outlined by the A . H . S . A . They invariably do not understand exactly what abuses they are looking for and , by and large , end up sending a lot of horses that are in excellent shape back to the barn . We believe that from the incidents at Pomona this year we will get some clarification on these issues next year .
Now . . . back to the " good times .” As w ' e have said before , there are a lot of truly top horses on the West Coast . They are well bred and have a lot of natural ability . In the past few ’ years wTe have seen a marked improvement in the manner in which these horses are shewn and the trainers on the West Coast are becoming more insistent that they have a knowledgeable Walking Horse judge . We do not envy their position in having to show one week in front of a Gaited Horse Judge and the next week in front of a Walking Horse Judge . They naturally try to have their horses doing whatever is necessary in order to win , and many times I am sure the horse is pretty confused as to what is expected of him . At any rate , most of our trainers are doing excellently , which was very obvious at the California Celebration .
One of the big surprises of the 1969 show was the emergence of a new young trainer , Lonnie Whitworth , who won the Stallion & Gelding Class and the Championship Stake on SOCIETY ’ S SHOWBOY , a fine black stallion with plenty of lick and motion . Riding for Mrs .
Just rolling along ...
MR . FREE WHEEL
JIMMY ELLIS up R . F . ELLIS Orrville , Alabama
An aged stallion by HANDSHAKER that is tops !!
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only 25 miles from CELEBRATION GROUNDS
MURFREESBORO , TENNESSEE
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44 Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse