this breed. While everyone may not agree on every topic, we
must unite for the love of the walking horse,” said Tommy.
When it does come to the show ring - WHOA’s focus is
on the pleasure horse. WHOA has seen great growth in the
Pleasure walking horse division - pointing to the record 1,900+
entries at the 2014 International. Growth has been driven by
the influx of new pleasure trainers moving into the middle
Tennessee area who have 20-50 horses in their barns - and
are putting sound horses in the ring. Good horses. Flat shod
horses. And, WHOA has taken many steps to keep the shows
sound - from supporting mandatory penalties to establishing
regulations such as pulling shoes more than 8-10 years ago,
and newer rules such as no hoof polish or bands - all designed
to build transparency into the DQP process. A new rule book
has been released for 2015 with updates , including new classes
that aim to better align class divisions in TN with all over the
country. Divisions now have “classic” classes, which mirror
16 • Walking On
the standard class (ie: Lite Shod, Trail, Country) designed for
horses that may exhibit a bit less animation, providing more
opportunities for all to compete, especially the AOT.
Closer to home here in Wisconsin, Tommy also pointed
to the one-day/one-night show, explaining that they are what
keeps the horse shows afloat - and may actually be more
important than the big shows to the breed. For WHOA, many
changes have taken place regarding HIO affiliation - and after
a few different twists and turns, today WHOA offers its own
HIO affiliation program, of which WWHA’s five annual shows
are affiliated.
After taking questions from the Wisconsin members, Tommy concluded by ensuring the WWHA members knew how
much he appreciated WWHA being affiliated with WHOA
for our shows, and that many of us are also WHOA members.
He also unabashedly invited us all to attend the 2015 WHOA
International July 26 - August 1, 2015, and to consider taking
advantage of advertising sponsorships in WHOA’s Walking On
eMagazine.
As for the WWHA members, we appreciate that Tommy
took time out of his busy schedule to visit with us up here in
Wisconsin, and for sharing such a positive outlook for our
wonderful breed. Appreciation also goes to Annette Weber,
our WWHA Marketing Director who coordinated to have
Tommy with us and ensured we had a wonderful and healthy
buffet and a beautiful venue at the Windwood of Watertown.