1963-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1963 May Voice | Page 9

7
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse
tinction of having the only crooked
judges in the U.S.
“Everyone I’ve talked to about this,
B en A. G reen ........................................................................... Publisher-Editor
feels the same way. They want w'hat
M rs . B en A. G reen ................................................................................ Secretary
they deserve—no more, no less.
“If judges would judge on what they
OFFICE—SHELBYVILLE, TENN.
see—not on who’s riding or who owns
(This monthly magazine is dedicated to the any person or firm provided proper credit it or what fathered it or what they’ve
welfare of the Tennessee Walking Horse is given and the magazine is correctly quoted. seen it do before, they could do won­
breed for show and pleasure.)
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse is ders for the sport.
OUR AIM—To maintain a permanent publi­ published monthly at 1110 South Brittain
"Nobody wants to spend thousands
cation that will merit the full support of all St., Shelbyville, Tenn.
of dollars, hours and drops of sweat
who love the Tennessee Walking Horse.
Send all subscription payments and adver­
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse is tising payments to Ben A. Green, Shelbyville, for less than they deserve. I realize,
too that there are a lot of people like
owned by Ben A. Green and Mrs. Ben A. Tenn.
Green, Shelbyville, Tenn., and its editorial
Subscription Price: §4 per year: single copy me who don’t enjoy showung, but for
contents can be used for re-publication by 50 cents.
the tousands who do, PLEASE HELP.
“If you use the idea, Mr. Green,
please don’t use my name. I don’t
show, but my husband does.”
VOICE
Echoes From 1962 About Show Judging
Now that the 1963 Tennessee Walking Horse Show Season is under way
—the Voice Editor thinks it timely and pertinent to quote some remarks that
reached us late last year about horse show judging. It was—to put it mildly
—“A Big Problem.”
Recently a lady who lives in the “Central U.S." wrote a note and it ran
something like this: “When are you going to get brave enough to say some­
thing about honesty in judging?”
It so happens that we have saved until now the very letter this same lady
wrote to us last year—loo late for the show season—so here is what she said
then:
“Dear Mr. Green,
“My husband and I enjoy the “Voice” very much. We hope it is success­
ful so it will continue after the first year. (Ed. Note, it is successful, it is
continuing.)
“Please Appeal For Honesty”
“Would you please appeal to those who judge horse shows for a little
honesty? You write about stimulating interest in the breed. What would be
more discouraging to a new horse owner that a crooked horse show?
“Now, you’re probably thinking—‘Here is a sore loser,’ but let me say, I
don’t show because it makes me nervous.
“Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that after reading the ’Voice,’ the
Walking Horse ‘bug’ bites me. I buy a good registered mare. I build a nice
stall, and buy some good timothy hay and oats and vitamins and a saddle
and bridle and halter and lead rope and curry comb and brush and boots
and tail sets and all the other goodies.
"I work my mare every evening when I get home and every Saturday and
Sunday. Every six weeks I have her re-set (shoes). She was well-trained when
I bought her and I work hard getting with her and getting her with me.
Spring comes and my ole mare is working well and I buy a horse trailer and
some ribbon and a tail brace. I haul her 100 miles to a show.
"We’re in the ring and ‘Mama’ is working perfectly. She doesn’t 'miss a
lick’ and she’s shaking her ole head. Boy, am I proud!!
"The crowd is cheering for us and I feel good.
” ’Gee whiz, look at that guy’s horse. He has to make the 100-yard dash
to get a canter.’ I just touch ‘Mama ’ and she takes her lead.
“Judge’s Stud Is The Daddy”
“We’ve lined up to get the awards and that horse that wouldn’t canter till
its speed was 20 MPH goL first. Well, well—what a ‘co-hinky dinky,’ the
judge's stud is the father of the first placed horse.
“Now, I ask you, Mr. Green, what does that do to stimulate interest or
encourage me?
“Nothing. Your articles in the ‘Voice’ now leave me cold, simply because
that judge was more interested in giving his stud a boost, than being fair.
"We have some honest judges loo. I don’t know if every state has this
problem, but we usually do and I truly doubt that we have the dubious dis­
*
#
#
Letter No. 2 happens to be from
the same state, but the home addresses
are many miles apart. This is from a
man, who sent an identical letter to
two Walking Horse associations.
Here’s what he said:
“I am one of the many thousands
who in recent years has become
an owner and exhibitor of Tennessee
Walking Horses. My experiences have
been gratifying and enjoyable, but not
on all occasions.
“Poor And Biased Judging”
“ The exceptions referred to above
deal with the appallingly poor and
biased judging found all too often—
at small as well as large shows.
“Please do not toss this aside and
say, ‘Another case of sour grapes.’
Believe me, I could not be more sin­
cere when I say that I am just as dis­
gusted with poor judging whether I
have a horse in a class or not.
“Watching and showing Walking
Horses is an exhilerating sport, but
it falls completely flat when favoritism
is shown in awarding the ribbons.
“I recognize the difficulty in secur­
ing expert Walking Horse judges for
all shows. Therefore, my complaint is
not directed to those who make honest
mistakes. I urge action against judges
who, very openly, tie undeserving
horses; learned judges who disregard
the rules and award ribbons for, I
suppose, personal reasons concerning
the rider, or owner, or trainer.
“I believe, as do many, that the
Walking Horse business and sport is
at the threshold of its greatest era.
Aside from disastrous international
developments, the only roadblock
standing in the way of realizing this
potential is deliberate, unfair judging.
“I can do nothing more than resent
this condition and write such letters
(Continued on page S)