CELEBRATION STORY ( Coni , from 8 )
How did this Celebration , this “ Community Miracle ” begin ? The story is told in the 1953 BLUE RIBBON by the man who started it all — the late W . Henry Davis , of Wartrace , Tennessee . Mr . Davis relates how the idea of a “ Walking Horse Festival ” first occured to him while he was buying hay in Winchester , Tennessee , during that town ’ s Crimson Clover Festival . The idea that Bedford County should have a festival , a “ Walking Horse Festival ” would not let him rest until he had enlisted the aid of other horsemen in the county and begun to formulate a plan of action . Mr . William L . Parker , Shelbyville banker , invited Mr . Davis and his group to meet with the Lion ’ s Club on Thursday , May 11 , 1939 . to present his plan . Enthusiastically endorsing the idea of such a festival , the Lion ’ s Club sought joint participation of other civic clubs in Shelbyville , and a committee for the Celebration was soon formed to launch the event with a three-night show held at the high school athletic field September 7-9 , 1939 .
From this promising , but humble , beginning just twenty-five years ago the Celebration has steadily grown into the marvelous recreational institution that it is today . Among the more remarkable aspects of this “ Community Miracle ” are these : ( 1 ) the way the spacious grounds and comfortable facilities have been developed entirely out of the Celebration ’ s current income from ticket sales and similar revenues , without a dollar of public , governmental funds being received ; ( 2 ) the enthusiastic and harmonious cooperation of many civic groups over such a long period of time ; ( 3 ) the unselfish and skillful management of a closelyknit executive committee which has functioned solely for the benefit of the community , the spectators , the exhibitors and the Tennessee Walking horse — with no personal gain received or expected for the countless hours spent in guiding the Celebration and administering its affairs ( Mr . William L . Parker , Mr . Phil J . Scudder , the late Mr . W . Clyde Tune , Sr ., and the late Mr . T . Franklin Boyd constituted the original executive committee ; Mr . Parker and Mr . Scudder still serve as members , and Mr . Tune and Mr . Boyd were active members until their deaths ); ( 4 ) the integrity and fairness of all those managing the affairs of the Celebration , so that no suspicion of favoritism or influencing the results of the show has ever arisen — a remarkable record indeed !; and ( 5 ) the desire of all those connected with the Celebration to make it annually “ bigger and better than ever .” Such is the quality of the leadership that one cannot predict any limit to the growth and success of this “ Community Miracle .”
The present Executive Committee of the National Celebration consists of : Mr . W . C . Tune , Jr ., President ; Mr . W . L . Parker , Vice- President ; Mr . P . J . Scudder , Secretary-Treasurer ; Mr . E . L . Adamson , Director ; Mr . R . M . Thomas , Director ; Mr . H . J . Thompson , Director ; and Mr . H . C . Tilford , Jr ., Director . Mrs . Ivan Potts is secretary to the Executive Committee and very efficiently looks after the innumerable details of the operation . The entire Executive Committee generously gives their time and ability to the management of the Celebration .
Among the “ old-reliables ” of the staff are : Mr . Sam Gibbons , manager of the horse show ; Mr . Emmet Guy , announcer ; Mr . Jimmy Richardson , organist ; and Mr . Les Nelson , photographer .
For the 1964 Celebration , the Judges of Walking Horses will be : Mr . C . A . Bobo , Thomasville , North Carolina ; Mr . Leon Hall , Hillsboro , Missouri ; and Mr . Hershel Talley , Baileyton , Alabama . Judge in the Saddle , Fine Harness and Roadster Division will be Mr . Paul Raines , Memphis , Tennessee ; Judge of Equitation will be Miss Dorothy Dukes , Brentwood , Tennessee , all of these are officials of outstanding quality and integrity . The Celebration remains the high court of the show horse world .
What we have said about the “ Community Miracle ” has already explained many of the reasons why the Celebration has been aptly called . “ The Greatest Horse Show on
Earth .” Where else can you go to find as many as sixty or seventy stallions of the breed in one ring ? Every one of these has been a winner at other shows . Every one is well bred , thoroughly trained and expertly ridden . Almost everyone would be proud to own any one of these superbly conditioned animals , and all the other classes are well filled with Walking Horses of similar qualities . As one spectator said , “ when all those heads start nodding and the riders glide by as if on flying carpets , I feel something I have felt nowhere else on earth .”
Mare and foal , stallion and five of his get , weanling , yearling , twoyear-old , junior horse , amateur mount , mare , gelding , stallion , pony , stake horse — all are there at the Celebration . Only in the “ Big Ring ” do you these days see all the top horses meeting head on for the blues and the trophies . Only there is the winner really THE WINNER , so it is either win now or “ wait till next year .” For the man , woman , or child who has been there even once , the Celebration is “ The Greatest Horse Show on Earth .”
Certainly by now you are convinced that the Celebration is truly the “ World Series of the Walking Horse .” But for additional support to our claim , let us again quote from the words of Mr . W . Henry Davis in the 1953 BLUE RIBBON : “ We feel that the Celebration has done more than anything else to stimulate the production and training of better horses and has caused the value of show horses to advance many , many times over what it was before the Celebration was instituted . A blue , championship or grand championship ribbon from the Celebration means much more in the minds of the Walking Horse people than a similar ribbon from any other show . “ If you know any exhibitor of Walking Horses who does not share these sentiments , please do not embarras him by writing in to tell us his name — he would be looked upon as a nice fellow who must have been accidentally dropped out of a barn loft on his head , for how else can you account for such human frailty ? ( Continued on Page 30 )
16 VOICE of The Tennessee Walking Horse