1966-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1966 May Voice RS | Page 38
EDITOR’S COLUMN
THE LONG ROAD BACK
The Tennessee Walking Horse means many things
to many people. The activities that make up the
"horse business’ as we know it are varied and com
plicated. To some the Tennessee Walking Horse is a
business enterprise. To others it is a sport, a hobby
or a family pastime. To still others it is a retirement
activity that provides both income and pleasure. Re
gardless of your personal activity in the Walking Horse
world, we have reason to believe that you are now
approaching the era of "greatest achievement and
recognition” that the breed has ever known.
Herein we hope to present to all our readers, and
to the membership of the various national associ
ations involved in the activities of the Tennessee
Walking Horse, the true story, as we know it, of the
recent events within our ranks that will greatly af
fect the future of this breed.
We have always maintained an editorial policy that
the Walking Horse business needed only one author
ity. . .the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders Associ
ation. This organization is steeped in tradition that
goes back to "The War Between The States.” It is
a great organization representing a great breed and
it should be the guiding force within our ranks. Peo
ple from all areas of the country and in all phases
of the Walking Horse business should be able to look
to the Breeders Association for guidance and com
petent leadership.
For many years, however, this has not been the
case. Instead of keeping abreast of the national prob
lems of our breed, the past leadership of this organ
ization chose for many years to ignore the wishes of
the many and adhere to the dictates of the few. We
would like to point out that there have been those
who have tried earnestly, if without success, to work
for the common interest of the membership. There
have been many men who have made every effort
to return the leadership to the members, only to
find their efforts fruitless. Many past members of
the Board of Directors and, indeed, some employees
of the Association have done what they could for the
membership, knowing that, for the most part, their
efforts were in vain. For their efforts they received
expulsion and reprimand at the hands of those who
would remain in power for their own purposes.
The Turning Point
In January of 1966 a group of men met in closed
quarters in Franklin, Tennessee, to determine what,
if anything, could be done to salvage thet Walking
Horse business. The starting point, as they saw it,
was to make a positive effort to restore the leader
ship of the Association to the membership. That is
to say, to give the members a choice as to whom
they wanted to elect as their leaders. A plan was
formulated to present to the membership: a separate,
opposition slate of officers for 1966. Due to extenu
ating circumstances, this was the first time in the
history of the Breeders Association that a majority
could be elected to the board at one time.
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In establishing a slate of officers that would meet
with the approval of the majority of the members,
it was mandatory that they present men who repre
sented various parts of the country as well as dif
ferent phases of the Walking Horse business. From
a final list of over twenty-five men, a slate of officers
was chosen that represented the best possible lead
ership available at the time. Bear in mind what these
men were doing: they were risking their very future
in the business in order to return the leadership of
the Breeders Association to the members for, should
they fail, it was a certainty that personal vindication
would have been lewied on them that would have
forced them out of the business regardless of their
activity.
The key to the whole program was to convince the
membership that the men on the "opposition slate”
would better represent the Breeders Association than
would the usual slate of officers presented by the
old board. A program was organized that would reach
the membership through the VOICE of the Tennessee
Walking Horse, and by direct mail. This program was
designed to get the proxy votes of the membership.
If this could have been done, the "opposition slate”
could be duly voted into office at the Annual Meet
ing scheduled for May 28, 1966.
The final slate of officers was selected and the pro
gram was underway,