1968-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1968 August Voice RS | Page 52

The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration draws participation from coast to coast and enthusiasts from many parts of the world . On August 30 , the town of Shelbyville , Tennessee , commonly referred to
as " The Walking Horse Capital of the World ,” will begin a nine-day sojourn that will bring well over a million dollars into the Tennessee area . If one could stand back and study , the people who will attend this event , it would be interesting indeed . Talk about integration . . . this event , more than any other we know , witnesses a mingling of peoples from every strata of American life into a homogenous group that manages to get along well . Here there is little of importance
except " horses ” and horse activity . Peoples of different races and creeds stand side by side in harmony and share the excitement of the moment as the famous Tennessee Walking Horses vie in the showring for championship honors . Perhaps there is a lesson in this that goes beyond the VOICE and the horse business . Perhaps this " thing in common ” is the key to harmony that could be the key to a lot of the world ’ s problems . If everyone could find " something in common ” ... as we have found . . . perhaps the " long hot summer ” wouldn ’ t be so long — or so hot .
Do not get the mistaken idea that we believe that everyone agrees and that there are no differences of opinion at the Celebration . The whole week centers on differences of opinion and " how they tied ,” and the key is enthusiasm . The study of this enthusiasm is also an interesting pursuit . Needless to say , we all have favorites , and our opinions about horses and riders vary according to our own experiences . We have noted with some interest for several years tha the different sections of the audience at the Celebn tion vary in their enthusiasm for horses and riders . I is almost as if sections of the grandstand , the bleaci ers , the upper boxes and the lower boxes , vote as " block ” for different horses and riders . Remembc that we , as did most of you , once occupied that la : row in the bleachers and cheered for the fastest hors or the most spectacular rider or the people we ha read about . We did our part to cheer the littlest ride , into the workout only to have her leave tired and d ' jected without a ribbon after the last workout . All of us have a strong tendency to orient ourselves to those in the ring that are more in keeping with our own station in the horse business . If this does not satisfy us , then we will invariably pick an underdog and " go for broke .” It is all part of the Celebration and there is something of importance for everybody .
We must remember , however , that there are three people there who are not allowed the privilege of being " armchair quarterbacks .” The judges cannot speculate on " what they would do ,” they must do it ! Then and there they must make their decisions with regard to horses and they must make their decisions with carefully prescribed rules of comparison . It is somewhat easier to sit in some remote spot in the grandstand with a commanding view of the entire arena and pick the winners than it is to stand in the midst of a roaring crowd and tie ten out of fifty horses , especially when you consider that any single judge can work only on the performance that he sees before him .

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52 Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse