their advertising program ran. They printed a fine color booklet describ ing the breed which they made avail able to 4-H Club members. The over all results of this program are not known as yet as we do not know what type of follow-up the Associ ation had planned.
By May of this year, horse shows were going strong over most parts of the country and the Tennessee Walking Horse was receiving much more cooperation from every quar ter than ever before. Primarily due to the efforts of the Trainers Associ ation, we had received assurances from various organizations, including the American Humane Association, that they would leave the settling of our problems up to us and would be come involved only when they were invited. Thus far we have made some marked improvements, but most au thorities agree that we still have room for more improvement in the area of humane treatment of our horses.
New products became an import ant issue for horsemen during the 1968 season and the most talkedabout line to hit the market was JUDGES’ CHOICE, manufactured by Maw-Vack of Aurora, Ohio. Mr. Buddy Moore, a well-known Tennes see Walking Horse personality, was named as regional sales manager and forthwith embarked on a pro gram to introduce the new line to the Walking Horse business. Thus far they have done exceptionally well with the products, which include a vitamin supplement, hoof dressing, shampoo, and other products.
From coast to coast the Tennessee Walking Horse was gaining in popu larity as the season picked up mo mentum. In May the 1968 California Walking Horse Celebration was a great success at the Pomona show grounds. Stables from all parts of the West Coast made the trip for this show and all indications are that the " big-time” Walking Horse is becom ing ell-established in that part of the country. Bob Lindsey from Little Rock, Arkansas was the judge and he put the blue on the true gait. Winners out there these days could compete just about anywhere in the country and get along.
Later on in the yeartheTennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ Associa tion let the contract for a new color film of our breed. Progress on this production is not known at the pres ent but it should be finished some time after the first of the year. More about this later as RoCo Productions gets into editing this film.
In June everyone headed to Colum bia, Tennessee and the annual Spring Jubilee. This outstanding show saw GO BOY’ S ROYAL HEIR emerge victorious in a great class with WAR- LOCK being reserve. We saw several outstanding young horses come into the limelight, including EBONY’ S OLD CHARTER, and COPY’ S REC ORD, winners of their respective Two-Year-Old Classes. Attendance was at an all-time high and enthusi asm was at a peak for this show this year. Another attraction was the fine show that GO BOY’ S CHATTER BOX made in the Amateur Class. He had some work to do to surpass his performance in this same ring the year before. ACE’ S SENSATION es tablished himself as " one of the greats” with a fine performance here. He, as did some others, went on to win World Championship.
The American Walking Horse Asso ciation held another fine school and show in Quentin, Pennsylvania in May that attracted enthusiasts from many parts of the country. A lot of these same people made the trip to Tennessee to attend the State Fair Horse Show in Nashville the latter part of June. It too was a good show that saw a lot of horses taking aim on the World Championship contest just two months away.
' Way out in Clarksville, Arkansas, the Joe Webb Riding Camp was com pleting the third successful season as a major summer camp with two sessions running from June into July. Joe moved most of his show horses from Searcy to Clarksville, and really had his hands full trying to work horses and manage his camp, too. They had a great year at camp and it looks as if next year will be even better.
An item of interest was the intro duction of a record album about the Tennessee Walking Horse that came out in July. Produced by King-Arnold Enterprises, the record related the history of the breed and had personal interviews with several notables in the Walking Horse business regard ing judging, training and breeding. To date they have sold a considerable number of these records and have done much in the promotion of this breed.
The middle of July saw the final stretch before the Celebration as top horses began to emerge after being under wraps most of the season. Hor ses in all categories began to come to the forefront and make themselves known as " contenders.” By the mid dle of July it was announced who the judged of the 1968 classic would be, and then and there began the annual guessing game as to " how they would do.” A few short weeks later, we knew how they did and the 30th Annual Celebration was history. With a total of 1,662 horses entered, the 1968 show was the largest ever.
After the Celebration, everyone headed down the rail toward the deep south shows, including Jackson, Mo bile, Baton Rouge and Montgomery. Thus ended the year 1968 that saw a lot of improvement in almost all areas of Walking Horse activity and saw the groundwork laid for contin ued improvement in many areas.
There were several events during the year that saddened Walking Horse enthusiasts. The death of Jack Darnell, well-known Walking Horse trainer from Huntsville, Alabama, in early November was a blow to his many friends and associates. Jack was one of the real gentlemen in the horse business and he was well-liked by everyone who had known him.
Another event of note was a dis covery by Mr. George L. Lenox that a colt was registered by error to CARBON COPY during the year. In his efforts to learn how this was accomplished, Mr. Lenox discovered that the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ Association had, for many years, been registering some colts in a manner contrary to their by laws. As a result of his efforts, the Breeders’ Association released a bul letin in September stating that a properly executed APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION must be filed before a colt can be registered. Cus tom had established the practice of using a " transfer slip” in lieu of an Application for Registration, thus making the prospects of false regis trations much easier than it should have been. Mr. Lenox also received approval of the Board of Directors to make a thorough study of the rec ords and books of the Association, and has had several of his employees working in this capacity for several weeks. It is our understanding that he will make a complete report to the Board at their regular quarterly meeting in December. More about that later!
Pleasure horses have been much in demand this year and our breed has headed the list of " most-wanted” from coast to coast. We have received many reports on fine representatives of our breed that have participated in a grand scale in distance rides and other contests for pleasure horses. More and more people are purchas ing top bred Tennessee Walking Hor ses and are training them strictly
December, 1968 35