1969 Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1969 April Voice RS | Page 12

resulted in which the issue was discussed with every-
°ne involved, and the class was held again on Sunday
afternoon with all horses entered being qualified to
show. We saw these horses and wish to point out
that they were all in excellent shape to show and
there were no indications of mistreatment of any
horse.
Considering that the Tampa Horse Show was held
before the A. H. S. A. Rule Book for 1969 was pub­
lished, this points out the need for a closer under­
standing between show officials and Walking Horse
exhibitors. Prior to every show some representative
of the Walking Horse community should meet with
j the show officials and their veterinarian to discuss
the rules having to do with ''checking horses before
competition.” A mutual understanding, arrived at
prior to every show, would eliminate the probability
of misunderstandings such as those which ocurred
at Tampa.
Congratulations to Dick Randolph, manager of the
show, John Culbreth, Steward and Dr. W. J. Ray, Jr.,
official veterinarian, for their willingness to cooperate
in all matters having to do with the breed. If such
understanding is received throughout the year there
is no doubt that 1969 will be a great year for the
Tennessee Walking Horse.
ENFORCEMENT OF RULES
Rules For Checking Horses Need Clarification
Recent events at the Tampa Charity Horse Show
indicate that some clarification needs to be made
NOW regarding the new rules for checking Tennes­
see Walking Horses prior to showring competition.
The new rules indicate that all horses entered in
Walking Horse classes are to be checked by a veter­
inarian and a representative of the show prior to en­
tering the ring. The procedure involves checking the
horses' feet for scars and other evidence of mistreat­
ment and also checking the boots to be worn in the
class (See Insert in February VOICE).
At the Tampa Horse Show a veterinarian was hired
by the horse show management to check Walking
Horses. It is our understanding that he was given a
rule book and, in the company of an A. H. S. A.
steward, set about the task of checking Two-Year-
Old entries. The result was that initially only one
horse out of eight entered was scheduled to show.
Keep in mind that everyone, including the show man­
ager, the A. H. S. A. steward, the veterinarian and
the exhibitors, were of one mind with regard to mis­
treatment of Tennessee Walking Horses. A meeting
12
It has been said, "When a trainer loads up and
heads for a horse show, he has no idea what the rules
will be when he gets there.” This is true with the ex­
ception of those shows that are members of the Amer­
ican Horse Shows Association and a few state and
regional horse show associations.
There are three separate and distinct entities in­
volved in every horse show: Exhibitors (both profes­
sional and amateur); Judges; and Managers. Until
we can find a way to effectively control all three of
these groups, the makeup of which changes from week
to week throughout the show season, and be sure that
the rules will be followed by each and every one, we
will continue to have a "sandlot baseball” situation.
Due to the fact that we have no way to effectively
control our judges or managers, many of our exhibi­
tors maintain that it is "anybody’s ballgame.” Many
are in this business as a profession and it is their
livelihood. Blue ribbons do not necessarily mean "suc­
cess in the horse business” but to a lot of horse own­
ers winning is their motivation for participating, and
if they didn’t buy horses and pay the training bills,
we would all be out of business.
We have listened to many theories as to how this
problem could be solved. Some people say, "Let’s all
join the American Horse Shows Association.” Others
say, "Give the Breeders’ Association supreme author­
ity over all horse shows.” Still others feel that a na­
tional qualifying system for Celebration competition
would be the answer.
Until we can come up with a workable solution it is
up to the individual to do his part to see that our
agreed-upon rules are followed at any show in which
he participates. Remember that many fine horse shows
are managed by local civic clubs that have no contact
with the horse world except one night a year. 1 ey
generally print on their programs that &tan .ar
Horse Show Rules Will Apply.” This is not sufficient
to warrant participation at their shows.
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse