1969 Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1969 March Voice RS | Page 55

The procedure in the showring this year should be
rather simple. The judge will call for a line-up. No
grooms will be allowed in the ring and riders will not
be permitted to dismount except for stake classes,
where all horses are stripped for conformation. All
rules having to do with time-outs, breakage of equip­
ment, etc. are the same as last year. Make a special
note regarding the rule on "scar tissue” for 1969. It
reads, "All horses entered in two-year-old, three-year-
old and Junior classes, with any scar, callous or gran­
ulated tissue on the pastern or coronet areas which
can be DETECTED FROM EYE LEVEL, are ineligible
for competition. It is quite obvious what this means
and any horse showing signs of abuse should be dis­
missed from the ring by the judge.
Gaits and Percentages of Merit
A significant change has been made in the "percent­
ages of merit” for the various gaits for 1969. The
most notable is the reduction of emphasis on the run­
ning walk from 40% (which it has been for many
years) to 25% on all horses required to canter. This
gives us an equal spread for all three gaits (25% for
each) and 25% for conformation. Two-year-olds will be
judged 40% for the flatfoot walk, 40% for the running
walk and 20% for conformation.
In discussing this with some of our top professional
trainers we find that there are mixed feelings about
this change. Naturally the man who has a horse with
a great running walk feels that something has been
taken away from his "advantage” and the man who
has a horse with a great flatfoot walk feels that he
has a better chance. We feel that this will reduce the
emphasis on the running walk to some degree but
few judges will be able to overlook the great running
walk that has made this breed what it is in the show­
ring today.
his feelings regarding several facets of the Walking
Horse business that he feels need to be changed.
DR. BOB WOMACK — From Murfreesboro, Tennes­
see, Dr. Womack is a professor at Middle Tennessee
State University. Active in civic and community af­
fairs, he was elected "Man of the Year” by the Leba­
non Jaycees several years ago. With over thirty years
in the Walking Horse business, he is President of the
Tennessee State Colt Show Association and is a mem­
ber of the Board of the American Walking Horse
Association.
There are approximately twenty-six hundred (2,600)
members of the Breeders’ Association who will be
directly involved in this election. Last year only about
eight hundred ballots were cast, which indicated that
quite a few people were not interested enough in the
affairs of their association to vote. This year we would
like to see every member participate. As they say in
politics, "Vote as you please, but please vote.”
Next month we will present the slate of candidates
that will be on the Breeders’ Association proxy ballot.
This will give you approximately one month to evalu­
ate the situation and to make your decision as to
which proxy you will vote. We should point out here
that any member of the Association has the legal
right to nominate whomever he pleases, either by
proxy or by nomination from the floor. If you would
prefer to make a personal nomination during the an­
nual meeting, you are entitled to do so. If you cannot
attend the annual meeting, be sure to send in one of
the two proxies. Every vote counts regardless of
which way you vote.
W. D. ELLIOTT
Manager & Trainer
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GRIFFIN. GEORGIA 30223
PHONE (404 22ft-1637
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Walkincr Hnrsps
Training - Buying
Selling
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BREEDERS’ ASSOCIATION ELECTION
As most of you know, there is an election coming up
in the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’Association
of America. This year there are two vacant seats on
the Board of Directors. It is our understanding that
the seats currently held by DeWitt Owen, DVM, and
Mr. Hugh Gillen will be vacated. Whether either or
both will be up for re-election is not known at this
time.
The election will be held during the annual member­
ship meeting at the Association office in Lewsiburg,
Tennessee on May 24, 1969, and voting can be done
either in person or by proxy ballot.
This year, for the first time since I can remember,
the membership will receive two (2) proxy ballots.
One will come from the Association and will represent
a ticket as recommended by the nominating