WHOA Dispatch
Horse Show Updates
Due to COVID-19 a few shows have cancelled their plans for the 2020 fall season . The cancelled shows include October 10th WHOA Versatility Show in Sparta , Illinois , the WHOA October 18th Show and the October 29-30th Appalachian Horse Revival in Morehead , Kentucky .
The PWHAT Oktoberfest scheduled for October 17th has also been moved from Woodbury , Tennessee to Lewisburg , Tennessee .
A new show has been added for October 31st at Bayfield Farms in Oxford , North Carolina ; more information to be announced .
For more information on these or any other WHOA affiliated show please see the Events Calendar on the WHOA website .
Bits & Pieces
Congratulations to everyone who braved the Covid-19 virus and came to The International . The show was a rousing success in spite of a crazy 2020 show season . So many changes due to the regulations imposed by MTSU and the government regulations , yet the show was held with just an 11 day approval by MTSU prior to the show date with amazing success !
Congratulations to all the blue ribbon winners on your performances . The classes were packed with terrific walking horses making winning a blue ribbon ( or for that matter ANY ribbon ) especially nice .
It was exciting for me to notice that “ our ” International winning horses did well at The Celebration . Again let me offer my congratulations !
I must mention a sad fact next - I had a guest at The Celebration that had never been to a horse show and was unfamiliar with horses . He is an intelligent man with a highly classified job . He asked several 4 • Walking On
Congrats & Concerns
questions concerning the gaits , etc . I told him I would explain it better after the show ( I WANTED to watch the show ). He then said “ Just two more quick questions !!” I agreed and the questions were - Why were some of the females scooting back and forth in the saddle ??? Try answering THAT one !!!!! AND why did the men hunch over like jockeys when they were waaaay too big to be jockeys ???? Well to tell you the truth I really did NOT have a good answer . I personally have wondered the same thing . Folks this man knew without any one mentioning it how unattractive these movements are . He also saw how very attractive some of the lady riders sat the saddle - he pointed them out and said how nice they looked . I quickly thought of Marcie Ann Hopkins , Judy Tillet Young , Janice Fostick , Pam Russell - all world champion winners and the list goes one and on . This proves to me you do not have to hunch the saddle to get a great performance out of your horse . This man had never been to a show but was repulsed by the females hunching the saddle and the men getting so close to the horse ’ s neck that it looks as if they might just fall right over the top . Straighten up and sit still ! The riders of other breeds do not exhibit these traits and it is unbecoming to our breed . We say we have the breed that is the easier than any other breed to ride . We say that we offer a new comer to our breed the “ glide ride ” and then we refute that with the gyrations in the saddle . Take a good look at yourself and ask yourself ; IF a new comer watched you ride would they want to buy a Tennessee Walking Horse .
I ’ ll get off my soapbox but let ’ s face the facts - if someone who has never seen a horse show , points out how unattractive it is maybe we should start punishing - by not placing - the riders who exhibit these actions .
– Sis Osborne
4