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Eleven classes split at Celebration; Two classes split three ways
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration recently announced over a 10% increase in entries for the upcoming 84th Annual Celebration. As a result, The Celebration has made the decision to split 11 classes this year. Two of those classes, Open Two-Year-Old Stallions and Open Three-Year-Old stallions were split into A, B, and C divisions this year.
Those classes will also have all of the Futurity nominated colts in one of the sections making that class a dual purpose for those nominated entries. It would be possible this year with the changes to the Futurity that a single entry could win a World Championship and Futurity Championship in the same class.
Although entries were up, the decline in aged stallions that canter and thus compete in The Celebration’s preliminary to the big stake on the first Saturday continued its downward trend. Only 12 entries entered the competition and some of those are also entered in other amateur and/or open classes.
Earlier this year, the Celebration’s class sheet committee recommended eliminating the 15.2 & Under canter class and replacing it with an open canter class on the second Wednesday night of the Celebration. Of the 12 horses entered in the aged stallions preliminary, 9 (or 75%) of those are also entered in the open canter class on Wednesday night.
“Due to low entry numbers, the addition of the open canter class on Wednesday evening and the real possibility of having a split preliminary class with two to three horses in it, The Celebration has made the decision not to split the aged stallions on the first Saturday night. We have put a lot of thought into this for the last two years and I didn’t want to make a change my first year, but with the additional class this year on Wednesday night it tipped the scales for us to make this change in hopes of providing our fans with an exciting and thrilling preliminary on Saturday night. The Celebration is the pinnacle of the show season and if you want to be the World Grand Champion, you are expected to face strong competition on the industry’s biggest stage ,” said Celebration CEO Warren Wells.
The following is a list of all classes that were split:
Class 38 – Two-Year-Old Walking Mares
Class 41 – Owner/Amateur Two-Year-Old Stallions
Class 52 – Owner/Amateur Novice Riders on Novice All Day Pleasure Horses
Class 65 – Owner/Amateur Novice Lady Riders on Novice Mares & Geldings
Class 68 – Three-Year-Old Walking Stallions (A,B,C)
Class 86 – Three-Year-Old Walking Mares
Class 105 – Owner/Amateur Two-Year-Old Mares & Geldings
Class 123 – Two-Year-Old Walking Stallions (A,B,C)
Class 131 – Owner/Amateur Three-Year-Old Mares & Geldings
Class 133 – Owner/Amateur Four-Year-Old Mares & Geldings
Class 140 – Owner/Amateur Three-Year-Old Stallions
Celebration Entry Deadline & Entry Forms
The Celebration® Entry Deadline is August 1, 2023 at 5 pm. Celebration entry office personnel will take entries in person at The Blue Ribbon Circle on July 31st and August 1st from 8am to 5pm.
Online entry will be available for this year’s Celebration at http://entermywalkinghorse.com
Online entries begin July 17, 2023 and end August 1, 2023. Deadline is 5:00 p.m.
No late entries will be accepted.
**Championship entries will not be required to stable on the grounds this year.**
https://twhnc.com/celebration-continues-upgrades-to-showgrounds/
Feel free to give us a call if you have any questions or email egill@twhnc.com.
2023 CLASS SCHEDULE & BARN MAP ARE LISTED BELOW.
2023 CELEBRATION CLASS LISTING
2023 CLASS SCHEDULE WITH SPLITS
2023 CELEBRATION STALL REQUEST
2023 CELEBRATION PRIZE DISBURSEMENT FORM
2023 CELEBRATION CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM
Judges selected for 84th Annual Celebration
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration has selected Jamie Bradshaw, Johnny Puckett, Paul Robbins, Sam Sorrell and Amy Trimble to judge the 84th Annual Celebration. The panel is a combination of two veterans, three total judges with Celebration experience and two newcomers to center ring at The Celebration.
“We are excited to select such a diverse group of judges that blends experience with newcomers to our show,” said Celebration CEO Warren Wells. He continued, “Our board takes very seriously the process of selecting our judging panel with a continued goal of selecting the best judges available. We feel once again this year we have achieved this goal.”
Sorrell, from Lexington, Ky., will be making his eighth appearance in center ring at The Celebration. Sorrell is a veteran across the industry circuit and most recently judged the FAST Spring Showcase earlier in 2022 after judging four major venues in 2021. Bradshaw, of Arab, Ala., will be marking the cards for the sixth time, his last appearance coming in 2019. Bradshaw recently judged the Fun Show earlier this spring and just completed an assignment at the Money Tree Classic.
Robbins, from Shiloh, N.C., previously judged The Celebration in 2014 and most recently worked for The Celebration at the 2021 Celebration Fall Classic. Robbins also judged over the recently completed 4th of July shows at the three-day Christmas in July horse show.
Both Puckett and Trimble will judge at The Celebration for the first time. Puckett, from Shelbyville, Tenn., will be a rookie at The Celebration but has previously worked a Celebration show at the 2018 Spring Fun Show. Puckett’s resume since 2018 includes the North Carolina Championships, Belfast, Fun Show, Fayetteville, National Trainers’ Show, FAST Spring Showcase, Money Tree Classic and Puckett recently judged the Christmas in July show on panel that included Robbins.
Trimble, from Pulaski, Tenn., judged the Columbia Spring Jubilee earlier this show season. Trimble’s judging resume includes judging the Celebration Fall Classic in 2010 and in 2021 as well as stops at the Marshall County Horsemen’s Association, Mississippi Charity, and Money Tree Classic.
The 84th Annual Celebration will be held August 24-September 3, 2022. For more information please visit www.TWHNC.com.
Celebration releases final class schedule
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration has finalized the class sheet for the upcoming 84th Annual Celebration to be held August 24th through September 3rd. “We are excited to release our final schedule. There are some major changes to our schedule including starting our final three championship nights at 6:00PM,” said Celebration CEO Warren Wells.
Major changes to the 2022 version of the class sheet include The Celebration® having an evening session on the Wednesday August 24, where the Futurity has traditionally been held for years. The Futurity classes and competition will be spread throughout the entire class sheet of The Celebration® instead of all being held on one night.
In addition, 2022 will mark the first Two-Year-Old Walking Mares World Grand Championship. The Celebration® was asked to consider this in 2021 and its class sheet committee recommended the change in 2022 which was received with overwhelming support during the comment period. Certain divisions have been expanded based upon support throughout previous Celebrations and industry events and some have been contracted for the same reason.
“We are grateful to our class sheet committee that worked so diligently with us on this process. There is no perfect class sheet, but we do our best to combine the interests of our exhibitors along with having the most competitive and entertaining horse show that we can,” said Wells. He continued, “We will begin this process much earlier for the 2023 Celebration and will be looking at those classes that lack the participation levels we expect from World Championship and World Grand Championship classes.”
The Celebration® incorporated several classes in the final schedule that had previously been removed, due to the significant response received during the comment period. Due to the addition of these classes, the decision was made to start the final three championship nights at 6:00PM instead of the traditional 7:00PM start. “We really appreciate the input we received and it made a difference in our final class sheet. We hope that input and enthusiasm is displayed at the entry office for both our preliminary and championship classes,” concluded Wells.
Click here for the final version of the 84th Annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. For more information about the upcoming show please visit www.TWHNC.com
Eagleville Implement and Bush Hog to sponsor youth class at Fun Show
Eagleville Implement and Bush Hog recently announced their sponsorship of class 32, Amateur Youth Riders 12-17 Years on Walking Mares or Geldings at the upcoming Spring Fun Show. The sponsorship will award $1000 to the youth exhibitor who wins the class.
“It makes for a very exciting class for the fans and youth riders. I can’t thank Eagleville Implement and Bush Hog enough for partnering with us to increase the excitement around our next generation of Tennessee Walking Horse enthusiasts,” said Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration® CEO Warren Wells.
This is the second time Eagleville Implement and Bush Hog have added a sponsorship to a youth exhibitor at a Celebration event. In November 2021 they donated $1,000 to the winner of the Andy Adkins class at the 2021 Fall Classic. “We love the Walking Horse industry and The Celebration® and want to encourage more young riders where we can. It was exciting at the Fall Classic to surprise the young rider after he won, but this time we want to encourage more youth riders to participate,” said David Price of Eagleville Implement.
The 52nd Annual Spring Fun Show will be held May 26th-28th in the Calsonic Arena. For more information visit www.twhnc.com.
