- 1110 Evans Street, Shelbyville, TN 37160
- (931) 684-5915
Category: In The News
TWHNC welcomes new CEO
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration (TWHNC) has hired Warren Wells to be its new Chief Executive Officer. Wells will be the fifth CEO in the Celebration’s rich history. Wells, originally from Bedford County, currently lives in Signal Mountain, Tenn. and is the Assistant Vice President for Government Affairs at Unum Group, a fortune 300 employee benefits company headquartered in Chattanooga. Wells’ wife, Jessica and son Walker will be joining Wells when he relocates back to Bedford County. Jessica is expecting their second son, Wright in June.
Wells joins the Celebration with a wealth of knowledge in state politics. Wells began his career in politics helping Jim Tracy as his deputy campaign manager and eventually serving as his research analyst in the State Senate. Wells later joined Governor Bill Haslam’s administration as Deputy for Legislation and then advanced to a senior staff role in Haslam’s administration as Director for Legislation.
As the Director for Legislation, Wells was the governor’s chief lobbyist and primary liaison between the administration and General Assembly. Wells was also responsible for managing the administration’s legislative agenda. One of the most impactful pieces of legislation that Wells led on was the IMPROVE Act, which contained the largest tax cut in Tennessee history.
As a Bedford County native, Wells is intimately familiar with the impact The Celebration has on the community as well as the prestige of being the World Championship Tennessee Walking Horse show. Jessica is an avid horse lover and has owned and shown Tennessee Walking Horses as well as Thoroughbreds, Spotted Saddle Horses and currently a Paint mare. Wells and Walker have also participated in lead line classes.
“My family and I are extremely excited to be returning home to serve in the community that raised us. The Celebration is the cornerstone of Bedford County, and a treasured asset for all of Tennessee. I am humbled and honored that the board has asked me to serve in this capacity. I have so many fond memories of The Celebration and events on the grounds, including my wedding reception, that it feels surreal that I now have the opportunity to partner with the board in carrying on The Celebration’s great traditions and developing a vision of growth and prosperity. I can’t wait to hit the ground running and serve this community,” said Wells.
Wells is a graduate of Motlow State Community College with a A.S. in Criminal Justice and received his B.S. in Political Science from Middle Tennessee State University. Wells is a first-generation college graduate. Wells also served in the Tennessee Army National Guard from 2001-2010 and in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005-2006, where Wells earned a Combat Action Badge and an Army Commendation Medal.
“We are extremely excited to add someone of Warren’s experience and background to The Celebration. We were fortunate to have several good applicants for the position and conducted a thorough search. Warren first impressed our search committee and then our entire board. What he has been able to accomplish in his career is something that impressed our board, and made all of us confident Warren will lead The Celebration to new heights. We can’t wait for our Tennessee Walking Horse community to get to know Warren and his family and we know our Bedford County community will also be grateful for his family’s return home,” said Celebration Chairman David Crowell.
Warren will officially begin his duties as Chief Executive Officer on June 7th, but in the meantime has already hit the ground running learning more about The Celebration and the upcoming World Championship show in August.
Celebration Selects Fun Show Judges Panel
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration has selected Jamie Hankins, Dale Watts and Robert Cortner to judge the 51st Annual Spring Fun Show. The panel consists of a Celebration veteran in Hankins along with two newcomers to The Celebration® in Watts and Cortner.
The trio also represents Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee and blends differing levels of experience. Hankins has previously judged The Celebration® seven times and has been at most every major venue at some point in his career. Watts has also judged some of the industry’s premier events including multiple Middle Tennessee 4th of July shows, the North Carolina Championships and the Alabama Jubilee.
Cortner has not been a triple-A judge for long but has judged the National Trainers’ Show, Columbia Spring Jubilee and Walking in the Smokies shows in the last two years. Cortner has risen through the ranks quickly and will be making his initial appearance at a Celebration horse show.
The Spring Fun Show will be held May 27-29, 2021 in Maverick Arena on the historic showgrounds of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration
2021 SPRING FUN SHOW
The 51st Annual Spring Fun Show will be held May 27th-29th, 2021. The show will begin each evening at 6:00 pm and will be held in the outdoor Maverick Arena and features 69 classes.
Entries will be taken online May 24th-25th at www.gaitkeeper.com. In person entries will be taken at the SHOW Office inside Calsonic Arena each evening from 3:00-6:00 pm.
Entry deadline for the first four classes is 5:00 pm each evening. All other entries must be made by 6:30 pm each evening.
If you have any questions, please call Connie Allen (931) 684-5915 Ext. 107 or by email at callen@twhnc.com.
2021 SPRING FUN SHOW FINAL CLASS SCHEDULE
2021 SPRING FUN SHOW PREMIUM INFO
2021 SPRING FUN SHOW ENTRY FORM
CELEBRATION® RELEASES TENTATIVE 2021 CLASS SCHEDULE
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration recently formed a committee to review and recommend changes to the Celebration’s class schedule. The committee has met over the last couple of months and reviewed past schedules, participation levels, industry trends and other criteria to come up with an initial class schedule.
The Celebration will be sending the schedule out in a tentative form to many of the leading industry groups as well as including it on their web site and publishing the schedule in industry publications. There will be a 30-day comment period that will end on Friday March 12, 2021. Comments will then be reviewed by the committee and a final class sheet released around the first of April.
The committee consists of Jennifer Bingham who chaired the committee and Nathan Clark, Justin Jenne’, Laurie Toone, Howard Hamilton and Amy Trimble. “We can’t thank the committee enough for their hard work and thoughtful discussions that have led us to a better place in our class schedule. This is a hard task and it is impossible to meet everyone’s needs but the work done is a major step in the right direction. We look forward to getting comments back from owners, exhibitors and trainers to continue to make changes that will improve our schedule,” said Celebration director Jeffrey Howard.
The tentative class sheet will show classes listed in red that have had changes made to them. Changes include moving classes to another day/night or changing, adding or deleting a class. Below is a summary of the changes recommended by the committee:
Model Pleasure Walking Geldings moved from Thur AM to Mon AM
Added Lite-Shod Two-Year-Old Walking Horses, O/T
Added Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, O/T
Park Pleasure Walking Horses, Five Years and Under, O/T moved to Thur PM
O/A Riders on Three-Year-Old English Trail Pleasure Walking Horses combined with O/A Riders on Three-Year-Old Western Walking Horses into O/A Riders on Three-Year-Old Trail Pleasure Horses, O/T
O/A Riders on Western Country Pleasure Walking Horses, Five and Under combined with O/A Riders on English Country Pleasure Walking Horses, Five and Under into O/A Riders on Four and Five-Year-Old Country Pleasure Walking Horses, O/T
Added Amateur Owned and Trained Country Pleasure Walking Horses O/T
Removed O/A Riders on Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, O/T Canter
Western Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, Five Years & Under combined with English Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, Five Years & Under into Five-Year-Old Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, O/T on Thur AM & Four-Year-Old Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, O/T on Fri AM
Added Amateur Owned and Trained All Day Pleasure Walking Horses, O/T
Added Park Pleasure Two-Year-Old Walking Horses, O/T
Changed Park Pleasure Walking Horses O/T to Park Pleasure English Walking Horses & moved to Sat PM
O/A Riders on English Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, Five Years and Under combined with O/A Riders on Western Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, Five Years and Under into O/A Riders on Five-Year-Old Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, O/T and moved to Sat AM & O/A Riders on Four-Year-Old Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, O/T & moved to Thur PM
O/A Riders on Walking Horses, Classic Horses moved to Mon PM
Walking Mares or Geldings 15.2 & Under (Canter) combined with Walking Stallions 15.2 & Under (Canter) into Walking Stallions, Mares or Geldings 15.2 & Under (Canter) & moved to Tues PM
Combined Amateur Owned & Trained Western Trail Pleasure Walking Horses with Amateur Owned & Trained English Walking Horses into Amateur Owned & Trained Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, O/T on Mon AM
Added Four-Year-Old Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, O/T
Moved O/A Youth Riders 6-11 on All Day Pleasure Walking Horses, O/T to Fri AM
Moved Two-Year-Old Walking Geldings to Wed PM
Changed Lite-Shod Walking Horses, O/T to Lite-Shod English Walking Horses
Moved Two-Year-Old Walking Mares to Tues PM
O/A Riders on Walking Pony Stallions combined with O/A Riders on Walking Pony Mares or Geldings into O/A Riders on Walking Ponies and moved to Mon PM
Moved O/A Novice Gentlemen Riders on Novice Walking Mares or Geldings to Sat PM
Moved Lite-Shod Western Walking Horses to Sat PM
Moved O/A Riders on Two-Year-Old Walking Mares or Geldings to Sun PM
Moved O/A Riders on Four-Year-Old Walking Mares or Geldings to Tues PM
Moved Two-Year-Old Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, O/T to Mon PM
Added Show Pleasure Walking Horses, Five Years and Under
Lite-Shod Walking Horses WGC O/T changed to Lite-Shod English Walking Horses WGC & moved to Thur PM & Lite-Shod Western Walking Horses WGC & moved to Thur PM
Park Pleasure Walking Horses WGC O/T changed to Park Pleasure English Walking Horses WGC & moved to Sat PM & Park Pleasure Western Walking Horses WGC, on Thur PM
O/A Two-Year-Old Walking Horses WGC moved to Thur PM
O/A Youth Riders 6-11 on Walking Mares or Gelding WGC moved to Sat PM
Removed O/A Riders on Walking Ponies WGC
O/A Youth Riders 6-17 on Walking Ponies WGC moved to Fri PM
O/A Youth Riders 6-17 on Show Pleasure Walking Mares or Geldings WGC moved to Sat PM
O/A Riders on Walking Horses 15.2 & Under WGC moved to Fri PM
Added O/A Riders on All Day Pleasure Walking Horses WGC to Thur PM
Moved the Four-Year-Old WGC to Thur PM
Moved Park Performance Walking Horses WGC to Fri PM
Added Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, Three & Under WGC O/T to Fri PM
Moved O/A Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, Three & Under WGC O/T to Sat PM
Moved Show Pleasure Walking Horses WGC to Fri PM
Removed Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, Five Years & Under WGC O/T
Moved O/A Riders on Country Pleasure Walking Horses, O/T to Sat PM
Moved O/A Novice Riders on Novice Walking Horses WGC to Thur PM
Moved Walking Horse Specialty WGC to Sat PM
Moved Two-Year-Old Walking Horses WGC to last class Fri PM
Moved the O/A Riders On Lite-Shod Walking Horses WGC O/T to Fri PM
Moved the O/A Youth 6-17 Trail Pleasure WGC O/T to Fri PM
Removed O/A Riders on Trail Pleasure Walking Horses, Five Years & Under WGC O/T
Added Trail Pleasure Walking Horses WGC O/T
Added Retired Trainers Class Sat PM
Moved Equitation 6-11 to Sat AM
Moved Equitation 12-14 & Equitation 15-17 to Wed AM
Moved Equitation WGC to last class on Sat AM
Added Youth 6-17 Lite-Shod
Added Youth 6-17 Park Pleasure
Added Youth Yearling, Handlers 12-17
Added Mare & Foal
O/A – Owner Amateur
O/T – Optional Tack
*All comments should be submitted to Connie Allen, Celebration Director of Operations, at callen@twhnc.com. For more information you can also reach out to any of the committee members directly.
Clarification on Prize Monies
The 82nd Annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration will be held August 26 – September 5. The entry deadline is Tuesday August 4th at 5:00PM CST. The Celebration would like to provide those making entries with clarifications on how winnings will be distributed and exceptions to the policy of showing back to receive prize monies for those horses finishing 1st through 5th in the qualifying classes.
Trainer Settlements:
Any winnings during the show will be applied to your balance owed for expenses. The difference will be mailed to the person indicated on the Premium Disbursement Form.
If you want to “cash-out” during the show the trainer is responsible for all payments. Please see the Entry Office. Please remember that everything has not been checked and is subject to changes. We will do our best to make sure all entries and fees are correct. Checks must be provided by the trainer only!
If a blank check is given with entries it must be on the trainer.
Championship Entries and Show-Backs:
ALL horses placing 1st through 5th place in a qualifying preliminary class must show back in its corresponding championship class or will forfeit the premiums won in that preliminary class. Exceptions: A horse qualifying for both an Open and Amateur Championship will only be required to show back in one of the corresponding championships. Any rider who qualifies two or more horses for the same Championship class is required to show only one horse back in that Championship class. If an owner shows multiple horses in multiple preliminary classes, each horse must show back in the class for which it qualified. If multiple horses have qualified in the same Riders’ Cup division (A & B, or A, B, & C), only one horse is required to show back in the qualifying championship. Mares and Geldings in the Open Performance classes will not be required to show in World Grand Championships. Amateurs in Performance classes will not be required to show Mares and Geldings in the Two & Three-Year-Old World Grand Championships. Two-Year-Old Flat-Shod horses will also not be required to show back.
Requirement to show may be waived by legitimate veterinary-approved letter stating reason for inability to show. All requests will be reviewed and are subject to approval. All Veterinarian excuses must be received by the entry deadline of the championship class. Any excuses turned in after the deadline will not be accepted and winnings will be forfeited.
2020 Celebration Entry Information- Class Schedule Changes
82ND ANNUAL TENNESSEE WALKING HORSE NATIONAL CELEBRATION®
August 26 – September 5, 2020
ENTRY DEADLINE – TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2020
All Entries must be received no later than 5:00 pm on Tuesday, August 4.
2020 CELEBRATION® FINAL CLASS SCHEDULE
Any Yellow copies of the schedule are incorrect. Replace with Green schedule.
2020 CELEBRATION® PREMIUM BOOK
2020 CELEBRATION® PRIZE DISBURSEMENT FORM
CELEBRATION® SELECTS JUDGING PANEL FOR 82ND ANNUAL SHOW
The 82nd Annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration will be judged by the experienced panel of Rollie Beard, Ross Campbell, Mike Hilley, Sam Sorrell and Leigh Stuart. The panel has a collective 20 Celebration’s judged between them. “We are excited to announce this panel for our 82nd Annual Celebration. They bring a wealth of knowledge in both our flat shod and performance divisions as well as a geographic diversity in where they come to us from,” said Celebration CEO Mike Inman.
The Celebration judges’ committee met on Monday July 6, 2020 and made the recommendations to the full board who later that day ratified the selections recommended by the committee. The Celebration affiliates with the SHOW HIO, which is owned by The Celebration and selects the panel from the list of AAA licensed judges at the SHOW HIO. There were 20 AAA judges that expressed the desire and availability to judge this year’s show.
Beard, from Lewisburg, Tenn., is the most experienced of the panel, judging The Celebration eight times previously. The most recent was in 2014 but also includes stints judging in Maverick Arena in 1988, 1994, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2013. Beard has been active lately in some of the industry premier events including the 2019 Spring Fun Show, Money Tree Classic and North Carolina Championships. He also judged the Columbia Spring Jubilee this year.
Sam Sorrell, from Lexington, Ky., has previously judged The Celebration six times. Sorrell marked the cards in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2016 and 2018. Sorrell most recently judged the Money Tree Classic on July 3, 2020 but has judged most every major venue in the industry including twice at The International in 2005 and 2010.
Leigh Stuart, from Alvaton, Ky., has been a popular choice in recent years and will be making her fifth appearance at The Celebration. Stuart previously judged in 1997, 2013, 2016 and 2018. Stuart also judged the Tunica Fall Classic in 2016 and 2019 for The Celebration and she too has judged The International. Stuart is respected for her knowledge of the SHOW rulebook and her role in the drafting of it.
Hilley, from Shelbyville, Tenn., will be marking the cards for the second time in 3 years. Hilley judged The Celebration for the first time in 2018. Hilley has judged the Tunica Fall Classic in 2014 and 2019 and most recently judged at the 2020 Money Tree Classic in Calsonic Arena.
Campbell, from Cullman, Ala., will be making his second appearance in the big oval. Campbell judged with Stuart and Hilley at the 2018 Celebration. Campbell has also judged the Tunica Fall Classic, FAST Spring Showcase, Gulf Coast Charity and Money Tree Classic. Campbell also judged this year’s Columbia Spring Jubilee with Beard.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Celebration felt it prudent to select two alternates for this year’s show in case any of the five initial selections were to fall ill and be forced to quarantine. Chris Bobo and Paul Robbins will serve in those alternate roles, after both received serious consideration by the committee.
“We are extremely excited to work with this group of judges to make our 82nd Annual Celebration the best it can be. Competition has been extremely tough to start the year and we expect large numbers and deep classes for this group to consider later in August,” concluded Inman.
The 82nd Annual Celebration will be held August 26th – September 3rd in Calsonic and Maverick Arenas on the historic Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration show grounds. For more information contact the administrative office at 931-684-5915..
CELEBRATION® MAKING PLANS FOR 82ND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration board of directors continued to finalize plans for the upcoming 82nd Annual Celebration to be held August 26th – September 5th. The board met July 6, 2020 and made some final decisions regarding the upcoming horse show in light of the COVID-19 recommendations from local, state and federal guidelines.
Box Seating
The Celebration will reconcile the sale of its box seats on July 15th to check available inventory. If at that time box seat holders that would like to move their location to a less crowded area they can work with Celebration staff to do so. The move will be a one-year temporary move and the customer will not lose the right to the original box they’ve previously had. Also, if the customer moves to a different location they will be refunded the difference in price if the new box is less expensive and charged the difference if the new box is more expensive than their original box.
Blue Ribbon Circle Club
The Celebration will have the Blue Ribbon Circle Club but will add a new outside location which will be located in the front lawn of the current Blue Ribbon. The area will have a tent and be equipped with table tops for those that would prefer to be in the outside air but also to increase the spacing of the club. On the most attended nights, the outside location will offer bar service and some food service. The food selection will be similar to past years in the Blue Ribbon Circle but may be limited in the selection as the food caterer will haver servers in place instead of patrons serving themselves. The Celebration will follow state guidelines on occupancy and may limit those in the area at any specific time. We will continue to update our pass holders as we get closer to time.
Corporate Sponsor Party
Unfortunately, the Celebration will not have a corporate sponsor party in 2020. The board just didn’t feel comfortable with the current executive orders in place of having that many people in one confined location. Due to this cancellation this year, the board did upgrade the Blue Ribbon Circle decorations, add the outdoor area and on the first Saturday night will have a special meal during the normal time of the sponsor party for those sponsors that would like to eat prior to the show.
After Show Entertainment
In the past several years the Celebration has hosted after-show entertainment in the Blue Ribbon Circle Club. Those band parties have been very popular but due to the current circumstances the Celebration will not host those parties after the show this year. In addition, in previous years barns have hired bands and entertainment to play at their locations on the show grounds. Unfortunately, in 2020 this will not be allowed due to the large crowds that gather at those barn parties. Individual barns can still have gatherings, food and normal customer entertainment but just won’t be allowed to bring in outside entertainment.
Stabling
The Celebration will require all championship entries to stable on the show grounds for 48 hours prior to their championship performance. The entry deadline for championship classes will once again be 12:00PM two days prior to your championship evening performance (for example Thursday evening championship entries will be required to be on the show grounds by showtime Tuesday evening).
Golf Cart Rentals for Celebration
GOLF CART RENTALS
Mikey’s Motors will again be furnishing golf cart rentals for the 2020 Celebration. In an attempt to make booking cart rentals easier for Celebration guests, a link to a form that can be completed with all necessary information to book cart rental is attached. You are also still welcome to call to book, or if you have any questions.
Click here for form: https://forms.gle/8whPX2TyQ7ebuZja7
Mikey’s Motors LLC Golf Cart & Low Speed VehiclesOffice: 615-962-9265