The Celebration® is the term generally used to identify both the event and the organization that manages and presents it.

The idea for a Walking Horse “festival” (later identified as the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration®) is generally credited to the late Henry Davis of Wartrace, TN.

It began when Davis went to nearby Winchester one spring day in 1939 and observed the Crimson Clover Festival. He became very enthusiastic about what he saw and returned to Shelbyville with the idea that his home county should have a festival to celebrate their most important asset – the Tennessee Walking Horse.

The idea was cultivated into the first Celebration® on September 7, 8, and 9, 1939. It has been held every year, without interruption, since.