CELEBRATION® NAMES JUDGES FOR 2019 FUN SHOW
The Tennessee Walking Horse
National Celebration has selected Rollie Beard, Brent Grider and Kenny Smith to
adjudicate the 49th annual Spring Fun Show, scheduled for May 23-25 at the
Calsonic Arena in Shelbyville, Tennessee. Each night’s performances begin at 6
p.m.
“This group has the desired blend of experience
and freshness that The Celebration likes to incorporate into any judging
panel,” said Celebration CEO Mike Inman. “They are more than capable of handing
the judging duties of what is certain to be a collection of the best horses in
the industry.”
Beard is one of the most experienced judges in
the industry and has previously judged The Celebration eight times, most recent
in 2014. In addition to The Celebration, Beard has judged most all major shows
in the industry including Mississippi Charity, Gulf Coast Charity, the
International, Tunica, the Red Carpet show in Pulaski, Columbia Spring Jubilee
and Belfast.
Grider has also judged at The Celebration,
marking the cards in 2012. Grider also has a wealth of experience at other
major shows including the Kentucky Celebration, Alabama Jubilee, Columbia
Spring Jubilee, Gulf Coast Charity, Lewisburg and the National Trainers’ Show,
which Grider did for the second time this year.
A new face to the Celebration series of shows is
Kenny Smith. Smith has previously judged the 2017 and 2018 Alabama Jubilee and
also judged the National Trainers’ Show in 2018. Smith has been a
long-time horse owner and exhibitor as well as shown in the Amateur Owned &
Trained divisions.
In 2018, The Celebration began “associate
judges” for the Spring Fun Show in an effort to help continue to grow the
judging pool and as a way to evaluate additional judges in the heat of battle
during the Fun Show. Last year, Ross Campbell and Grant Holt were the
associate judges and Campbell went on to judge The Celebration later that same
year.
“We are happy to build on the tremendous success
of the associate judge system that began last year,” Inman said. “This
initiative dramatically accelerates the process of expanding the pool of judges
with Celebration experience. Three of the five judges at this year’s Fun Show
will be making their Celebration-event debut in either the official or
associate judge capacity.”
This year, Jason Hughes and Becky Barnes will
fill out the associate judge roles and mark their cards on Thursday and Friday
night of the Spring Fun Show. Hughes has previously judged the Alabama
Jubilee three times as well as Woodbury, National Trainers’ Show and North
Carolina Championships. Barnes has judged the 2018 WHTA Thanksgiving
Classic, Marshall, Texas and other shows in the Kentucky circuit.
The Celebration will also conduct a trial run of
electronic judging equipment at this year’s Fun Show. The Celebration hopes to
speed the process of tying the classes and announcement of the results so as to
reduce the time of the show and significantly decrease the amount of dead time
at the show.
“The use of electronic judging is eagerly
anticipated and we are truly excited to evaluate its impact, both within center
ring and for the spectator experience,” Inman said.
If the program is successful, the hope is to
have the program used at this year’s Celebration.
