CELEBRATION® NAMES JUDGING PANEL

The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration has selected Jamie Bradshaw, Nathan Clark, Jamie Hankins, Kenny Smith and Robbie Spiller to judge the 81^st Annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration.  The 81^st Celebration will be August 21^st – August 31^st on the historic show grounds in Shelbyville.

The panel once again is a blend of experienced judges with new faces to the Celebration.  Both Smith and Spiller will be making their first appearance at The Celebration.  “Last year’s panel included two new faces and we felt like the mix of three experienced judges along with two new ones was a good mix and produced great results last year.  In addition, The Celebration is committed to expanding the judging pool and giving more of our licensed judges an opportunity to work our shows,” said Celebration CEO Mike Inman.

Clark and Bradshaw will return for the fifth time to mark the cards.  Clark previously judged in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2016.  Bradshaw last judged the Celebration in 2013 but also marked the cards in 2006, 2009, and 2011.

Hankins will be returning to center ring at The Celebration for the first time since 2011 and will be marking the cards for the seventh time.  Hankins judged in 1994, 1996, 2001, 2003 and 2008.  Hankins judged with Clark in 2008 and with Bradshaw in 2011.  The Celebration has been committed to diversifying its panels and this year’s panel only includes one judge who has marked the cards at The Celebration in the last five years.

“We are excited for this year’s show and appreciate these five judges for agreeing to take on one of the most prestigious jobs and responsibilities in our industry.  Judging the Celebration is the most important job our judges can accept and we expect this year’s panel to do an excellent job.  These five individuals have judged at most all of our industry’s major venues and continue to judge prestigious shows even in the time periods that they have not judged our shows.  The confidence the industry has placed in selecting these individuals for their shows was a major factor in our committee’s decision to select them for this year’s assignment,” concluded Inman.