CELEBRATION® RELEASES SPRING FUN SHOW SCHEDULE

A tentative schedule for the 49th annual Spring Fun Show has been released by The Celebration. The show will take place May 23-25 in Shelbyville with classes kicking off at 6 p.m. each evening.

“This schedule reflects the 5-year-old designation for junior horses as well as three-year-old and under classes for amateurs in country pleasure and trail pleasure,” said Mike Inman, Celebration CEO. “The Celebration is also excited about offering four racking classes at this years’ event.”

Entries will be taken at the SHOW office inside Calsonic Arena each evening from 3 to 6:30 p.m. each evening. Entry deadline for the first four classes each evening is 5 p.m. All other entries must be made by 6:30 p.m. each evening.

2019 FUN SHOW PRIZE DISBURSEMENT FORM

2019 FUN SHOW PREMIUM

2019 FUN SHOW ENTRY FORM

2019 FUN SHOW CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION

2019 FUN SHOW CLASS SHEET

By Sadie Fowler

The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration has released its proposed schedule for the 2019 horse show and is now open for discussion — for a short-term period of time.

In 2019, there are a few substantial changes to the tentative class schedule that need horse show enthusiasts’ attention. Anyone interested in changes to the schedule (which is included in its entirety below) should make their voice heard within 30 days.

Perhaps the biggest change folks will want to study in the schedule for the 2019 Celebration involves an amendment to the junior horse age limit in the flat shod and park performance divisions. A junior horse in those classes will now be considered five and under, versus the previous rule of a junior horse in either category being four or under.

“The rationale for defining junior horses as five years of age and under is to make all disciplines of amateur show horses consistent,” explained Celebration CEO Mike Inman.

The tentative schedule reflecting the potential changes was actually released in December, and includes the changes about the transition from four years to five years of age for junior amateur horses in the flat shod and park performance divisions — to match the padded division.

“While a slightly revised class schedule being released this time of year is not something that’s uncommon for the Celebration to release, given the substantial change to this year’s schedule regarding the age requirements in these classes we wanted to bring this to owners’ and trainers’ attention immediately to ensure the comment period is not overlooked by anyone,” Inman said. “We all get into ‘off-season’ mode and it is not uncommon to put off thinking about show season, including the Celebration schedule, until closer to show season. We just want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to comment during the 30 days allotted. So far, the feedback we’ve received as been positive so we believe this will be a welcome change most will be happy to see.”

Anyone wishing to comment should contact the Celebration office directly at 931-684-5915

 2019 TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE

In the continuing effort to balance session times and to offer classes best supported by entries at the Celebration, the schedule committee has made some amendments to the 2019 schedule.

In the morning sessions, these adjustments include shifting AOT Lite Shod and AOT English Trail Pleasure classes from Saturday morning into the Monday morning line up.

“The parallel objectives of briskly paced, reasonable session lengths along with competitive classes remain the Celebration Board’s goal and these initiatives help achieve that,” said Celebration CEO Mike Inman.

Other changes involving the Saturday a.m. session include the Auxiliary Youth Equitation 6-11, which will shift to Wednesday morning and the two Auxiliary Youth Equitation Canter classes, 12-14 and 15-17, respectively, will compete on Thursday morning. This will put all the morning sessions in a better position to be completed by the target of noon each day.

For the evening sessions, the O/A Western Country Pleasure WGC and O/A English Country Pleasure WGC will combine into an optional tack championship on Friday evening of the World Grand Championships.  This effort will make all the flat shod World Grand Championships consistent as to tack and hopefully increase the number of entries vying for this honor.

There are two new classes planned for the upcoming year. These include the offering of a Novice Youth Country Pleasure class competing on Wednesday morning. Secondly, after last year’s support of Adult All Day Pleasure, a Youth All Day Pleasure will be added to the Friday morning line up in 2019.

The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration will continue its tradition of requiring ownership to show in amateur classes during the world championship horse show. In recent years, leases have become more popular and The Celebration would like to clarify its policy on temporary ownership.

Starting at the 2019 Celebration, if a horse is going to be shown under a lease agreement, a copy of that lease agreement will be due at the time of entry. The Celebration recognizes the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ & Exhibitors’ Association as the official record of ownership so the lease must be on file with TWHBEA and a copy presented with the entry before the entry deadline for the 2019 Celebration.

“We want to make sure that our program and announcements from center ring reflect the true ownership and eliminate any confusion that may exist about a horse’s ownership during our show,” said Celebration CEO Mike Inman. “In fairness to all our exhibitors, this change will ensure that proper ownership rules are being followed in order to compete in our owner/amateur classes.”

The 2019 Celebration will begin on Aug. 21 with morning classes in the Calsonic Arena and culminate with the crowning of our World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horse in Maverick Arena on Aug. 31.  For more information please visit www.twhnc.com.

http://spectrumlocalnews.com/section/in-focus/in-focus-shows/2018/10/18/shelbyville–tennessee–the-heart-of-horse-country

THE CELEBRATION® RELEASES INFORMATION ON TUNICA FALL CLASSIC

The Celebration has announced information regarding the popular Tunica Fall Classic, to be held November 1^st -3^rd at the Paul Battle Sr. Exposition Center, in particular, information about the horse show hotel and exhibitors’ party.

Gold Strike Casino and Resort, an MGM Resorts Destination, is the horse show hotel with special rates available at $49 during weekdays and $95 for weekends, plus applicable fees. For reservations call 1-888-245-7829 and use block code 1810Tunica (Tunica Fall Classic).  Rooms have already been blocked out.

There is an exhibitor party planned for Wednesday October 31^st from 6:30-8:30 in the Millennium Theater Lobby in the hotel.   VIP floor tables are available for purchase.  Fee is $1500 which includes reserved table with seating for eight (8) and specially prepared dinner each night along with show sponsorship and recognition.

“If you have any problem obtaining that special rate or room availability or would like to reserve your exhibitor table contact The Celebration office at 931-684-5915 and it will be handled,” said Mike Inman, Celebration CEO.

The Amateur Pony Championship, Class 137A, did not have the required 10 entries to make a class.  As a result all pony entries in Class 137 A will be automatically placed in Class 141, Amateur Riders on Walking Horses 15.2 and Under.

AS WE HAVE DONE THE LAST FEW YEARS, CLASSES WILL BE INSERTED IN BETWEEN THE SPLITS OF THE OPEN TWO-YEAR-OLD STALLIONS. 

THE MONDAY EVENING SCHDULE WILL BE AS FOLLOWS:

 CLASS 104 –        O/A 5 YR OLD STALLIONS

CLASS 105A –      2 YR OLD STALLIONS, SEC A

CLASS 106 –        O/A GENTLEMEN SHOW PLEAS

CLASS 105B –      2 YR OLD STALLIONS, SEC B

CLASS 107 –        ELITE LADY RIDERS ON STALL

CLASS 105 C –    2 YR OLD STALLIONS, SEC C

CLASS 108 –        PARK PERFORMANCE W/H, 4 YRS & UNDER

The 2018 EQUITATION PATTERNS for classes 66E, 67E, 68E, 95E and 101E are posted here online and at the Barn Office at Barn 10 and the bulletin board at Calsonic Arena.

EQUITATION PATTERNS

The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration and Keith and Lorraine Rosbury are pleased to announce a three-year naming rights agreement for the Celebration’s outdoor arena.  The new name, Maverick Arena, will be displayed at this year’s 80^th Anniversary Celebration and will honor the 2017 World Grand Champion Gen’s Black Maverick, owned by Keith and Lorraine Rosbury.

“We are excited to unveil the new name of our iconic stadium as Maverick Arena and especially grateful to Keith and Lorraine for their continued support of The Celebration and the Tennessee Walking Horse Industry,” said Celebration CEO Mike Inman.

The “big oval” as some have called the arena over the years will now be officially known as Maverick Arena for at least the next three years.  The Celebration’s indoor arena, Calsonic Arena, is named for the automotive parts manufacturer, Calsonic Kansei, located in Shelbyville, which made the initial investment in the building of the arena.

“The Celebration’s board of directors have made a commitment recently to facility upgrades all across our showgrounds which includes new LED lighting in Maverick Arena. This improvement will be in place for the 80^th Annual Celebration and allow the continuation of our World Grand Champion spotlight rides.  This tradition means so much to all of us in the industry and at The Celebration and investments like this one from the Rosburys allow us to continue improvements to the World’s Greatest Horse Show,” continued Inman.

“The Celebration has had many partners and sponsors over the years that have helped make our horse show the historic Tennessee event that it is.  Our board is grateful to Keith and Lorraine for their investment in our future and we look forward to updating Maverick Arena over the next several years.  There is nothing in horse showing that compares to that spotlight ride in front of the great crowds we attract on our final championship nights and Maverick Arena will be a fitting name to our historic venue for this tradition to continue,” said Celebration board chairman Charles McDonald.

The 80^th Annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration will be held August 22^nd through September 1^st featuring 15 sessions across the 11 days.  The show will begin at 9:00AM on August 22^nd and conclude with the crowning of the World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horse on September 1^st.  For more information, please visit www.twhnc.com.