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Gaits of Gold Gaited Horse Community Messageboard > Gait Discussions > Stop the Soring! > More Good News: No WGC Class, or Big Lick Champ! |
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Gaits of Gold Gaited Horse Community Messageboard > Gait Discussions > Stop the Soring! > More Good News: No WGC Class, or Big Lick Champ! |
| Moderated by: Brenda Im | Page:   1 2 |
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| More Good News: No WGC Class, or Big Lick Champ! | Rating: 
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| Posted: Mon Sep 11th, 2006 04:19 am |
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21st Post |
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Fargos Handmaiden G.O.G Community Member
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Dear Brenda and others here. I knew you all would already be on this, bless your hearts and go, girls and boys!  My other discussion board has quite a thread going on this topic, but I cannot voice my total opinion there because of the # of padded horse owners there and the board rules. Maybe these posts have already been posted here, but they are really good info: http://www.tennessean.com/assets/pdf/DN4007893.PDF http://www.walkinonranch.com/CNN.html Now the complaint on this one raised by the Padded crowd was that it was made in 1988, so here's a recent article: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1532318,00.html But have your Kleenex box ready when you see what happened to Watchout and his trainer/owners: http://www.walkinonranch.com/Celebration.html At any rate, the subject came up, what to do about all this. Seems now is the time while Goliath (TWBEA) has finally been given a deserved blow. My feelings are: I think #1 to make sure the federal inspectors are doing their jobs and that inspection should not come from inspectors hired by the industry itself. Seems to me that if inspectors are cheating and letting horses through that shouldn't, they should be subjected to the same fines/imprisonment as the perpetrators. And if indeed as someone posted on the other board, that the requirements are being rewritten to allow this kind of behavior, we should be all over them like flies on a watermelon! I hope the dates given for meetings on the Horse Protection site are current for this coming year. If they are, I hope to be at that meeting April 19 to voice my concerns. And I hope those who really want to make a difference would attend their local meetings posted there also. Another thing that people who really are against this is to avoid breeding their mares to these padded stallions and choose a wonderful animal like Watchout and others who obviously have a more natural gait. I don't know why anyone would want to choose a stallion whose gait comes from mechancal devices anyway. Money talks! If these particular stallions aren't getting the stud fees, the show standards should change. Certainly the breeding program should be improved if we did, hopefully bringing the TW back to his former glory as a calm, naturally gaited horse that he was intended to be. Money talks! We can refuse to renew our memberships or abstain from joining the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders Association, while bombarding them with letters of why and what it will take to get membership flowing again. You're right, there will always be cheaters, but when it becomes this numerous in one discipline, it's time to set an example." One thing I couldn't voice on my other board, my bellief that the very act of putting pads on a horse is in itself "soring." At any rate I put my actions where my mouth is and sent off an e-mail to the TWBEA expressing my deep hope that this experience will redirect the association away from having Padded horse events. I hope everyone here will do the same, attend the local HPA meetings and send letters to the association. Make the letters well-thought out and civil. Old saying, sugar catches more flies than vinegar. OK, I'll get off my soapbox. Connie
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| Posted: Tue Sep 5th, 2006 09:14 am |
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22nd Post |
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Soliae G.O.G Community Member 
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Make no mistake, though, the Big Lick industry will fight this - and hard - not in the open, but by calls to politicians, lawyers, and other means of attempting to get the USDA off their backs. Their intent is one of two things: to repeal the Horse Protection Act as being an unnecessary strain on taxpayer's dollars, or to set a standard for inspections so low that a cleverly sored horse can easily pass. Their propaganda right now runs on primarily two things, restated in a variety of ways.... "We've cleaned up our act and the inspections are too strict/biased/inconsistant." and my favorite standby "Other horses have bad things happen to them, why pick on us?". Of course, the answer to number two is that two wrongs don't make a right and the answer to number one lies in the USDA studies - clearly, they have NOT cleaned up their act, and if anything, require stricter inspections. Further, most breed organizations do not in any way condone the problems associated with some bad trainers in their breed. They are active and cooperative in ferreting problems out - a distinct difference between what the TWHBEA does, which is provide lip service "We don't support sore horses" but then is constantly trying to have the inspection process minimized - instead of welcoming it, as they would if they TRULY wanted to eradicate soring. I would suggest that people continue sending letters to the Tennessee politicians, Celebration officials, and anyone else you can think of, supporting the USDA's actions. The industry will be fighting very hard - lots of money depends on this - so I encourage everyone to fight back with the only thing that occasionally wins over money and greed - integrity.
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| Posted: Tue Sep 5th, 2006 01:53 am |
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23rd Post |
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twhsandy G.O.G Community Member
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You're right gaitinggal!!!!!! Praise the Lord!!!!!
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| Posted: Mon Sep 4th, 2006 12:53 pm |
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24th Post |
Hurleycane
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Last edited on Tue Sep 12th, 2006 06:47 pm by |
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| Posted: Mon Sep 4th, 2006 12:33 pm |
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25th Post |
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gaitingal Ranch Hand 
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Well, yes... It is still a bunch of "good ol' boys" in a lot of ways. My thoughts are that owners of these high dollar horses will start to rethink their trainers' methods. This should have been a pretty good shake down for everyone involved & I am hoping that the judges take note & begin to put a little more thought into what horses they are placing in the winner's circle & why. Performance enhancing drugs are not allowed in any sport, internal or external. Horses were being banned from the show ring due to evidence that someone had broken laws already in place. I am sure that trainers & owners alike are already trying to develop better ways to disguise their use of performance enhancing training methods & materials/equipment. Change takes time. At first it will just seem like the mean ol' Feds came into an area where they are not welcomed. The mob mentality will continue to fester angrily, but as time rolls on, people will settle down & attempt to think back on things. I do not see Death to The Big Lick Era as an abrupt one. It will die out slowly, but not until there is something else to replace it. For many people, for several generations, there is nothing more exciting than the World Grand Championship at The Celebration in Shelbyville, TN. To go from that extreme a performance down to a natural TWH must be bland & boring, to say the least. So, I am hoping that the events that occurred at The Celebration 2006 has sent a message to all horse people, in all breeds & disciplines. The TWH is not the only group, just the most infamous & obvious. So, change takes time & it will come around as more & more people get active & vocal, both with our government officials & our fellow horse folks. Like a boil that festers, let's all get underneath that boil till the surface erupts, exposing all the evil demons that lurk beneath the surface. Then, may the cleansing begin? --Debbie in GA
____________________ "Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been." - Mark Twain |
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| Posted: Mon Sep 4th, 2006 02:54 am |
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26th Post |
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countrygirl G.O.G Community Member 
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But the frustrating part is that the crowd cheered for the trainers. The article makes it sound like a bunch of rabble rousers spoiled the fun for everyone. When will people get it? i1
____________________ Liz |
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| Posted: Sun Sep 3rd, 2006 08:36 pm |
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27th Post |
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gaitingal Ranch Hand
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Why, I do declare! Kinda makes me smile a bit, "bless their hearts"... Amen, --Debbie in GA
____________________ "Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been." - Mark Twain |
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| Posted: Sun Sep 3rd, 2006 07:09 pm |
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28th Post |
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redwax G.O.G Community Member
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PRAISE THE LORD!!!!
____________________ It is well with my Soul |
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| Posted: Sun Sep 3rd, 2006 04:31 pm |
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29th Post |
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Brenda Im Pasture Boss 
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Here's the latest, from THE SHELBYVILLE TIMES GAZETTE: UPDATED: TWHNC ends with no champion Saturday, September 2, 2006 John I. Carney For the first time ever, the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration ended without crowning a World Grand Champion. Seven of the 10 horses scheduled to participate in Saturday evening's final class were turned away by inspectors, and the remaining trainers declined to participate, effectively canceling the class. The track was being smoothed in preparation for the final class when announcer Chip Walters came on to announce that decision. "The [trainers] that were left decided that they weren't coming tonight." The crowd roared in support of the trainers. In a year when the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection process was the focus of controversy, the final two nights of the 68th Annual Celebration were marred by several key classes in which few horses participated, presumably because of issues related to the inspection process. Walters thanked the crowd for its support during a week of crises. "You were patient, you were faithful, you've been that way all week," he said. "We haven't seen some of the horse we've wanted to see. In the World Grand Championship class, we won't see some of the horses we wanted to see either." Walters announced that a number of horses had been turned down by inspectors. With that final announcement, organist Larry Bright launched into his traditional closing number, "Just The Way You Are," and the show was over. The entire story is available here: http://www.t-g.com/story/1166645.html Last edited on Sun Sep 3rd, 2006 04:32 pm by Brenda Im ____________________ It's not always about trying to fix something that's broken. Maybe it's about starting over and creating something better. |
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