Amen!

I remember when all of the government rules started there were a few proposals that seemed excessive.

(What creature the size of a Tennessee Walker couldn't handle a padded anklet under four ounces?)

Still,I'd like to see all the humans involved with a horse subjected to the same regimen as their equine atheletes.

Daily resistance training followed by competitions without weights could help produce greater stamina,a refined physique and the popular "Big Lick".

Most humans could handle that with no trouble.

But,how many would enjoy having caustic substances put on their feet,sharp objects jabbing the quick of their nails and ginger up their backsides?

These types of "performance enhancers" need to be reserved for consenting adults who can put limits on the damage they experience and put no one at risk but themselves.

A good horse and good trainer have Nature on their side.

The strong,fluid movement of the Walker is innate.

It doesn't need much to show itself to its best advantage.

The painfully contrived distortion of the Walker can't be maintained without much time,fuss and expense.

It is a labor intensive substitute for good breeding and proper instruction.

Unfortunately,even bragging rights can bring out the worst sort of human sponsors.

Add the sort who will bring in the corruption of fixed competitions and the result bears no resemblance to sportsmanship.

The creature that's supposed to benefit from all this becomes the means to an end rather than the focus and beneficiary of the activity.

This industry grew out of a desire to promote a beautiful animal and the region that produced it.

Now,it is little known except for a notorious reputation for cruelty.

Those who have stayed true to the breed's origins are ignored or have been embraced by less shameful spin-offs of what began seven decades ago.

I,for one,wouldn't mind if the hurt and hype disappeared.

The genuine part of it all would survive.

We could support our local community by enjoying the sheer beauty and skill exhibited by a team of human and horse.

Now THAT's what you could call a Celebration.

Can you imagine the impact of not having the horse shows we have here in town?

-- Posted by abner_t on Tue, Sep 1, 2009, at 6:19 PM

No arrogant drunk cowboy wannabees. No traffic jams of dually trucks and motorhomes. A late summer without ten thousand extra flies.

City and county leaders might actually have to try to bring business and industry in, instead of relying on this "one trick pony".

My thought is that the past leaders of Shelbyville were negligent and just plain stupid by putting the town's economic eggs in one basket.

While this may be entertaining to some, activities such as this (and I include horse racing, dog racing, cock fighting) have lost its appeal to modern and progressive adults. I still can't believe that many take pride that the town possesses this activity instead of something that actually benefits society.

I agree that we should have diversity in our industry and recreation.

I hope I'm wrong in inferring that some of our elite equate the horse show with bear-baiting,public lynchings,bare knuckle boxing,minstrel shows and similar low class amusements and bloodsports.

Ideally,it has more in common with spelling and quilting bees,ice cream socials,barn raisings,cake walks,camp meetings,county fairs and Decoration days.

The simple pride in our crafts,livestock and produce,the pleasure of gathering with old friends and the joy of combining necessary work with a holiday may belong to our past but they are part of our present and future,too.

When we must give up so much of the current anonymous,commercialized lifestyle,we may fall back on the "down-home" passtimes of a century ago.

That doesn't rule out our embracing pleasures outside our familiar culture or taking on the best of the new and forthcoming.

Stagnation and decay can take as many different forms as growth and change.

We can invite new jobs,new people,new perspectives and new activities to our area to provide vigor to our community.

We can also introduce others to the best of what we have experienced all along.

To our children and our new neighbors,a well done horse show,stock car race,revival,barbeque or victory garden can be as novel and progressive as the contributions they are making.

We won't prosper if we reject the unfamiliar or what's always been done.

We will have healthy growth if we keep our hearts and minds open so we can recognize good things and promote what is constructive rather than basing our criteria on whether something is the "same,old,same,old" or something fresh and untried.