Celebration judges announced

Celebration CEO Dr. Doyle Meadows announced that the judging panel for the 71st annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration has been selected. The group includes Rollie Beard of Lewisburg, Jamie Bradshaw of Union Grove, Ala., Mike Carpenter of Franklin, Jennifer Bingham of Shelbyville, and Sam Sorrell of Flemingsburg, Ky.

"We feel very honored that each has agreed to serve as a judge during our breed's championship event," said Meadows, who also serves as show manager for the world championship event. "There is no doubt that this is a highly-qualified group."

The panel is well-experienced in adjudicating The Celebration, while one of the group will be making their first appearance in center ring in the big oval.

Carpenter, the most experienced judge in Celebration history, is on the panel for his 12th show. His first appearance came in 1988 and he was last in center ring in 2007. Carpenter has been involved in the walking horse business his entire life. His first show was at age 5. Carpenter and his father maintained a small band of broodmares for several years and raised most notably Pride's Final Edition, Ebony's Operator, Ebony's CC, Pride's Velvet Lady and Pride's Charming Lady.

Carpenter and his wife Linda are the parents of three daughters and four grandsons.

Sorrell joined Carpenter on the Celebration panel in 2007 following his first trip to the big oval in 2005. This will be his third Celebration to judge. Sorrell began showing Tennessee walking horses in 1964 and won his first ribbon at The Celebration in 1978. He enjoys pointing out that his first horse was the offspring of his uncle's non-registered saddle mare to B. Major Wilson. The stud fee was one of his uncle's famous country hams.

Beard was on the panel in 2008 and will be making his sixth appearance as a Celebration judge. His other center ring appearances came in 1988, 1994, 2002, and 2005. Taught to ride by his father, he began his training career leading foals under the direction of Buddy Musgraves. In 1983, he opened Rollie Beard Stables in Mobile, Ala., where he trained for 15 years before relocating to Middle Tennessee. Entries from Rollie Beard Stables have been shown throughout the Southeast earning many top ties, including six World Championships.

Jamie Bradshaw is returning to center ring after his initial appearance in 2006. Bradshaw rode Jose's Intimidator to the 2005 Four Year Old World Grand Championship. He has also taken a floral horseshoe with Ritz's Diamond Joe as a two-year-old.

Bradshaw grew up with horses; his parents owned a few, and they attended many Friday and Saturday night horse shows. He recalls enjoying the horses and shows and decided to pursue training horses when he graduated high school. Bradshaw applied for and received his trainer's license in 1997 and has been pursuing his lifelong dream ever since.

Bingham will be the only "rookie" of the group, but has served The Celebration as one of the judges for the 2008 Spring Fun Show. She has been involved in the walking horse industry all of her life as her father started her riding at an early age. She has enjoyed success on RWC Ebony's War Eagle, RWC Copy's Spirit Lady, Imperial Prince and WC Merry Windwalker in the Equitation division and most recently on WC Something Extra Special, Gunboat and Skyliner.

"The selection process of our judging panel entails a great deal of work and input from various individuals and organizations," Meadows said. "The world championship of our breed, where the very best Tennessee Walking Horses compete, deserves to be judged by the best judges in our industry. I believe that we have put together a panel that will work well together and evaluate each and every entry so that the best horse in each class will win."

The 71st Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration runs Aug. 26-Sept. 5 at the Celebration Grounds in Shelbyville. For further information on this year's show, call (931) 684-5915 or visit the Celebration's official website at www.twhnc.com.