The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration has amended the qualification requirements for its World Grand Championship class.  Historically the Aged Stallions, Five Years & Over, Aged Mares & Geldings and the Four-Year-Old Stallions, Mares, and Geldings have all qualified for the championship class.

In 2007, the Celebration adopted a policy that allowed any previous World Grand Champion to be automatically qualified for the World Grand Championship class on Saturday night.  The move was made in an effort to increase participation and add excitement to the final Saturday night.

In 2016 and moving forward, the Celebration will add that any horse that has qualified and completed all three gaits in the qualifying class will be eligible and qualified for the World Grand Championship class.  The new rule will require that the rider that qualified the horse remain the rider in the championship class, meaning that if an amateur qualifies the horse the amateur will be required to show the horse in the World Grand Championship class.

The only exception to this new rule will be juveniles and their horses, which will not be qualified to show in the World Grand Championship class.  Currently, no juvenile division canters except in the Equitation division.

In addition, any previous World Grand Champion that would like to qualify for the World Grand Championship class will be required to qualify in one of the preliminary classes that serve as a qualifier.  “Our board was asked to look at the qualifications for our World Grand Championship class.  We have met several times and discussed the options for qualification.  Our final determination centered around the goal of The Celebration crowning the best Tennessee Walking Horse as our breed’s World Grand Champion.  We want to do this in the most fair and equitable way possible and felt like these changes allowed us to accomplish our goals,” said Celebration Chairman Pat Marsh.