The Celebration announced today that this year any entry will be able to withdraw prior to the show and receive a full refund if they are in disagreement with SHOW’s decision to accept or reject the mandatory penalties.  The Celebration is currently examining their options in light of the decision by a Federal judge in Texas rejecting SHOW’s lawsuit.

The Judges’ decision, being issued a year after the case was filed and less than a month before the Celebration, has put SHOW in a difficult time crunch to examine the opinion, consult with the appropriate people and make a decision.  SHOW had hoped to make a decision prior to the entry deadline but is still in discussions and did not want exhibitors having to decide on entering horses without knowing what the penalty protocol would be.  Regardless, any entry can be withdrawn prior to the show if they disagree with SHOW’s decision.

Unfortunately, misleading emails and statements have been made indicating that the mandatory penalties will be in effect and SHOW was being decertified.  The facts are SHOW has made no decision on mandatory penalties and they understand the USDA is attempting to decertify SHOW.  There is a process the USDA and SHOW must go through before they can be decertified.

“We hope this unprecedented entry plan will remove all doubt or confusion for our exhibitors and give them confidence to enter their horses knowing they can recoup their entry fee if they disagree with the SHOW’s decision,” said Mike Inman, Celebration CEO.  “We regret the timing of the judges’ decision and the inaccurate statements about it and will announce a decision when we have all the facts.  This is a critical decision for our horse show and the industry going forward and we will not compromise that decision because the court took a year to rule and issued the opinion within weeks of our show.”