Celebration Stalls Available to Hurricane Evacuees
Monday, September 13, 2004
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration grounds in Shelbyville, Tenn., could become home to horses evacuated from the state of Florida due to Hurricane Ivan.
"There are wonderful strings of show horses and race horses coming out of Florida that need somewhere to go," said Celebration CEO Ron Thomas.
"We are fortunate to have one of the finest equine facilities in the world and want to make it available to those in need." The barns at The Celebration can handle as many as 1,600 horses at one time.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is treating this as an emergency situation in terms of outside horses coming into the state. No health certificate will be required, but a 12-month negative Coggins Test will. Also, horses that are under quarantine in Florida will remain under the same rules in Tennessee.
The Celebration grounds house horses of various breeds each year for shows that take place in the Calsonic Arena and the main Celebration arena. The 66th Annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration concluded on Sept. 4 with over 5,000 entries and 162,000 fans on the grounds during that two-week period.