The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration board of directors recently met and voted to replace the stadium lighting for the outdoor arena. The facility upgrade will take place prior to the 80th Annual Celebration in August.  

In 2017, the Celebration was unable to have spotlight rides for many of the championship classes because of a mechanical issue that did not allow the lighting to be turned off.

“Our facility is an aging facility that continues to need maintenance and renovations necessary to carry on the tradition of the Celebration,” said Celebration CEO Mike Inman. “Our lighting is old and the replacement not only allows us to continue the tradition of the spotlight but replaces the old technology with LED bulbs and better, more efficient lighting.” 

The replacement will take eight weeks but will be done prior to the start of the horse show in August. The total price tag for the new lighting will be close to $200,000 once everything is complete. The Celebration plans to fund some of the renovation with funds from its cash reserves and finance the remainder of the project.

“We are in a position with our facilities that we will have more and more projects like this necessary,” Inman said. “We recently upgraded the lighting in Calsonic Arena and are currently repairing the roof of the Blue Ribbon Circle, all of which have come with a significant price tag.  We are so fortunate to have the wonderful financial support of our sponsors that help to offset some of the operational costs of running our facility on an annual basis.  
“The Celebration is so much more than just an 11-day horse show,” added Celebration Board Chairman Charles McDonald. “Our World Championship show is the backbone of everything we do.”