SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. – The 67th Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration is sure to be one of the most exciting ever, with 4,649 entries being made for the 11-day show.

This year’s total is 175 less than the 2004 total.  The record mark for entries is 4,914. That number was set in 2003.  The total number of horses is slightly down from last year; 2,610 to 2,505.

“We expected a slight drop in total numbers, but it is extremely gratifying to post such a good number of entries,” said Celebration CEO Ron Thomas. “The credit for the continued success of our entries goes to all of the owners, trainers, and exhibitors from across the country that have helped make the Celebration exactly what it is, the World’s Greatest Horse Show.”

The number of classes that were split into two divisions is up from one year ago. There will be 37 A-B splits this year, as opposed to 32 last year.  Three-way splits dropped from five classes to just four..

“This speaks to the overall health of the industry,” said Thomas. “Instead of one particular area, the growth seems to be across the board in overall numbers.”

“We are extremely happy to see the strong support we received for the new classes added to the program this year,” reported Thomas.  “From looking at the entries, it is very obvious that our exhibitors wanted Park Performance classes as well as an adult pony class.”

The Aged Stallion class will have some exciting action.  Top contenders NYPD, MG Above the Rest, and Dragonfly will show in the A-division while Main Power and Strong Dollar headline the B-Division.

Stall requests are also up this year meaning the Historic Celebration Grounds will be bursting at the seams with the world’s greatest show horses.

The Celebration is the longest continually running event in the state of Tennessee and the 2005 edition kicks off with morning classes on Wednesday, August, 24th and the TWHBEA National Futurity that night in Calsonic Arena.  The initial night performance in the outdoor Celebration Arena will be on Thursday night, August 25th.

Ticket purchases can be made by calling 931-684-5915.  More Celebration information can be found at www.twhnc.com.