by Stephanie Rose

GALLATIN, Tenn. – Two hundred forty-eight competitive entries showed up for the 51st annual Gallatin Lions Club Horse Show. It’s up from 214 last year. The show was held on Saturday, May 10, 2008, at the Sumner County Fairgrounds in Gallatin, Tenn. Over $12,000 was raised for the Lions Club Charity. Jamie Hankins of Paris, Ky., marked the cards for the 30 classes, including seven Riders’ Cup classes.

Show Chairman Martin Spears was proud of how the show went. The committee worked on the grounds and had a lot of comments on how nice it looked. Spears said, “It was a great show and everything ran smoothly. There were some great entries this year, especially in the stake class. It was very competitive and made for a great finale. We are looking forward to next year’s show and hope that it will continue getting better every year.”

Many world champion and world grand champions graced the Sumner County Fairgrounds ring this year, and that included the Walking Horse Championship. All night there was a buzz about who was going to win the Stake class. After winning the Alabama Ladies Auxiliary Stake class, World Grand Champion José’s Intimidator made a great show in the drizzling rain and took home the roses for Randall Ferguson of Union Grove, Ala. Mississippi Charity Grand Champion The Titan and Jimmy McConnell took home reserve honors for Kilgore, Holland and Martin. Casino At The Ritz and Knox Blackburn rode out with the yellow streamer for Bud Moore from Catherine, Ala. Superior Generator Threat and Tommy Loid rounded out the top four for L.E. Walton of Woodburn, Ky.

For complete show results and to view a video of the stake class click here.