The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration has announced that the Lead Line World Grand Championship has been moved from the first Saturday morning performance to the Sunday evening schedule at the 80th Annual Celebration.  The 80th Annual Celebration will be held August 22nd – September 1st.

The Celebration recently received a petition from exhibitors requesting it consider moving the class outside of the Calsonic Arena, citing safety concerns for those exhibitors. All of The Celebration morning performances are held inside Calsonic arena with each evening performance being held in the outdoor arena.

The Lead Line class had traditionally been held on the first Saturday morning until then CEO Dr. Doyle Meadows moved the class to the final Saturday evening performance as the first class of the night. That move by Meadows occurred in 2010.  Prior to the 2017 show, The Celebration looked at ways to shorten its evening sessions in an effort to end the show prior to 11:00PM each evening. Citing those goals, The Celebration moved the lead line back to its place on the Saturday morning performance schedule.

“It is imperative that The Celebration consider all factors when making the class sheet and we are definitely cognizant of any safety concerns to our exhibitors. In addition, we definitely want the youth of the breed, our future, to feel comfortable and get the most exposure possible as they become our future owners and exhibitors,” said Celebration CEO Mike Inman.

The 2018 Lead Line World Grand Championship will be class 80A on Sunday, August 26th. The class will be the first class of the Sunday evening performance.