Copyright 2006
Ms. Leslie Wylie
Editor
Metro Pulse
602 S Gay Street
Knoxville TN 37902
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Ms. Leslie Wylie:
You and I have never met or spoken (until I called you this morning) nor have I spoken with anyone at your paper. I had never heard of your paper until I recently received a link to your website where your article "Sore Winners" is presented. You have without my permission or the permission of the photographer used a copyrighted picture of my former horse, Hard Mountain Cash, and me in two instances on the cover and within the article "Sore Winners". Neither this horse nor I have ever received a Horse Protection Act violation or a Horse Industry Organization violation.
Your representation of the Tennessee Walking Horse Industry is distorted and presents an overall inaccurate picture. Overall our industry has a 94 % compliance with the Horse Protection Act! We as an industry are constantly striving to improve our compliance rate. The conflict at the 2006 Celebration arose because of the ambiguous interpretation of the scar rule.
As a life long owner, breeder and exhibitor of the Performance Show Horse I am proud of this magnificent horse. Your article unfairly portrays the Performance Show Horse as an abused and unnaturally gaited horse. The Tennessee Walking Horse gait is a result of selective breeding over generations. If you believe otherwise, then you should note the gait naturally seen in a young foal strolling by his mother's side.
You will be hearing from my counsel in the near future.
Jane Hardy Meredith
Roswell, Georgia
cc. Clint Casey, General Manager