January 5, 2007

To: Mr. Jerrold Pedigo, TWHBEA National Board, Executive Committee, and TWHBEA Staff

After a long deliberation and much soul searching, it is with a heavy heart that I submit my resignation as Secretary/Treasurer of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ and Exhibitors’ Association, effective March 31, 2007. The Association and the registry staff have been a part of my life for the past 44 and a half years and coming to this decision has not been an easy task.

In this time, it has been my privilege to have served as the elected Secretary-Treasurer of the Executive Committee and as an employee supervising the Registry of the Association. I have seen the Association grow from approximately 2,200 members in 1962 to over 18,000; the registry grow from 5 full-time employees to 27.  I remember when we registered 7,000 colts manually, and now our foal crop is over 14,000. Technology has made it possible to accurately check and prove parentage, keeping not only production records but show and activity records.  The registry has gone from sworn statements about parentage, through blood typing and currently changing to DNA for parentage verification.  We now issue 18,000 transfers of ownership, and keep stallion breeding reports, keeping track of ownership of frozen semen, and conduct the daily business of our in-house customers as well as our phone-in customers. The integrity of the Tennessee Walking Horse Registry has always been our main objective and as technology has changed we have striven to modernize our processes with that goal in mind.

I am so proud to be a part of this industry and this organization.  I am blessed to have worked with and been associated with some of the finest people on earth. I am honored to have been a part of the history of one of God’s greatest gifts, the Tennessee Walking Horse.  I hope that I have given back in some small way to the horse that has given me so much in the past 44 years.  When I think back on those years, I see a parade of names of both horses and owners.  I think of memories both sad and uplifting, both funny and interesting.  It has definitely been an interesting 2 score and four years.

I hope to be a witness to the continued growth of this wonderful breed, and the unification of the different facets of the Tennessee Walking Horse industry, recognizing that each plays a major role in the growth and well being of our horse.  We bear a very heavy responsibility to the breed and to each other in helping it reach its full potential. No other breed has had to deal with more controversy and division than ours and yet the Tennessee Walking Horse remains the World Greatest Show and Pleasure Horse.

Thanks to all of you.

Respectfully,


Mrs. Sharon Brandon