(MURFREESBORO, TN)—The South Carolina Walking Horse Association recently submitted a petition to the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association in opposition to the so-called PAST Act—H.R. 1518 sponsored by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.1). The specifics of the petition stated:

• We…vigorously oppose the so-called PAST Act which, if passed, will lead to the slaughter of thousands of unwanted horses, will in no way address the issue of soring, will result in the failure to properly inspect thousands of horses, and which bans devices deemed safe and effective by the USDA for many decades.

• Request that the board and executive committee of TWHBEA, our breed registry, do its utmost to promote sound horses in all disciplines of the breed, which entails vigorous opposition to the PAST Act.

• Request that TWHBEA do everything it can to retain its existing directors and resist efforts to remove directors because of their promotion of the sound performance horse.

• Request that the USDA improve and promote objective inspection techniques, which let sound horses show and which penalize real violations of the Horse Protection Act.
 The petition bore 75 signatures.

 “This is a great gesture on the part of the South Carolina Walking Horse Association to support the position we have long maintained relative to the PAST Act,” said Jim Cortner, chairman of the Performance Show Horse Association. “We’re hopeful this is but one of many organizations that will line up to bring an end to the emotional rhetoric of H.R.1518 supporters and start to discuss alternative legislation that includes more objective—and therefore, more accurate—testing of our horses.”
 
PSHA was established to promote and protect the integrity of the Performance Horse as a sound competitor in the show ring. Further, the organization is intent on also promoting and protecting the culture and history of the breed. Our goal is to consolidate industry enforcement of the HPA and inspect all horses in a fair and consistent manner to protect the wellbeing of the performance horse while maintaining the integrity of the sport.