(Copyright 2001) Editor's Note: The Board of Directors of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration issued the following statement today concerning comments made by trainer Chad Way in the Nashville Tennessean earlier this week.
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration strongly disagrees with the allegations made by trainer Chad Way in the Monday, August 27 issue of the Nashville Tennessean.
Board Chairman Bob Garner stated “Mr. Way made a number of serious and, in our opinion, false allegations concerning our horse show in the Tennessean. In a meeting with Mr. Way on Tuesday, we afforded him the opportunity to substantiate his charges and he was either unwilling or unable to do so.”
We have confidence in the National Horse Show Commission inspection program and the Veterinary Medical Officers representing the United State Department of Agriculture on the night in question. Both agencies were in agreement in prohibiting Jose Jose from showing and we support that decision.
While it is unfortunate that any horse has to be turned down, it is imperative that only sound horses compete at our show. We are proud of the thousands of horses competing here this week and believe Mr. Way’s comments were made out of frustration and have absolutely no basis in fact.
We will continue to work with both the NHSC and the USDA in every way possible to insure that horses competing at our World Championship Horse Show meet the highest standards.