The Walking Horse Report received the following press release from the Walking Horse Owners’ Association (WHOA).

The Walking Horse Owners Association's Board of Directors met on Thursday November 29, 2012. The board voted to move forward and endorse the one group, one voice concept in response to the request from TWSHO earlier this month. As an organization that represents owners from all disciplines of the Tennessee Walking Horse, WHOA looks forward to working diligently toward the success of the One Organization concept.

WHOA was meeting in response to a presentation by Frank Eichler on behalf of the Tennessee Walking Show Horse Organization (TWSHO) in a meeting earlier in November.  As part of Eichler’s presentation TWSHO asked WHOA to support the one organization concept, be willing to serve on one organization oversight and committees, and fold the WHOA HIO under the one organization

The WHOA decision at their board member clearly states the intentions of the WHOA board of directors to support and endorse the one umbrella organization concept.  WHOA is willing to serve as part of the concept and to move forward with one HIO. 

As part of the motion that passed at its meeting, WHOA has not decided to fold its HIO under the one organization concept but remains open to the possibility as the one organization concept moves forward.  The decision with regards to the WHOA HIO would be up to its three-person board of Frank Neal, David Pruett and Mark Farrar.  These individuals reside over the HIO instead of the WHOA board of directors in order to keep the oversight of the HIO independent from active participants in the show ring.