TWHBEA National Futurity Restores Qualifying For Celebration
Lewisburg, TN - The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ and Exhibitors’ Association and the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration have come together to make the TWHBEA National Futurity a qualifying event for the Celebration championship classes in 2010. In an effort to honor the expectations of those who have supported the National Futurity through the continued nomination of their foals and to recognize the published rules of the Celebration, which stated that the National Futurity would be a qualifier for their championship classes, the TWHBEA Executive Committee voted to renew the partnership between TWHBEA and the Celebration.
Negotiations regarding sponsorships have been ongoing. For the past several years, the TWHBEA and the TWHNC have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship whereby equal sponsorships were exchanged and the National Futurity operated as a Celebration managed qualifying event. It was TWHBEA’s original assumption that this relationship would continue in 2010. Due to difficult economic conditions, the Celebration was unable to continue this relationship and requested that TWHBEA agree to be a $25,000 corporate sponsor of their event in addition to paying $9,400 for the Celebration management of the Futurity. Operating under the assumption that TWHBEA would agree, the Celebration moved forward and printed their premium list indicating that the National Futurity classes would be qualifiers for their championship classes. With TWHBEA’s financial hardships, they were not able to acquiesce. TWHBEA presented an alternative proposal that was countered by the Celebration. After more negotiations resulting in no resolution regarding sponsorships, the TWHBEA Executive Committee, disappointed in the National Celebration’s stance regarding the value of exchanged sponsorships, voted to move forward with TWHBEA managing the National Futurity. TWHBEA’s management of the National Futurity would have required a separate set of judges therefore making the event a non-qualifier for the Celebration. As a courtesy to the Celebration and in order to allow them to honor their premium list, the TWHBEA Executive Committee decided to pay the $9,400 required to hold the event as a qualifier under Celebration management as has been the case for the past several years.
Celebration President Charles MacDonald and CEO Dr. Doyle Meadows met with TWHBEA President David Pruett and Executive Director Stan Butt to work out this new agreement. Pruett stated, “This is the best decision for our breeders and the industry as we move forward.”
For further details or information, please contact (931) 359-1574.
