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Wartrace is a town in Bedford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 548 at the 2000 census and 651 at the 2010 census. It is located northeast of Shelbyville. The downtown area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Wartrace Historic District.
The Tennessee Walking Horse is a breed of gaited horse known for its unique four-beat running-walk and flashy movement. It is a popular riding horse due to its calm disposition, smooth gaits and sure-footedness. The Tennessee Walking Horse is often seen in the show ring, but is also popular as a pleasure and trail riding horse using both English and Western equipment. The Tennessee Walking Horse is also seen in movies, television shows and other performances.
The Racking Horse is a horse breed derived from the Tennessee Walking Horse, recognized by the USDA in 1971. It is known for a distinctive singlefoot gait. In 1971, the Racking Horse Breeders' Association of America, headquartered in Decatur, Alabama, was formed as the breed registry. Its goal is to preserve the breed in a natural state with little or no artificial devices that enhance gait. The horse's tail is naturally raised without nicking or tail sets. Some classes allow special shoes that enhance action, and a relatively newer class allows the use of chains, six ounces and under as action devices. The practice of soring, illegal under the Horse Protection Act of 1970, is also seen within the Racking Horse world. Since the breed's inception, about 80,000 Racking Horses have been registered, with the largest populations located in the US states of Alabama and Tennessee.
Soring is the use of chemicals or mechanical devices to cause pain to the front feet and legs of horses when they touch the ground. This results in the horses picking up their front feet higher and faster than they would do naturally. It is illegal in the U.S. under the Horse Protection Act of 1970. It is closely associated with a unique high-stepping action of the front legs called "big lick" movement in show ring Tennessee Walking Horses. Under normal circumstances, "big lick" action is created by horseshoes that have added pads and weight, usually combined with additional weighted chains or rollers placed around the pasterns to create dramatic, high-stepping flashy action of the horse's front legs, desired in the horse show ring. Practitioners of soring do so because they believe that the pain associated with this practice exaggerates the "big lick" to a greater degree and gives them a competitive edge over other horses. Other breeds that have a history of soring including the Racking Horse and the Spotted Saddle Horse.
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration (TWHNC), sometimes known as the Celebration, is the largest horse show for the Tennessee Walking Horse breed, and has been held annually in or near Shelbyville, Tennessee since its inception in 1939. The Celebration was conceived by Henry Davis, a horse trainer who along with several other horsemen, felt the Shelbyville area should have a festival or annual event. Although the Celebration was originally held in Wartrace, Tennessee, it moved to Shelbyville, the seat of Bedford County, a few years later. The Celebration spans 11 days and nights in late August and early September annually, and finishes with the crowning of the World Grand Champion Tennessee Walker on the Saturday night before Labor Day. The TWHNC draws an estimated 2,000 horses and 250,000 spectators to Shelbyville each year.
Roan Allen (1904–1930) was one of the founding sires of the Tennessee Walking Horse. It is believed that all Tennessee Walking Horses alive today trace back to him.
Strolling Jim (1936–1957) was the first Tennessee Walking Horse to become World Grand Champion of his breed. Since Strolling Jim's death, a restaurant, street, and annual marathon in his hometown of Wartrace, Tennessee have been named after him.
The Walking Horse Hotel is a hotel on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located in downtown Wartrace, Tennessee, and is a part of the Wartrace Historic District. The hotel is in business as such, and also contains the Strolling Jim Restaurant, named for the original owner's World Grand Championship-winning show horse.
The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' and Exhibitors' Association is the oldest breed association for the Tennessee Walking Horse. It was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Lewisburg, Tennessee. The association also runs the Tennessee Walking Horse Hall of Fame.
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Museum is the only museum dedicated entirely to the Tennessee Walking Horse. It is located in downtown Wartrace, Tennessee, and contains exhibits on all aspects of the Walking Horse industry.
Calsonic Arena is an arena in Shelbyville, Tennessee. It is best known as the home of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, but it hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including motocross competitions, 4-H events, dog shows, rodeos and circuses.
Albert Dement was an early Tennessee Walking Horse breeder.
Steve Hill was a Tennessee Walking Horse trainer. He is one of only three horse trainers to win the breed's World Grand Championship four times, and trained the first three-time winner.
Emerson "Bud" Dunn was a Tennessee Walking Horse trainer from Kentucky who spent most of his career in northern Alabama. He trained horses for over forty years and won his first Tennessee Walking Horse World Grand Championship at age 74 with Dark Spirit's Rebel; at the time, he was the oldest rider to win the honor. He was inducted into the Tennessee Walking Horse Hall of Fame in 1987 and named trainer of the year in 1980 and 1991. In 1999 at age 81, Dunn surpassed his own record for the oldest winning rider by winning his second World Grand Championship, riding RPM. He died of a heart attack in January 2001.
Winston Wiser (1910–1961) was a Tennessee Walking Horse trainer from Shelbyville, Tennessee, who won five World Grand Championships on three separate horses.
Floyd Carothers was an American horse trainer from Wartrace, Tennessee. Carothers trained Strolling Jim, the first Tennessee Walking Horse to become World Grand Champion of his breed. He also trained the third World Grand Champion, Melody Maid.
Wink Groover was an American Tennessee Walking Horse trainer who won the World Grand Championship in 1970 with the horse Ace's Sensation. Groover was also Trainer of the Year for 1970, and later served as a chairman for the National Horse Show Commission. Groover died in April 2010, at the age of 74.
The horse industry in Tennessee is the 6th largest in the United States, and over three million acres of Tennessee farmland are used for horse raising or horse-related activities. The most popular breed in the state is the eponymous Tennessee Walking Horse, and it became an official state symbol in 2000.
Rowdy Rev is a Tennessee Walking Horse stallion who won the Reserve World Grand Championship in the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. Although he repeatedly competed in the World Grand Championship, he never won, despite wins in other large shows.
Vic Thompson was a Tennessee Walking Horse trainer. He and the horse Sun's Jet Parade won the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration's World Grand Championship in 1957. Thompson was the first president of the Walking Horse Trainers' Association and was later inducted into the Tennessee Walking Horse Hall of Fame.
References
- ↑ "100 Years Of Walking In Wartrace". www.twhbea.com. Archived from the original on 2006-11-23.
- ↑ "Shelbyville Times-Gazette: Story: Ironwork's Tin Man takes Wartrace blue". www.t-g.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-08.
- ↑ "100 Years Of Walking In Wartrace". www.twhbea.com. Archived from the original on 2006-11-23.
- ↑ "Calendar-of-events". Archived from the original on 2016-11-05. Retrieved 2017-02-04.
- ↑ "Wartrace Horse Show THE SCOOP".
- ↑ "100 Years Of Walking In Wartrace". www.twhbea.com. Archived from the original on 2006-11-23.