Walking Horse Celebration Permeates Shelbyville's Culture
For 11 days each summer, Bedford County takes on a festive air.
Local schools cancel classes, vendors set up tents along the streets, hotels are booked solid and restaurants are packed as more than 200,000 walking horse fans from across the country flock to Shelbyville for the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration.
A kind of “world series” for walking horses – known for their distinctive high-in-the-air, front-foot gaits – the Celebration is one of the largest horse shows in the world. It’s the centerpiece of the walking horse industry, and the event sets the standard for walking horse shows throughout the country.
“It is the showpiece of the area, and it is so important to the community,” says Dr. Doyle Meadows, new CEO of the Celebration. “The direct impact of the Celebration and surrounding days is in the vicinity of $38.5 million.”
Add the other, related events in Calsonic Arena, and the Celebration buoys the local economy by more than $50 million.
But the influence of the walking horse industry extends far beyond the Celebration, Meadows says. Training and breeding facilities in Bedford County buy feed, tractors, equipment and fences – and the owners and employees build homes and pay for groceries, food and a whole range of local services year round.
“There are now five separate condo developments within walking distance of the Celebration grounds,” says Jeffrey Howard, publisher of the weekly Walking Horse Report newspaper, which covers the industry nationwide. “Just about everybody I know has a second home here. The homes have helped the look of Shelbyville and the tax revenue, and it’s all because of the horse industry.”
The walking horse industry also permeates the culture of Bedford County, from the look of the countryside to the names of businesses.
Visitors can’t get to Shelbyville without passing a major farm, breeding or training operation. Restaurants and hotels display photos and sculptures of walking horses, shops sell walking horse jewelry and memorabilia. Some restaurants, such as the Strolling Jim restaurant in Wartrace, are even named for famous walking horses.
“You see a lot of businesses that have the word ‘Celebration’ in it,” says Meadows, who met his wife, Gloria, at the Celebration in 1989. “The visibility and significance of the walking horse and the Celebration manifests itself year round.”
Founded in 1939, the Celebration takes place in a 105-acre complex with 63 barns that contain 1,650 stalls, an outdoor stadium that seats about 30,000 people, a covered warm-up ring called Champions Arena, and a 4,400-seat indoor arena.
Champions in more than 30 different divisions are crowned during the festivities, with the World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horse named on the Saturday night before Labor Day. The Celebration also includes a large trade fair, a barbecue cookout, dog show, equine clinics, stable decorating contests and more.
David Williams, operations manager for Waterfall Farms in Shelbyville, understands the excitement surrounding the county’s premier event.
“There’s nothing like riding into that Celebration ring, riding a favorite horse and hearing the roar of the crowd,” he says. “That’s what’s addictive to people.”
Williams works on the largest Tennessee walking horse breeding farm in the county – and the country. The 1,100-acre, park-like facility, owned by Bill and Sandra Johnson, breeds about 1,500 mares each year.
“For a horse guy like me, Waterfall’s like being at Disney World,” Williams says. “If they quit paying me, I’d still show up. But don’t tell my boss that.”
Williams is typical of the many people who work in the industry. His father owned walking horses, and they’ve always been part of his life.
“This is the mecca of the Tennessee walking horse,” he says, adding he can’t imagine living anywhere else.
