This past Thursday our family experienced a Tennessee tradition… we attended the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. This is a huge event that takes place in Shelbyville, TN…very close to our town. In terms of entries and spectators, the 11-day event is considered the largest show in the world, drawing 250,000 spectators and more than 3,000 Tennessee Walking horses annually.
So it was kind of a big deal… that we got to go! 🙂 A dear family in our church invited us to join them in their box for all of the festivities.
The horses have three different gaits they compete in… if I understand correctly. Not that I even know what a gait is, but I tried really hard to learn all about it while at the show. Here is something I copied from this website to explain a little bit more about the uniqueness of the Tennessee Walking Horse…it’s all in the stride. And while they walk their head bobs up and down… hence the famous saying in my blog title.
“Overstride occurs when a hind foot surpasses the imprint made by the corresponding front foot. For example, the right hind leg strides underneath and oversteps the imprint made by the right foreleg, and vice versa on the left side. A long overstride is a desirable trait that allows the Tennessee Walking Horse to cover more ground with less effort than other breeds. The forehand breaks off the ground and reaches out in an elevated arc, while the head nods in a cadenced rhythm with each step, prompting the old saying, If he ain t noddin , he ain t walkin.”
Before we got to the actual Walking Show, we stopped by our friends’ barn to look at their Walking Horses. The boys loved being so close to the horses and our friend said Seth could come and ride anytime. (I am seeing a future blog post…)
The Celebration Track in Shelbyville, TN
One of the classes competing
The horses are standing in line to be judged.
Mimi and Levi at the The Celebration Trophy Case
Enjoy this video from the show. I was trying to feature the unique walk of the horses.