USDA announces proposal to strengthen enforcement of the Horse Protection Act
USDA announces proposal to strengthen enforcement of the Horse Protection Act Thursday, August 17, 2023
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is seeking public input on a proposed rule to strengthen Horse Protection Act (HPA) requirements. These proposed changes aim to eliminate horse soring, a cruel and inhumane practice that gives horse owners and trainers an unfair advantage in walking horse competitions.
Walking horses are known for possessing a naturally high gait, but to be more successful in competitions some owners and trainers use improper training methods to exaggerate a horse’s gait. These inhumane methods may cause the horse to suffer from physical pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness while walking and moving.
“Soring has no place in walking horse shows. This unnecessary abuse harms horses and makes it harder for those who properly care for their horses to compete,” said Jenny Lester-Moffitt, Under Secretary for USDA Marking and Regulatory Programs. “By strengthening the HPA regulations, we can all work to eliminate soring, which will improve the welfare of horses competing in these shows and level the competitive playing field for everyone in the industry, which should only help it thrive.”
The proposed changes include:
• relieving horse industry organizations and associations of all of their regulatory responsibilities, which will eliminate potential conflicts of interest and ensure impartiality of inspections;
• establishing qualifying criteria for people applying to be inspectors, as well as processes for denying applications;
• allowing event management to appoint an APHIS representative to conduct inspections;
• prohibiting any device, method, practice, or substance that could mask evidence of soring, as well as all action devices and non-therapeutic pads and wedges, and substances applied above the hoof;
• clarifying the “scar rule” by modifying the description of visible changes that indicate soring, and;
• amending recordkeeping and reporting requirements for management at horse shows, exhibitions, sales, and auctions to increase oversight and prevent those that have been previously disqualified from participating in events.
Together, these changes will allow APHIS to screen, train and authorize qualified persons to conduct inspections at horse shows, horse exhibitions, horse sales, and horse auctions to ensure compliance with the HPA.
In 2017, APHIS withdrew its initial HPA final rule from public inspection in accordance with a memorandum that was issued by the Executive Office of the President. Following a lawsuit based on that action, on June 1, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order that would give the 2017 rule automatic effect if the agency does not take appropriate remedial action within 180 days to either promulgate an updated version of the rule, or otherwise remedy the deficiency in the withdrawal of the 2017 rule by conducting notice and comment rulemaking on the withdrawal. The agency published a proposed rule to withdraw the 2017 rule on July 20, 2023 which is available for public comment through August 21, 2023. Today, the agency is submitting the revised proposed rule that aims to strengthen regulations and modernize APHIS’ approach to this issue.
The HPA is a federal law that prohibits sored horses from participating in shows, exhibitions, sales or auctions. The HPA also prohibits the transportation of sored horses to or from any of these events.
This proposed rule may be viewed in today’s Federal Register or here. Beginning Monday, interested stakeholders may submit comments on the proposed rule at www.regulations.gov. APHIS will consider all comments received on or before October 20, 2023.
Mary Christine Stafford Craighead, 100, died on August 15, 2023 after a brief illness
at Carriage House Inn in Shelbyville, TN. She was born March 9, 1923 near Sugar
Creek in Jackson County, TN, as the first child of Edd Gore Stafford and Ara Francis
Moss Stafford. On December 22, 1939, she married Glynn Craighead, and they were
married for 52 years until his death in March, 1992. They lived near or in
Gainesboro, TN, from their marriage until 1956 when they moved to Shelbyville, TN.
In 1991, they moved to Chapel Hill, NC, and in 1994 Christine moved back to
Shelbyville where she has resided until her death. She was preceded in death by one
son, Ralph Glynn Craighead (b. Apr 28, 1945; d. June 17, 2016), and two brothers,
Ralph Eugene Stafford and Thurman Gore Stafford.
Christine is survived by one son: Wade Edward (Ed) Craighead (b. Nov 24, 1942)
who is married to Linda Wilcoxon Craighead. She is also survived by seven
Grandchildren (Jason A. Craighead of Raleigh, NC; Benjamin H. Craighead of
Salisbury, NC; Joshua A. Craighead and Justin A. Craighead of Panama City, FL; Wade
W. Craighead, and Daniel E. Craighead of Atlanta, GA, and Margaret C. Shuster of
Louisville, KY) and seven great-grandchildren.
Christine and Glynn were members of the Southside Church of Christ, where she has
been an active member. She was a quiet model as an Elder’s wife, and for years she
was a Sunday School teacher. More recently she has continued to demonstrate her
care for others in small but meaningful ways such as providing cards of “speedy
recovery” and sympathy for those who were ill or have lost a loved one. She has
lived by a deep and abiding faith, reflected in core religious beliefs and a life-guiding
principle of doing what you can to help others. She was an avid sports fan, listening
many nights to Shelbyville high school games and regularly watching her favorite
college athletic events on television until very near the end of her life. She was a
resilient and independent person coping well with the accidental drowning death of
her father when she was four-years-old and the very rapid health decline and death
of her beloved husband in 1992.
After working for many years in retail clothing stores, she spent the last 20 of her
working years as a seamstress making wedding and prom dresses for many women
in Bedford County, coats for Tennessee Walking Horse riders, window treatments
for many Shelbyville houses, and altering and repairing clothes for which many
Bedford County citizens will fondly remember her.
The family would like to express their gratitude to her many friends who have cared
for her, visited her, and taken her to many appointments during the past few years.
They would also like to express their gratitude to the residents, staff, and all her care
givers at Carriage House Inn, which has served as her home for the past eight years.
Her many friends and family will deeply miss her.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that gifts be made in her name to the
Fellowship Hall Building Fund of the Southside Church of Christ, 108 Narrows Road,
Shelbyville, TN 37160, or to the Child and Adolescent Mood Program, Emory
University, 12 Executive Park, Atlanta, GA 30329.
A memorial service will be conducted by Jeff Smith, former Minister of Southside Church of Christ, on Friday, August 18, at 11:00 a.m. The memorial service will be in the Feldhaus Memorial
Chapel, 2022 N. Main Street, Shelbyville, TN., where the family will receive friends
from 10:00-11:00 a.m. prior to the service. The burial will follow at 3:00 p.m. in the
Clark Memorial Cemetery in Jackson County, TN.
Feldhaus Memorial Chapel is assisting the family with the arrangements.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Obituary published on Legacy.com by Feldhaus Memorial Chapel – Shelbyville on Aug. 16, 2023.
Funeral services for Judy Faye Gambill, age 69 of Shelbyville, will be held 11 A.M. Friday, August 18, 2023, in the chapel of Doak-Howell Funeral Home with Jim Sorrells and Jamie Byrom officiating. Burial will follow in the Smiths Chapel Cemetery in Moore County. Judy passed from this life Monday, August 14, 2023, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
Visitation with the family will be held 4-8 p.m. Thursday and again 10-11 a.m. prior to funeral service on Friday, at the funeral home.
Mrs. Judy was born March 6, 1954, in Fayetteville, TN to the late Joseph Reagor Byrom and Mary Ruth Womble Byrom. Along with her parents she was preceded in death by her sister, Jeanette Byrom Gardner and sister in law, Felicia Byrom.
She was a wonderful mom, but first and foremost she was a great wife, when you saw one you saw the other. She was affectionately known as Nana or Nana Judy. She was a large part of her 3 grandkids’ lives. She and Paul loved attending their sporting events from baseball, basketball, & cheerleading. She loved every minute cheering them on.
She was very family oriented, loved hosting large family gatherings especially Thanksgiving & Christmas with all her family especially all her nieces and nephews.
She was a long-time member of Pleasant Grove Methodist Church, where she loved to handle the food for all occasions and any other capacity she could serve. She loved her church and her church family.
She was a long-time member of the Bedford County Fair Board, most recently serving as President for several years. She loved the community, and all the people she had met and worked with over the years. Volunteering was her passion. She also loved being a part of the Bedford County 4-H program over the years.
Her family was part of the Tennessee Walking Horse Industry for many years raising colts and showing. She and Paul loved attending shows, especially the Celebration each year.
She will be greatly missed by all those whose path she crossed.
She is survived by: loving husband of 49 years, Paul Gambill of Shelbyville; daughters, Mary Alyson (Josh) Tolar of Wartrace and Paula (Kevin) Roddy of Shelbyville; grandchildren, Jade Tolar, Cole Roddy and Ella Roddy; brothers, Joe R. Byrom of Winchester, Jim (Katherine) Byrom of Manchester, Jackie (Connie) Byrom of Tullahoma, Jeffery (Kim) Byrom of Shelbyville, Justin (Suzanne) Byrom of Winchester; brother-in-law, Les Gardner of SC; also, many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to express their gratitude to all of the caregivers that assisted Mrs. Judy and her family: Donna Gambill, Marilyn May, Shelia Holden, Diane Roberts, Debbie Flippo, Jeanne McMullin, Pat Finney, Beth Ray, Susan Stone and Suzanne Byrom.
Memorial donations may be made to the Bedford County Fair or to Pleasant Grove Methodist Church.
Doak-Howell Funeral Home is serving the family.
www.doakhowellfuneralhome.com
To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Judy Faye Gambill, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Obituary published on Legacy.com by Doak-Howell Funeral Home on Aug. 16, 2023.
Nearest Green Distillery Select Sponsor at The Celebration
The Celebration is very excited to announce that Nearest Green Distillery is our latest Select Level Sponsor, and Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey is the official spirit of the 85th Annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. We have a lot of great activities lined up with this partnership that will be announced soon, but in the meantime, join us in thanking them for their partnership and support. #85thCelebration
Can you remember the 2022 Celebration…take the Quiz!
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Created on August 16, 2023 By WalkingHorseChat Staff
Can you remember the 2022 Celebration Quiz!
1 / 14
At 2022 Celebration, in the OWNER AMATEUR COUNTRY PLEASURE YOUTH 6-11, who rode and won on DESIGNER CHAMPAGNE?
2 / 14
At Celebration 2022, where did Judge John Puckett place THREE YEAR OLD STALLIONS SEC C winner Cavender and Knox Blackburn?
3 / 14
At the 2022 Celebration who won THREE YEAR OLD STALLIONS SEC A?
4 / 14
In 2022, which SHOW HIO judge was NOT picked to judge the Celebration?
5 / 14
At 2022 Celebration, WC Im Sweet Maggie May was a popular winner in the Two Year old Mare Class. Where did judge Amy Trimble place her?
6 / 14
First class on 2022 Celebration was Model Mares. Where did Judge Paul Robbins place the class winner Catherine Zeta Jones and Robert Nelms?
7 / 14
In 2022, who was the FINE HARNESS champion at The Celebration?
8 / 14
In 2022, who was RESERVE in the OWNER AMATEUR TRAIL PLEASURE THREE & UNDER WORLD GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP?
9 / 14
In 2022, who won the OWNER AMATEUR COUNTRY PLEASURE WORLD GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP?
10 / 14
In 2022 where did Judge Paul Robbins place the winner of the TWO YEAR OLD WORLD GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP, Look Who I am and Casey Wright?
11 / 14
In 2022 who won the OWNER AMATEUR FOUR YEAR OLDS WORLD GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP?
12 / 14
In 2022 who was RESERVE in the OPEN SPECIALTY WORLD GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP?
13 / 14
In 2022 who won the OWNER AMATEUR WORLD GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP(canter)?
Racking Horse Breeders Association announces World Celebration judging panel
Racking Horse Breeders Association announces World Celebration judging panel
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
The Racking Horse World Celebration, scheduled for October 9-14, at the Cooper Steel Arena in Shelbyville, Tennessee, has announced their judging panel for this year’s event. Jackie Barron, Ricky Parker, Greg Johnston, and Steve Glidewell will mark the cards for the 2023 World Celebration. The alternate judge will be Tommy Thompson.
Today’s TWH Trivia Quiz- SATURDAY AUGUST 12TH 2023
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Created on August 12, 2023 By WalkingHorseChat Staff
Today's TWH Trivia Quiz- SATURDAY AUGUST 12TH 2023
1 / 10
Of the following 2019 Big Stake Contenders, which horse was NOT in the top four in the Big Stake?
2 / 10
Who was the 2019 National Trainers Show Stake Champion?
3 / 10
Which horse was a Yearling World Grand Champion?
4 / 10
When these horses were shown at The Celebration as a three year old, which one was shown by trainer Chalie Green?
5 / 10
Which WGC from these four DID NOTwin their qualifying class?
6 / 10
Who was the original owner of the "Sale of Showring Champions"?
7 / 10
In what year was the 1st Harlinsdale Farm Yearling Production Sale held?
8 / 10
What year was the 1st Murray Farm Sale held?
9 / 10
Popular breeding stallion the late Pride's Stormy Night, was foaled in which state?
10 / 10
TRUE OR FALSE: The Celebration's all-weather track was installed by Tillet Construction Company in 1981.
Finale announces judging panel Tuesday, August 8, 2023
The United Fall Finale that is scheduled for November 16-18, 2023 in Tunica, Mississippi is excited to announce that the judges for this year’s show will be Derek Bonner, Ross Campbell and Jamie Hankins. Watch for a class schedule and other exciting announcements about the show in the coming weeks.
WalkingHorseChat Staff
