“EYE” Witness Exposes The Howard’s Corruption and the Crisis in the Tennessee Walking Horse Industry-AUDIO

 

 Exposing David Howard’s Corruption and the Crisis in the Tennessee Walking Horse Industry-EYE WITNESS ACCOUNT

Written by: Tommy Williams
email:tommywhc@aol.com
931-492-2825
WHC Publisher-Williams Media Entertainment

LISTEN TO COMPLETE AUDIO OF THIS ARTICLE AND TRANSCRIPT

The Tennessee Walking Horse industry, once a symbol of Southern elegance and tradition, now stands at a precipice—not due to changing tastes or economic hardship, but because of the calculated greed and corruption of one man: The Late David L. Howard. A damning testimony from a key insider reveals a years-long campaign of manipulation, exploitation, and illegal activity orchestrated by Howard and all, to seize control of the industry, crush dissent, and line his own pockets—all while driving our beloved breed toward needless controversey.

The Power Grab: Undermining Oversight for Control

At the heart of Howard’s scheme was his ruthless pursuit of the Horse Industry Organization (HIO), a regulatory body he weaponized to consolidate power. According to the witness, Ron Thomas, then-head of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, openly opposed the HIO, recognizing it as a “conflict of interest” that would “hurt the industry.” Yet Howard, through relentless pressure and backroom deals, strong-armed stakeholders into granting him control. His goal? To dismantle the successful united front of WHOA, TWHBEA, and WHTA… National Horse Show Commission (NHSC), which he viewed as a threat to his authority.

This witness details how Howard promised competition wins—including on horses like WGC Santana’s El Niño—to secure support from figures like Link Webb, then-president of the Trainers’ Association. This brazen quid pro quo reveals a culture of bribery and collusion, corrupting the very competitions that should celebrate the breed’s integrity.

Exploiting Trainers, Silencing Critics

Howard’s tactics extended beyond regulatory sabotage. The testimony paints a chilling picture of financial exploitation: Howard deliberately kept trainers in debt, ensuring they’d “crawl back to him” for support. He allegedly manipulated their spouses—many employed at his businesses—to maintain leverage. Trainers who resisted were blacklisted, while those who complied were rewarded with hollow accolades and rigged opportunities.

When the NHSC attempted to hire qualified personnel to enforce fair practices, Howard intervened. The witness recounts being sidelined for a key role despite support from officials, with Howard ensuring only loyalists were hired. “You can’t control me—I won’t be bought,” the witness told many Howard allies, highlighting the systemic purge of independent voices.

Retaliation and Obstruction of Justice

Howard’s retaliation against regulators was equally brazen. At a meeting in NHSC executive Lonnie Messick’s office, Howard demanded that inspectors “back off” issuing violations—a direct attack on accountability. When Messick refused, Howard imposed petty retaliatory measures, like forcing inspectors to pay for their own laundry.

The Final Straw: A Courtroom Reckoning

A recent federal court ruling striking down the Celebration’s HIO has exposed now, his son Jeffery Howard’s empire as a house of cards. Judges recognized the HIO’s inherent conflicts of interest, validating long-held concerns that Howard’s regime prioritized control over horse welfare. Yet this victory is fragile. As the witness warns, the industry’s survival now depends on rooting out Howard’s cronies and restoring integrity.

A Path Forward: Integrity Over Ego

The Tennessee Walking Horse industry cannot afford half-measures. To survive, it must:

  1. Permanently disband corrupt HIOs and reinstate independent oversight.
  2. End the “win-at-all-costs” culture that fuels abuse and corruption.
  3. Protect whistleblowers and empower inspectors to enforce rules without fear.
  4. Prioritize horse welfare through commonsense reforms, like requiring free-walk inspections.

David Howard’s reign exemplifies how unchecked ambition can destroy tradition. But now Jeffery, and the Howards exposer offers a chance to rebuild. The question is whether stakeholders will finally choose the horse over the hustler.

 

This editorial is based on firsthand testimony and documented events. The allegations against David Howard warrant immediate investigation by legal and industry authorities.

Here is the complete transcript:

START TRANSCRIPT 3FEB2025

transcript edited only for brevity and clarity.

WITNESS IN RED

WILLIAMS, T.A. IN BLACK

THOSE EDITS IN GREEN

UN AUDIBLE REMOVED-VIA OTTER.AI Otter.ai (Free Tier)

“(0:00) After that, I had a conversation at the time with the head (0:07) of the Celebration, who was Ron Thomas. (0:13) Well, Thomas didn’t think the Celebration needed an HIO (Horse Industry Organization) because it would be a conflict (0:19) and hurt the industry. Yeah, after he got fired, he and I had a conversation about that. That was a McSwain deal, over a corporate sponorship check David made it look like mis collection on Rons part. David wanted him gone. McSwain would say anything for David after he bailed him out of jail for choking the shit out of Aymetts daughter.
, yeah, but you know, he wouldnt let up, it was all he wanted.
(0:26) That HIO. So, after so much pressure from him and so much talk (0:34)—and the industry not responding the way they thought it should—they went ahead and (0:39) helped him get it, knowing it was going to ruin the industry. Right. But he wouldn’t shut up (0:46) until they got it for him. Right, Tommy you remember they got WHOA to vote to desolve and took away the amateur cards from WHOA, Frank Neal was there. That was all Howard. Then burned Clay Mills, you remember that shit so they got eighteen thousand from Clay. That financed a month. that was bull shit. Clay and some DQP issue?, Yes.

So, they basically gave David the way to get his HIO, cause all SHOW is was, was his HIO. Ask Connie Nixion, she knows all about what Ron went through.Yep, nice lady, she put up with some shit. (0:55) Well, in the meantime—let’s back up—he was trying to destroy the National (1:02) Horse Show Commission because he thought that’s where all the power was. (1:10) And he was basically right, sorry mother fucker. yeah no shit,
He figured if you can’t get in, you can’t get out.I mean win (1:17) Right. accept Harvey Lefevers tieing one still at the barn, remember that shit?, No, no shit, well then they’d interviewed that summer for the position Lonnie Messick (1:28) held at the time.
Right. They interviewed some at the Marriott in Franklin, (1:37) Tennessee, several interviewed by Mark Farrar, Link Webb… Let me think. Mark Farrar, (1:49) Link Webb. And the vet? One of the vets wasn’t there. There were three or four people (2:00) in that room.
Link Webb was president of the Trainers’ Association. Mark Farrar was there. (2:09) A couple others. They interviewed us, (2:15) Mac Dickle(the lawyer who shod horses all the time), (2:22) and one other person, I forget. Two days later, I got a call: “We want to hire you. Can we meet?” (2:37) I met with Mark Farrar, and he said, “Where have you been?” I said, “I’ve been here all my life, around the industry.” They left planning to hire me. (2:50) The other interviewees were the vet who testified before Congress, you know Dr. Bennett from Equine Services. (3:03) Right John,…Long story short, they were ready to vote to hire. (3:13) I told Mark Farrar, “You’ll never get me hired. Once they find out, they’ll know everyone’ll be treated the same.” (3:26) They couldn’t move the trainers’ meeting up, (3:33) and David Howard got involved. David Landrum was on the board, along with Link Webb (3:55) and others. David Howard promised Link Webb to win El Niño, The Big Stake?, yes (4:03) and so on. Howard said he knew he could get to one judge, the other got fired, and David hired Mack Motes, who got it done., and that boy from Alabama, with his buddy in the damn class. I forget who judged That horse was horrible, but anyway, Landrum knew the heat would be on Link if it failed, thats why he was even elected president.Landrum could just blame Link. So they abolished the National Horse Show Commission, (4:10) started the HIO. The first thing they did was burn Clay Mills , fined him $18,000, and David Howard bragged on how he got Clay violated for comments to a DQP, and financed the first month of the HIO on Clays back. Right, I remember that, got him on a violation of a rule before they even had a rule book. Now before all this, Lonnie Messick called me in and said, (4:18) “I can get you the job.” We were at a horse show at Rockpile, (4:24) and Jeffrey Howard approached me: “You wouldn’t believe it—I’ve been answering questions about you all day.” I said, “Why?” (4:34) He said, “People don’t know you.” I said, “They don’t need to know me—just that they’ll be treated fairly.” (4:46) They didn’t hire me. This dragged on. Frank Eichlor interviewed me. Frank?, yes I like Frank he is a fine person, I agree, I am not sure if he is retired but he has this wood shop thats cool. Yes, I read about it, anyway Dr. Mullins and Dr. Bennett called, (5:00) saying, “Go to Dickson tonight to inspect horses. We’ll get you hired today.” I told Dr. Bennett, (5:20) “You won’t hire me. You can’t control me—I won’t be bought.” (5:37) They never hired anyone. They ran off Lonnie’s son, Chris? No the other one, then just cycled through DQPs, and eventually Frank Eichlor interviewed me again. (5:58) Frank told me David said he would resign from the board. I said, “Frank, David Howard told you he’d resign? Did you get that in blood?” (6:09) Frank said I was being hard on him. I said, “You’ll never get it done. David Howard won’t allow it—it’s about control.” (6:30)We’ve had chances to fix this industry but refused tough choices. (6:37) Howard kept trainers broke so they’d crawl back to him. He’d promise  (7:07) while keeping trainers in debt. He leveraged their wives (working at his business) to control them. (7:22) He financed photographers’ cameras to manipulate coverage. (7:52)David Howard fought for control and won. (8:00) He undermined Lonnie Messick because he couldn’t control the Commission. (8:12) We drafted the first operating plan with conflict resolution, aiming to eliminate the “bad image” horse. (8:26) I worked with them all . (8:37) and that went to hell cause he couldn’t keep his finger on it all.At a meeting in Lonnie’s office, Howard demanded DQPs back off issuing violations. (9:10) Lonnie refused, so Howard retaliated—making DQPs pay for laundry. (9:29) that shit was childish but that was David.This recent court ruling against the Celebration’s HIO (9:47) is our last chance to save the industry. If we don’t reform, the Tennessee Walking Horse will vanish. (10:12) We need to run it like a business, not cater to egos. (10:28)

Howard’s cronies choked out the small people, the little guy, you know Tommy the people who have a horse at home.right (11:15) If you’re not under their control, you’re excluded. (11:33) see now I clear $20k monthly but can’t get respect because I won’t play their game. (11:58) but we need to let the new USDA settle. The judging system’s broken—they ignore most of the rulebook. (13:24) We must get  to commonsense inspections: let horses walk freely for stewards, instectors, whatever no excessive chains. (16:40) that vet Dr. Thomas did this at the Celebration—no need to pick up feet. (17:45)the business is eat up with these conflicts of interest and Jeffery keeps selling them ads (19:39) you know Link Webb regrets all that shit with the NHSC. (20:05) I think Bob Ramsbottom was the other one. STOP”

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