“TWHBEA’s Corruption Exposed: Demand Immediate Expulsion of Tommy Grider, Nullification of Fraudulent Pedigrees, and Accountability for Institutional Collusion”
By Tommy Williams, publisher tommywhc@aol.com 931-492-2825
“How TWHBEA’s Secret Alteration of Stud Reports Enabled the Grider Scandal—And Why Every Member Should Demand a Reckoning”
The Rot Runs Deep: TWHBEA’s Complicity in the Grider Fraud
The Tennessee Walking Horse industry is not merely at a crossroads—it is engulfed in flames. The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ and Exhibitors’ Association (TWHBEA), tasked with safeguarding the breed’s integrity, has instead become an accomplice to brazen fraud. Revelations that longtime breeder Tommy Grider and his nephew Brent Grider—a TWH National Celebration judge—systematically falsified stallion reports and birthdates to manipulate pedigrees are bad enough. But TWHBEA’s decision to retroactively alter stallion service reports without Executive Committee approval proves the corruption is institutional. This is not mere negligence. It is a coordinated cover-up to protect powerful insiders, and it
demands nothing short of a revolution in accountability.
The Griders’ scheme hinges on a simple lie: registering foals with birthdates that defy biological possibility. At least four horses tied to their operation 
have gestation periods either impossibly short or laughably long—a red flag ignored by TWHBEA until public outcry forced a toothless “investigation.” Worse, TWHBEA officials quietly revised years of stallion reports to legitimize these fraudulent timelines, bypassing oversight and betraying every member who trusted them. This is not governance. It is collusion.
Fraud By Any Other Name: How TWHBEA Enabled the Scandal
Stallion service reports are legal contracts, the bedrock of pedigree integrity. By backdating these documents, TWHBEA didn’t just turn a blind eye to fraud—it actively weaponized its authority to shield the Griders. The implications are staggering:
- Fabricated Bloodlines: Horses registered under falsified dates carry polluted pedigrees, devaluing honest breeders’ investments and risking genetic crises.
- Judicial Corruption: Brent Grider, a Celebration judge, could potentually exploited his dual role to reward horses linked to his own fraudulent program—a conflict of interest TWHBEA ignored.
- Family-Wide Deception: Multiple horses tied to the Griders are registered under family members’ names, suggesting a deliberate strategy to evade scrutiny.
This is organized crime masquerading as horsemanship. And TWHBEA’s leadership is knee-deep in the muck.
Demands for Immediate Action: No More Empty Promises
TWHBEA’s tepid response—private hand-wringing and bureaucratic “reviews”—is an insult. To salvage its credibility, the association must:
- Expel the Griders—Permanently:
- Revoke Tommy and Brent Grider’s TWHBEA memberships for life.
- Ban them from all TWH-sanctioned events, including judging, training, and breeding.
- Nullify every pedigree linked to their operation, including those registered under family members’ names.
- Purge the Rot:
- Conduct a public, third-party audit of all Grider-related registrations, with mandatory DNA testing.
- Restore original stallion reports and strike altered versions from the record.
- Prosecute the Accomplices:
- Identify and sanction every TWHBEA staff member who authorized report alterations.
- Cooperate with law enforcement to pursue criminal charges for fraud, forgery, and conspiracy.
- Compensate the Victims:
- Levy six-figure fines against the Griders, clawing back profits from fraudulent sales and breeding fees.
- Create a restitution fund for exhibitors harmed by their actions.
Precedent Exists—TWHBEA’s Cowardice Does Not
The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) dismantled a cloning ring in 2019, voiding 78 registrations and issuing lifetime bans. The Jockey Club annulled decades-old pedigrees to root out “paper shuffling.” These registries acted ruthlessly because they understood: tolerance of fraud is suicide. TWHBEA, by contrast, behaves like a cabal of enablers, prioritizing cronyism over the breed’s survival.
The Stakes: Survival or Extinction
If TWHBEA fails to act, the consequences will be catastrophic. Lawmakers, animal rights groups, and the public already scrutinize the industry for soring and abuse. This scandal hands them a blueprint for our destruction. The USDA could revoke TWHBEA’s certification. Congress could ban the breed from competition. The market value of Walking Horses—already battered by scandal—will crater.
To TWHBEA’s Membership: Rise Up or Perish
This is your association. Your legacy. Your livelihood. Demand an emergency vote to:
- Remove every executive complicit in the cover-up.
- Install independent oversight with subpoena power.
- Mandate DNA testing for all Grider registrations, retroactively if needed.
If TWHBEA refuses, walk out. Form a coalition of ethical breeders. Sue for fiduciary misconduct.
