The favorite in the championship class event at the...
SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. -- The
favorite in the championship class event at the Tennessee
Walking Horse National Celebration was disqualified Sunday
because of a possible improper training technique. 'It was
like a dream that turned into a nightmare,' said Billy Sue
Webb, wife of trainer Larry Webb of Deason. The
disqualification angered many of the 28,000 fans at the show.
Booing was so loud the names of other competitors could not be
heard. And as the class was nearing its end, a group of men
tried to enter the ring with a large sign bearing the horse's
name. Mounted police and other officers scuffled with them
trying to turn them back. Fighting broke out, but police said
no arrests were made. Ebony's Time Around, owned by Manning
Jones of Greenville, S.C., and trained by Webb, was heavily
favored to win the $10,000 first prize and the world grand
championship Saturday. Instead, the bay stallion was not
allowed to enter the competition and the prize money and title
went to Pride's Jubilee Star, ridden by Ramsey Bullington.
Ebony's Time Around was barred from the ring by federal
veterinarians and walking horse industry inspectors who
suspected he had been sored. The federal Horse Protection Act
outlaws the practice of soring - or injuring a walking horse's
legs or feet to enhance the breed's high step. Each contender
in the Celebration is checked by Agriculture Department
veterinarians and industry inspectors, known as designated
qualified persons, before being allowed to compete. 'The horse
came in and was inspected by a DQP and showed some response,'
said Dr. Mickey Knowles with the USDA. He said USDA
veterinarian Dr. Stewart Critchfield of Memphis examined the
animal and found that the left pastern area was sensitive. 'He
bit the bullet and said, 'You can't go in,'' Knowles said. The
animal had passed through the inspection station with no
problems earlier in the week when he went on to win a blue
ribbon in a preliminary class. The inspection took place two
classes before the big class, but spectators were not aware
that Ebony's Time Around would not enter the ring until the
announcer called for the gates to be closed.
Published:
September 1, 1986
SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ A sore leg that caused the
controversial disqualification of the favored stallion at a
national walking horse event may have been caused by overwork
instead of abuse, a federal inspector said. Ebony's Time
Around and trainer Lee Webb of Deason were barred from the
World Grand Championship Stake Saturday at the annual
Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration because of
sensitivity in the horse's left foreleg. The decision by the
U.S Department of Agriculture inspector, Dr. Stewart
Critchfield, prompted boos from the crowd and sent security
guards scurrying to keep fans from the ring on the final night
of the 10-day annual show. Charles Thomas, another inspector,
said Monday that the horse was not kept from the ring because
of deliberate abuse called soring, which enhances the breed's
exaggerated gait. ''We're not saying the horse was sored.
We're just saying he showed some sensitivity. He (Webb) could
have worked him too hard this week,'' Thomas said. Pride's
Jubilee Star and Franklin trainer Ramsey Bullington won the
$10,000 stake, the culmination of the 48th annual show, before
a crowd of nearly 26,000. A group of Ebony's Time fans managed
to enter the ring after the disqualification and ran around
the circle to cheers with a banner bearing the 12-year-old
horse's name. Webb, meanwhile, said he did not plan to protest
the ruling. ''We went into that inspection barn under the
rules,'' Webb said. ''I don't know why the government man got
on him. ... The government man started pushing and probing on
him and if you do that long enough you're going to make them
move.'' 
