My Fellow Members:

As I enter my final week of service as your President, I want to thank you for your support, efforts, dedication, and encouragement over the past two years. I am honored to have had the privilege of representing you the members, our great horse, and The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ & Exhibitors’ Association. Your loyalty to the association and horse we love so much is greatly appreciated and will never be forgotten.

Over the course of the next few days leading up to our Annual Awards Banquet, General Membership Meeting, International Board of Directors Meeting & Election, you will receive a series of letters and articles I have prepared with my thoughts about our future, after having listened to thousands of TWHBEA members, mainstream equine organizations, other industry organizations, and many of our Past Presidents and leaders over the past two years. I have a few interesting stories, and hope you will take time to read them.
Many of our International Board of Directors will be traveling to Tennessee for our annual events, and I encourage each of you to contact your directors and express your views on the future of our horse, registry, and association. We all represent you, and we value your input and communication. The upcoming week, meetings, and election may be the most critical in the history of our breed, and for the survival of the show horse in all divisions.

This will be one of the most crucial General Membership meetings to attend and voice your opinions. The future course of our breed will be determined by the outcome of the next week, and we must all set agendas aside for the welfare, protection, and longevity of our great breed. We must all recognize that our decisions will have a major economic impact on our breeders, trail riders, trainers, owners, and exhibitors. Our decisions will have an impact on the physical soundness of our breed, and the fiscal soundness of our registry & association that remains the oldest and largest within this great breed since 1935. We must make sound choices in every area, and sound business decisions for TWHBEA during these challenging times.

I look forward to my final week as President, and am thankful, grateful, and honored to have served something greater than myself by serving TWHBEA and the greatest horse on earth, The Tennessee Walking Horse!

All the best,
Marty Irby, President