Texas Court Case Completed
Thursday, May 1, 2025
The industry’s lawsuit against the USDA’s final rulemaking has cleared its final hurdles with the deadlines for the USDA to appeal the decision or anyone other party’s attempt to intervene and appeal passed. That means the case is closed and the industry will now move forward with the pending litigation in West Tennessee that challenges the current enforcement of the HPA in the areas of due process, scar rule and post show inflammation.
Judge Matthew J, Kacsmaryk summarized in his opinion, “The Court HOLDS that: (1) USDA exceeded its statutory authority by promulgating a blanket prohibition on action devices, pads and substances; (2) the DCIS provision replacing the Scar Rule fails to provide adequate due process; and (3) the lack of genuine pre- and post-deprivation review in the 2024 Rule fails to provide adequate due process. The USDA did prevail on the Horse Protection Inspector provision in the rule, which would have eliminated Designated Qualified Persons as inspectors, but USDA has since postponed that portion of the rule another year and a comment period will close on May 20th allowing stakeholders to weigh in on the delay and how USDA should proceed.
The next step in the Wright’s v. USDA lawsuit is an oral argument on the USDA’s motion to dismiss. This hearing will be held Tuesday May 6th, in Memphis. The USDA is seeking to limit the relief in the case to the Wright’s and not allow the relief to apply industry wide. Two federal courts, the Honors case in the 11th Circuit and the Celebration’s case in the 5th (the case just completed), have now ruled that the current enforcement scheme employed by USDA violates the due process rights of exhibitors.
The USDA must incorporate a new system that allows some form of due process which Judge Kacsmaryk emphasized in his opinion must be pre-deprivation and not post-deprivation due process, like the USDA attempted to provide in their most recent rulemaking.
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The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration is proud to announce the completion of a significant infrastructure upgrade across the Celebration Grounds. In partnership with Jake Jacobs Construction, The Celebration has successfully installed concrete aisles in all barns on the property—excluding the historic white barns.
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Entries are now open for the Spring Fun Show, taking place May 22–24, 2025. Exhibitors can submit their entries online at entermywalkinghorse.com, with online entries accepted daily until 1:00 PM throughout the show. For those who prefer to enter in person, the show office will be open each day from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
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TWHBEA is currently taking applications for a youth summer intern to work at the TWHBEA Headquarters in Lewisburg, TN. Interested youth should fill out the application and email it to [email protected] or bring by TWHBEA Headquarters at 250 N. Ellington Parkway, Lewisburg, TN 37091 by May 31, 2025.
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Going to the barn, morning and night, was a way of life for Carol Branam. Carol made her last trip to the barn May 1, 2025, feeding horses at the Triple Oak Farm that she led for six decades before suffering a heart episode at age 88.
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Thomas Wakefield, Jr., age 85, of Lewisburg, Tennessee, passed away Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at his home with his loving wife and family by his side.
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The Walking Horse Trainers’ Association General Membership meeting that will be held on Wednesday, May 21, at 4:00 will be held in the Hall Of Fame Club inside Cooper Steel Arena. It was originally planned to be held in the Blue Ribbon Circle. For more information contact the Trainers’ Office at 931-684-5866.
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The Marshall County Horseman's Association announced that Amy Trimble of Lynnville Tennessee will be judging the 49th annual horse show on July 25th. The show has a new revised schedule with thirty-one action-packed classes. Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy one of the best shows in Middle Tennessee. The show is affiliated with SHOW HIO, WHTA Riders Cup, Mid-South Horse Show Association, and TWHBEA International High Point.
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Today, the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' & Exhibitors' Association, and the Walking Horse Trainers' Association submitted a joint comment to the USDA regarding its 2024 Horse Protection Act rule.
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Dean Johnson Video will provide live streaming coverage from the Spring Fun Show, scheduled for May 22-24, 2025. The entire show will be available for $50.00.
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The SCWHA has announced a date and location change for the Championship Show. Originally scheduled for October 10–11 in Clemson, the event will now take place November 7–8 at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, SC. This change allows the association to avoid overlapping with larger multi-day shows in October while also reducing event costs by more than $15,000.
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