Shelbyville, TN

On the Saturday night before Labor Day in Shelbyville‚ the moment comes when 30‚000 spectators stand silently in the dark‚ barely moving‚ barely breathing.

A spotlight roams the dirt ring lined with the globe’s most magnificent walking horses‚ riders astride with hearts pounding. The announcer calls the winner’s number‚ the crowd roars and the triumphant steed – now the World Grand Champion – takes a victory lap.

A similar scene has been repeated annually in this Middle Tennessee community since 1939‚ when a handful of civic and business leaders organized the first Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration‚ which drew 8‚000 spectators. One of those men was Franklin Boyd‚ the father of Bedford County native Amie Marks‚ who showed a horse in that first Celebration when she was just 8 years old. “I can remember the parades around the town square‚” recalls Marks‚ who has attended at least one night of every Celebration since its inception. “It was a real civic happening that brought everybody together.”

The Celebration still is a civic marvel. Nearly 20 community organizations operate food booths‚ park cars‚ produce and sell programs‚ and sell souvenirs at the yearly event and have raised more than $3.5 million for charitable causes in the last 15 years.

Originally a three-day event held on the high school athletic field‚ the Celebration moved to its present location in 1948. Today‚ the 105-acre Celebration grounds include a 30‚000-seat outdoor stadium‚ a covered practice arena‚ 62 barns and the 4‚500-seat indoor Calsonic Arena‚ booked most weekends for events ranging from horse shows and rodeos to monster truck jams and concerts.

Barbara Turner‚ the Celebration’s public relations director‚ says the late-summer event brings $25 million into the community annually.

“I’ve been attending the horse show since I was 2 years old‚ and it’s as equally exhilarating on this side of the fence as it was on the social side of the fence all my young life‚” says Turner‚ who joined the 10-member Celebration professional staff nine years ago. Operations are overseen by a volunteer board of directors. Director Emeritus Henry Tilford‚ who served on the original board‚ appreciates the Celebration for its genteel‚ congenial atmosphere.

“You don’t paint your face to come to the Celebration‚” he says with a chuckle. “It’s a quality event‚ the ultimate event where the rich and poor are on the same level. We tried to maintain an atmosphere where everybody can just enjoy it.”

That same atmosphere is also evident on the first Saturday night of August‚ when Jernigan Field in nearby Wartrace is the scene for the state’s oldest horse show. On that evening each year‚ the tiny town of 500 people swells to 5‚000. Known as the Cradle of the Tennessee Walking Horse‚ Wartrace is where the first World Grand Champion‚ Strolling Jim‚ is buried. It was also the hometown of the late Henry Davis‚ who’s credited with the idea of a national walking horse show in Shelbyville.

And what an idea it was.