Honors is a
Tennessee Walking Horse
The Tennessee Walking Horse or Tennessee Walker is a breed of gaited horse known for its unique four-beat running-walk and flashy movement. It was originally developed as a riding horse on farms and plantations in the American South. It is a ...
stallion who won his breed's World Grand Championship in 2016. He had previously won a Four-Year-Old World Championship in 2012. Honors has also been used for breeding.
Life and career
Honors is a
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
stallion
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated).
Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...
owned by Keith and Dan McSwain of
Milton
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
and
Gainesville, Georgia
The city of Gainesville is the county seat of Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 42,296. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it is often called the "Poultry Capital of t ...
, respectively.
He is trained by brothers Larry and Gary Edwards, of the Edwards and Sons Stables,
Dawson, Georgia
Dawson is a city in and the county seat of
Terrell County, Georgia, United States.
The population was 4,414 at the 2020 census. Incorporated on December 22, 1857, the city is named for Senator William Crosby Dawson.
Dawson is part of t ...
. The Edwardses began working with Honors when he was nearly three years old. Larry saw the horse at fellow trainer Joe Fleming's stable in
Shelbyville, Tennessee
Shelbyville is a city in and the county seat of Bedford County, Tennessee, United States. The town was laid out in 1810 and incorporated in 1819. Shelbyville had a population of 20,335 residents at the 2010 census. The town is a hub of the Tenness ...
, called the McSwains, and purchased Honors the next day.
He had been previously trained by Steve Aymett and his daughter Kelly Aymett.
[ In 2012, ridden by Larry Edwards, Honors won the Four-Year-Old World Championship at the ]Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration (TWHNC), sometimes known as the Celebration, is the largest horse show for the Tennessee Walking Horse breed, and has been held annually in or near Shelbyville, Tennessee since its inception in 19 ...
.[ In 2016, at the age of 8, he won the B division of the Stallions Five and Over class before being entered in the World Grand Championship.] He and Larry Edwards won first place out of a field of seven horses, in a unanimous vote by the five judges.[ Gary Edwards praised the way the horse responded to his brother, saying, "Larry loves him. And Honors knows it."][ Several hundred people went to the barn after the show, where they were allowed to see and photograph Honors. The ''Shelbyville Times-Gazette'' commented that Honors was unusually popular, even for a World Grand Champion.][
The win was controversial. Honors had been disqualified four times between 2013 and 2015 for violations of the "scar rule" of the ]Horse Protection Act of 1970
The Horse Protection Act of 1970 (HPA); (codified ) is a United States federal law, under which the practice of soring is a crime punishable by both civil and criminal penalties, including fines and jail time. It is illegal to show a horse, ent ...
(HPA) which allows a horse to be pulled from competition if it shows signs of having been sored in the past. In addition, the Edwards brothers had multiple previous HPA violations and suspensions on their record. In 2014, when Honors had been disqualified twice by the same official, the McSwains had the horse examined by veterinarians at Auburn University
Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...
in Alabama and Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
, who found no sign of damage that violated the scar rule. In April 2016, McSwain had filed a lawsuit against the USDA, alleging violations of due process
Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...
, and seeking a number of legal remedies including reversal of Honors' past disqualifications and injunctive relief
An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in par ...
. In May, federal district court judge Richard W. Story granted a preliminary injunction
An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in par ...
, noting that there was no appeals process for owners to contest disqualification, and the ruling prevented veterinary inspectors from disqualifying Honors from future competitions without having a hearing where a disqualification could be challenged. This ruling allowed Honors to be shown in 2016,[ and the McSwains's lawsuit against the USDA was still pending at the time of the Celebration.] Because of the accusations of soring, the morning after the World Grand Championship, the Edwardses volunteered to have Honors biopsied to prove he was sound.[
Besides his show career, Honors has also been used for breeding, and has sired offspring who sold for high prices at auction. In reference to the desired qualities of a show horse, Gary Edwards said, "He onorshas it all".][ Horse trainer ]Doug Wolaver
Doug Wolaver is a Tennessee Walking Horse trainer who has won the World Grand Championship in the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration three times. His winning horses were Mack K's Handshaker in 1960, Triple Threat in 1965, and Go Boy's Su ...
, who won three World Grand Championships, said, "He is something extra special."[
]
References
{{Reflist
Individual Tennessee Walking Horses
World Grand Champion Tennessee Walking Horses