“Banned for life” trainer passed out a trophy SHELBYVILLE, Tennessee––Just what was celebrated at the 2021 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration? It wasn’t certainly wasn’t either ethics or economic success. Attendance, participation, and prize money claims included in Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration publicity appear to distort reality at least as much as the […]
Rodeo has had free pass from humane groups for 60 years, recalls Cox
Dean of U.S. humane work Warren Cox bucked rodeo before there was an “animal rights movement” The ASPCA, HSUS, PETA et al ignore the Omak Suicide Race. Why?! asked Showing Animals Respect & Kindness [SHARK] founder Steve’ Hindi in an August 11, 2021 ANIMALS 24-7 guest column. Hindi’s question reminded Warren Cox, the dean of […]
Did the Omak Suicide Race start with a horse massacre & the KKK?
Uncovering the nasty origins of an ugly event OMAK, Washington––The 87th edition of the bizarre and often deadly “World Famous Suicide Race” held annually in Omak, Washington, is to be held nightly, August 12-15, 2021, after a year’s hiatus due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements. Bizarre as the race itself is, even more bizarre––and […]
Trump signs anti-race horse doping bill & $60 million gift to horse industry
Tax break for Paycheck Protection Program loan/grant recipients appears to have been the dangling carrot that brought horse racing industry support for omnibus funding bill WASHINGTON D.C.––U.S. President Donald Trump on December 27, 2020 “signed H.R. 133, an Act making consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, providing coronavirus emergency response […]
Will anti-show horse soring bill pull up lame through last-hurdle compromise?
What would Marty Irby, Wayne Pacelle & Lamar Alexander think if weighted shoes were on their feet? UPDATE received on December 18, 2020, from Bernard Unti, senior policy advisor, Humane Society of the U.S.: “I’m pleased to share the news that the reckless attempt by an embittered faction within animal protection to swap in a […]
Why did chuckwagon racer Devin Matsuing dare a grizzly bear to fight?
The grizzly bear had better sense BANFF, Alberta––Convicted on September 13, 2019 of disturbing a grizzly bear more than four years earlier, professional chuckwagon racing driver Devin Mitsuing, 35, was on September 13, 2019 fined $4,000 by Canmore Provincial Court Judge George Gaschler. Mitsuing was given until October 16, 2019 to pay the fine […]
Three more chuckwagon horses killed as Calgary Stampede 2019 ends
Six horses killed in 10 days; most since 1986 CALGARY, Alberta––The 2019 Calgary Stampede ended on the night of July 14, 2019 with reportedly the second-highest attendance in the history of the event, and three more horses killed in the climactic last heat of the Rangeland Derby, the chuckwagon races that for almost a […]
E. coli kills yet another child who visited a petting zoo
Third known petting zoo fatality since 2011 SAN DIEGO, California––Jedidiah King Cabezuela, age 2, on June 24, 2019 died from hemolytic uremic syndrome, an apparent complication of exposure to shiga toxin-producing e. coli bacteria two weeks earlier at the San Diego County Fair. “The County of San Diego Health & Human Services Agency said the […]
Driving at demonstrators costs “Big Lick” champ’s insurers $50,000
Billygoboy wins again TUNICA, Mississippi––Having organized boycotts that have shut down “Big Lick” walking horse shows in at least 13 southern cities, semi-retired attorney Clant Seay, 71, better known as Billygoboy, is now celebrating a victory of a different sort. This time Seay has collected $50,000 on behalf of four clients, plus himself, in […]
Big win over the “big lick” walking horse industry in 2018 federal budget
“Big lickers” kicked, but Congress kicked back WASHINGTON D.C.––Winning increasingly often against initially steep odds, BillyGoBoy and friends opposed to soring horses to make them step higher appear likely to enjoy the last horse laugh over the walking horse show industry. Walking horse shows have been infamously dominated for decades by trainers who––defying the […]