Group accepts penalties USDA wants enforced today at Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration

"The organization that sanctions the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration has decided to adopt the minimum soring penalties proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture," Lucas Johnson II reports for The Associated Press. The penalties, which could result in a suspension from two weeks to up to a year, will be enforced at the celebration, which begins today in Shelbyville, Tenn. (Tennessean photo by Dipti Vaidya: Cymri Hight, left, and Jeff Archer at last year's celebration)

"Shelbyville-based SHOW HIO is a USDA-certified agency that show operators hire to inspect horses and punish trainers for signs of abuse such as soring, the act of intentionally injuring a horse's front legs to make it step higher," Johnson reports. "The organization and at least two other parties sued the USDA last year over the penalties, arguing the new regulations violated horse trainers' rights to due process." But this week the organization issued a statement saying it supports the penalties and will not appeal.

Celebration CEO Mike Inman said in the news release that the group had a short amount of time to make a decision before the event, Johnson reports. Inman wrote: "We were put in a real time crunch with the judge's ruling taking a year and coming out less than a month before the celebration." He said anyone who entered horses by Aug. 6 and disagreed with the penalties could withdraw and get a refund. (Read more)