The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration announced today that it will reopen entries for the 87th Annual Celebration for a limited 24-hour period. Due to a recent federal court ruling granting a preliminary injunction against certain USDA enforcement rules, entries will be accepted until Wednesday, August 20, at 6:00 PM CT.

This extension applies only to classes scheduled for Thursday evening, August 21, and later.

Exhibitors can submit entries at entermywalkinghorse.com.

The decision follows a significant legal victory in Gould v. USDA, where a federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the USDA from enforcing several controversial inspection rules at the 2025 Celebration. Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk ruled that the plaintiffs — including horse owners Tom Gould and Ann Mills, and the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration Association — are likely to succeed in their challenge to the USDA’s authority and procedures.

The injunction specifically halts enforcement of:

The "No-Showback Rule," preventing horses disqualified on one day from showing again during a multi-day event.
The "Scar Rule," which mandated disqualification even when a horse is not sore.

USDA’s inspection and disqualification process, which lacked due process and pre-disqualification review.

In his opinion, Judge Kacsmaryk found that the USDA likely exceeded its statutory authority under the Horse Protection Act and failed to provide basic procedural protections. He also acknowledged the significant financial and reputational harm caused by unfair disqualifications to horse owners and to the Celebration itself.