News from The Canadian Registry of the Tennessee Walking Horse

 By Marjorie Lacy

When did Walking Horses arrive in Canada and who were the early owners and breeders? We know that the very first USA studbook from 1935 shows horses registered in Ontario.

In the late 40’s and 50’s there were Walkers registered in Manitoba and Saskatchewan in the Canadian General Stud and Herdbook, and more showed up in the Prairie Provinces in the 60’s. We also know there were Walkers in BC in those early years.

Then the Canadian Tennessee Walking Horse Registry was formed in 1982, but as far as we know, there are no other official records of Walking Horse history in Canada.

However, in 1977 a newsletter, the Walking Horse News, was started in Alberta, and it is still publishing the tales and tributes to the breed in Canada. Over the years it has grown from two or three mimeographed pages to a professionally printed colour magazine. Now the CRTWH intends to publish the entire WHN archive from 1977 to the present on their crtwh.ca website.

The first year, 1977, is up now, as well as the most recent six years of 2017 to 2022. It’s a big task but we hope to have them all on the website by the end of this year. And that will provide a snapshot into some of the history of TWH in Canada. You can find the WHN Archives on crtwh.ca. Check it out. History, horsemanship, training hints, heritage of the breed – it’s all there.

By the time you read this, we will have been and gone to the second annual Horse Expo in Red Deer on April 27 to 30. We were there in conjunction with the Alberta Walking Horse Association, who happen to have a great line-up of clinics and rides coming up. You can visit them at awha.ca.

Also, our CRTWH Annual General Meeting will be held this year on May 16. Members from across Canada will be able to attend via Zoom. Just email secretary@crtwh.ca to receive the information and Zoom link. We look forward to seeing you!