Months after a high-profile Tennessee Walking Horse trainer pleaded guilty to soring horses, administrators of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration vow to carry out enhanced anti-soring protocols to prove animals presented for exhibition at the event are sound, and that publicity connected to the that guilty plea will not diminish the event’s prestige.

Soring, the deliberate injury to a horse’s feet and legs to achieve an exaggerated high-stepping gait, is prohibited by the Horse Protection Act (HPA). The Celebration, which takes place Aug. 22 through Sept. 1 in Shelbyville, Tenn., is the Tennessee Walking Horse industry’s premier annual event.

Earlier this year, the Tennessee Walking Horse industry drew nationwide attention when Celebration Hall of Fame trainer Jackie McConnell and others were indicted for conspiring to violate the HPA. McConnell later pleaded guilty the conspiracy charge. The Celebration board of directors later voted to suspend McConnell for life and to remove his image and other data from the Celebration Hall of Fame.

Despite the negative publicity, Celebration spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said that entries had not declined significantly and that Celebration management had adopted new protocols to detect the presence of substances connected to soring or masking soring effects on the feet and legs of horses presented for exhibition. Under the protocol, laboratory test results will be made public during the event. Horses on which inappropriate substances are found will be disqualified, their trainers will be suspended, winnings will be withdrawn, and the class will be retested, Baker said