TWHBEA ELECTION PROVES WHAT HISTORY HAS BEEN TRYING TO TELL US FOR GENERATIONS

Three Black Directors Make History While the Old Guard Holds On to Power

An Editorial by Tommy Williams, Publisher, WalkingHorseChat.com, and Kristi McCarter Williams, CEO, Imagine I Am LLC

October 18, 2026

History has a remarkable way of exposing the contradictions of institutions.

Sometimes it takes a court decision. Sometimes it takes a scandal. Sometimes it takes a generation of people refusing to remain silent.

And sometimes it takes three names on an election ballot.

Jeremy Bridges. Mississippi.

Jaron Dotson. Tennessee.

Barron Witherspoon. Florida.

Three Black men elected to the International Board of Directors of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ and Exhibitors’ Association.

Three names that deserve to be remembered.

Three individuals who now have an opportunity to help shape an organization whose history is inseparable from the history of the American South.

And three elections that should force every serious student of Tennessee Walking Horse history to confront an uncomfortable question:

Why has meaningful recognition and representation taken so long?

Before the association begins celebrating this moment as proof of progress, it should examine the history that made this election so significant.

Because the Tennessee Walking Horse was never built by one race, one social class, one group of wealthy owners, or one collection of powerful families.

It was built by horsemen.

And many of those horsemen were Black.

The Men Who Helped Make the Horse Famous

For generations, Black horsemen worked in the barns, breeding operations, training establishments and show grounds that made the Tennessee Walking Horse famous.

They cared for valuable horses, developed their skills, and contributed knowledge that passed from one generation of horsemen to another.

Yet the recognition, ownership opportunities and institutional authority available to Black Americans were profoundly affected by the racial segregation of the South.

That is historical reality, not an accusation against every individual who participated in the industry.

There is a difference between acknowledging the accomplishments of Black horsemen and fully recognizing their place in the history of the breed.

The first is easy.

The second requires an institution to examine whose names appeared in official records, whose contributions were preserved, and whose stories were allowed to disappear.

For far too long, much of the industry’s historical storytelling has revolved around wealthy owners, prominent farms, championship horses and celebrated trainers.

But what about the people behind those horses?

What about the men who spent their lives in the barns?

What about the horsemen whose knowledge helped produce champions but whose names rarely appeared in the headlines?

Their history matters every bit as much.

And it deserves to be told.

Three Directors and a Historic Responsibility

Jeremy Bridges, Jaron Dotson and Barron Witherspoon are not simply three additional names on a board roster.

Their election is a moment worth documenting in the association’s history.

But we should not make the mistake of treating their election as the conclusion of a struggle for recognition.

It is an opportunity to begin a different chapter.

They deserve the same authority, access to information, committee opportunities and respect afforded to every other director.

They should not be expected to represent every Black horseman or speak with one voice.

Each was elected as an individual.

Each will bring his own experience, judgment and priorities to the board.

And each should be evaluated by his actions rather than reduced to a symbol.

The real measure of this election will not be how many photographs are taken on December 5. It will be how much meaningful participation takes place afterward.

And Then There Is Walt Chism

There is another name on the list of elected directors.

Walt Chism.

His election represents continuity with TWHBEA’s established leadership.

Chism has held positions of responsibility within the association, including service on its Executive Committee.

That makes his record a legitimate subject of examination.

It does not establish that he has engaged in wrongdoing. Nor does it mean that every problem within the association can fairly be attributed to him.

But longstanding leadership carries longstanding accountability.

What specific reforms has Chism championed?

What has he done to strengthen the confidence of members who believe the association needs greater transparency?

How has he addressed concerns about institutional influence, leadership turnover and the participation of members outside established circles?

What has he done to encourage a broader range of people to participate in TWHBEA governance?

Those questions deserve answers.

The association cannot claim to be entering a new era merely because new people have joined a board that continues to include familiar figures.

Change must be demonstrated through policy, transparency and decisions.

Longevity in office is not, by itself, evidence of successful leadership.

And no director, regardless of seniority, should be beyond public scrutiny.

The Most Revealing Number Is Not Three. It Is Eighteen.

While the industry discusses the election of three Black directors, the election report contains another figure that deserves equal attention.

18%.

That was the overall voter response rate reported by TWHBEA.

According to the certified results, 3,736 ballots were emailed, and 672 were returned. Nine paper ballots were mailed, and five were returned.

The association reported that participation increased from 16.5% in 2025 to approximately 18% in 2026.

An improvement?

Numerically, yes.

A convincing demonstration of broad member engagement?

Hardly.

Approximately four out of every five eligible voting members did not participate.

And in that same election, members approved an amendment eliminating the limitation on more than two consecutive full terms for United States directors.

The vote was 415 in favor and 244 against.

Think about the contrast.

An organization with exceptionally low electoral participation has just voted to make it possible for its directors to remain in office through repeated consecutive terms.

Supporters of the amendment argue that experienced leadership should remain available to members who wish to reelect it.

That position deserves consideration.

But so does the danger of institutional stagnation.

Term limits create opportunities for new candidates.

Removing them increases the responsibility of the association to encourage competitive elections, disclose governance information and prevent the concentration of influence.

And when the membership participation rate is only 18%, those safeguards become especially important.

You Cannot Celebrate Change While Avoiding Accountability

The association now faces a fundamental test.

Will it make room for genuinely independent leadership?

Will it allow directors to ask difficult questions without being marginalized?

Will it provide members with greater visibility into the decisions made in their name?

Will it take seriously the historical contributions of Black horsemen?

And will established directors accept that their records are open to examination?

These are not unreasonable demands.

They are the ordinary responsibilities of an organization entrusted with preserving a historic breed.

The Tennessee Walking Horse industry has spent decades debating matters of judging, enforcement, breed promotion, institutional authority and public confidence.

Some disputes have been supported by documented evidence. Others remain allegations or differences of opinion.

The proper response is not to declare everyone guilty.

It is to insist upon records, transparency, fair procedures and accountability.

History Is Not a Public Relations Department

We have no interest in seeing the accomplishments of Jeremy Bridges, Jaron Dotson and Barron Witherspoon reduced to a convenient public-relations moment.

Their election deserves recognition on its own merits.

But the broader history deserves recognition too.

TWHBEA should commission a serious historical examination of the contributions of Black breeders, trainers, grooms, exhibitors and other horsemen.

It should preserve oral histories.

It should identify forgotten accomplishments.

It should examine the effect of segregation on participation in the breed’s institutions.

And it should make that history available to future generations.

Not to condemn every person who came before us.

Not to rewrite the past to satisfy modern political expectations.

But to ensure that the record is complete.

Because a breed registry that can preserve the ancestry of a horse across generations should also care about preserving the identities and contributions of the people who made that horse important.

If we can trace a horse’s bloodlines back a century, surely we can make an effort to remember the men who cared for it.

December 5, 2026: The Day the Real Work Begins

On December 5, the newly elected directors are scheduled to be sworn in.

There will be introductions, handshakes and photographs.

There may be speeches about unity and progress.

But speeches will not determine whether this election becomes a genuine turning point.

Decisions will.

Jeremy Bridges, Jaron Dotson and Barron Witherspoon should be given every opportunity to contribute.

Returning directors, including Walt Chism, should be expected to demonstrate their commitment to transparency and responsible governance.

The board should explain how it intends to encourage participation, maintain accountability without consecutive-term limits, and preserve the complete history of the breed.

And the membership should pay attention.

Because an 18% voter response rate is not merely a statistic.

It is a warning about the distance between an institution and much of its membership.

Our Conclusion

The election of these three Black directors is a significant development in the modern history of TWHBEA.

It invites a long-overdue discussion about representation, recognition and the individuals who built the Tennessee Walking Horse industry.

But it also comes at a moment when the association has removed a major restriction on consecutive board service and retained familiar leadership figures.

That contrast cannot be ignored.

The new directors deserve congratulations and a fair opportunity to serve.

The returning directors deserve scrutiny based on their records.

And the association deserves to be judged by what it actually accomplishes.

The election may have changed the composition of the board. It has not yet proved that the culture of the institution has changed.

That verdict belongs to the future.

For now, three names have entered an important chapter of Tennessee Walking Horse history.

Jeremy Bridges.

Jaron Dotson.

Barron Witherspoon.

May their service be remembered for what they accomplish, not merely for the history represented by their election.

And may every director, new or returning, understand one thing: