Trainer’s discipline not nearly enough
I read in the Wednesday, May 24, newspaper that the Tennessee Walking Horse trainer, Jackie McConnell, will get six months’ probation! What an absolute travesty of justice … the prosecutors who recommended this sentence should be fired for not doing their jobs.
This man and his cohorts have habitually brutalized and tortured these beautiful, helpless animals for years; in spite of McConnell being suspended for five years, in addition to the other eight suspensions since 1988. They should all be sentenced to jail time and treated the way they treat the horses.
McConnell is not going to stop doing this nor are the rest of the trainers who are continually thinking up new ways to abuse without getting caught. The “plea agreements” spoken of in the article are ludicrous. Shame on the supposed “justice system” and the prosecutors and judges who allow this to continue year after year. As for David Howard, TWH National Celebration board member, who stated, “… it shocked me. It’s just totally unbelievable,”… what a joke. He is aware of everything that goes on in this industry.
“Big Lick” classes should be shut down. The competition should be honest and clean with no “soring” or any other type of “enhancements.”