Beth Beasley was struck with the love of horses when her grandfather got her a pony when she was just 2 years old. That love has stayed with her and kept her continuing to not only ride, but compete and win in Tennessee Walking Horse competitions.

Beasley recently won the World Grand Championship at the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in the Amateur Two-Year-Old Division. Beasley showed 2-year-old black stallion Zorro Jr. at the Celebration in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

The Tennessee Walking Horse is a breed of gaited horse known for its unique four-beat running-walk and flashy movement. It is a popular riding horse due to its calm disposition, smooth gait and sure-footedness.

“He is just 2 years old, so it’s his first year to show,” Beasley said of Zorro Jr. “He is just a wonderfully tempered, gentle horse. He is a great horse to ride.”

The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration is the largest horse show for the Tennessee Walking Horse breed and has been held annually in or near Shelbyville since its inception in 1939. The Celebration spans 11 days and nights in late August and early September and finishes with the crowning of the World Grand Champion Tennessee Walker on the Saturday night before Labor Day. The event draws an estimated 2,000 horses and 250,000 spectators to Shelbyville each year.

Beasley’s grandfather, Jim Beasley Jr., was very active in the Tennessee Walking Horse industry and taught her how to ride when she was still a toddler.

“He had my mother lead me in the lead line class,” Beasley said. “I started riding on my own when I was 8 or so. I took a 20-year hiatus when I went to college and then moved to California, but I couldn’t live without my horses. I had to get one in California, and brought them back here when I moved back in 2014.”

There are three different classes one can compete in at the competition; juvenile, amateur or professional. Beasley and Zorro Jr. competed in the amateur class, where the competition consists of showing the judges a flat walk and a running walk. After performing it the first time, the rider and horse show it again, but in reverse order.

“They judge the horse on its gait and how well it performs in the ring,” Beasley said. “If you’re in the open (professional) class and your horse is 4-years old or older, you have to do a canter as your third gait. I had to do that as a child because they were making everybody canter way back then, but I don’t have to do that anymore.”

Beasley also won the preliminary class in the Three-Year-Old Division with a horse named I Am Big Enough, who one of her daughters nicknamed “Shorty.”

Beasley has passed on her love of Tennessee Walking Horses to her twin daughters, BiBi and Maxine. Both have been competing since they were 2 years old and have both won championships at the Celebration in multiple classes, including the Young Pony Class, Leadline Class and Novice Youth 11 and Under Class.

“This is our 11^th consecutive Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration to show at,” Beasley said. “It’s a family affair. My aunt also showed when she was younger.”

Beasley and her family compete in multiple horse shows throughout the summer and fall. There haven’t been as many this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but she’s happy to have been able to go to the ones she has. Her next show is Oct. 8-10, also in Shelbyville.

The family atmosphere is a huge reason Beasley loves the competitions so much.

“It’s something you can do as a family,” she said. “It’s a family-oriented, safe environment. It’s so enjoyable to see your friends from all over the country that you haven’t seen during the wintertime. It’s like a big family reunion every time you go to a horse show.”