Tonight incoming National Celebration CEO Mike Inman banned Chad Way from The Celebration grounds and any Celebration events for two years.  This is in addition to violations from SHOW Horse Industry Organization (HIO), of which the length is yet to be determined due to numerous violations.

"Way presented a horse last night that had no reason being in the ring or on the grounds,” said Inman. "If you are soring your horse you are not welcome at our events," said Inman.

SHOW HIO, the Horse Industry Organization with the strictest inspections and harshest penalties in the industry, and the HIO that manages inspections at The Celebration, issued two violations to Chad Way for trying to show a horse that an independent veterinarian at The Celebration said would be considered disabled.

Since SHOW’s inception three years ago, violations have been decreasing and last year, SHOW HIO received a 98.5% compliance rating from the USDA. The USDA even has praised SHOW for its tough inspections and even adopted some of SHOW’s inspection processes.

In the last three years SHOW HIO has suspended 155 trainers for one year for a finding of bilateral sensitivity – more than any other HIO or the USDA in its history (the USDA has only pursued 52 federal cases in the forty years since the passage of the Horse Protection Act).

SHOW’s inspections, where the USDA was not even present at the show, have resulted in the first two criminal prosecutions of HPA violations in approximately 20 years. Recently, SHOW issued three lifetime suspensions, one for pressure shoeing and two for use of a distraction device, one 7.5-year suspension for falsification of records, and two 1-year suspensions for swapping horses.  SHOW HIO found all four of these violations at horse shows where the USDA was not present.