William Earl Bobo is a

Tennessee Walking Horse The Tennessee Walking Horse or Tennessee Walker is a horse breed, breed of gaited horse known for its unique four-beat running-walk and flashy movement. It was originally Horse breeding, developed as a riding horse on farms and plantations in t ...

trainer. He won the World Grand Championship at the

Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration (TWHNC), sometimes known as the Celebration, is the largest horse show for the Tennessee Walking Horse breed, and has been held annually in or near Shelbyville, Tennessee since its inception in 19 ...

in 2003 with the stallion The Whole Nine Yards. Bobo also showed the notable horse Rowdy Rev, who competed in the World Grand Championship several times but never won. Bobo has been named Trainer of the Year by the Walking Horse Trainers Association.

Life and career

Bobo was born William Earl Bobo in 1947/1948. He is married to Connie Bobo, and the two own and operate Bobo Farms in

Shelbyville, Tennessee Shelbyville is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Bedford County, Tennessee. The town was laid out in 1810 and incorporated in 1819. Shelbyville had a population of 20,335 at the 2010 census. The town is a hub of the Tennessee Wa ...

, which has been in the Bobo family for four generations. Bobo began training the horse PJ's Hickory during the early 1990s. In 1993 he and Hickory won the Reserve Three-Year-Old World Championship in the

, and the next year they won the Reserve Four-Year-Old World Championship. Bobo was also named the 1993 Trainer of the Year by the Walking Horse Trainers' Association. He also started Pride's Jubilee Encore, who won the 2001 World Grand Championship ridden by Allan Callaway, under saddle. While he was under Bobo's training, Pride's Jubilee Encore was Tennessee State Champion and Four-Year-Old World Champion in the 1995 Celebration. Bobo began training The Whole Nine Yards in 2002, after the horse's first trainer, Greg Lute, quit the business. The same year Bobo showed The Whole Nine Yards in the Celebration and won both the open Four-Year-Old World Championship and the Four-Year-Old Stallion World Championship. The next year, 2003, he showed The Whole Nine Yards in a select number of shows so that the horse would win 9

blue ribbon Blue ribbons are typically a symbol of high quality. The association comes from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners and, prior to that from Order of the Holy Spirit#Cordon Bleu, Cord ...

s. Bobo then took Nine back to the Celebration and entered the World Grand Championship, which they won. Bobo also rode Nine in the 2004 Celebration, although the horse was mostly retired to breeding by that time. Bobo trained the popular

Harlinsdale Farm Harlinsdale Farm is a historic district in Franklin, Tennessee that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. It dates from c.1900 and had other significant dates in 1935 and 1945. Its main horse stable, the centerpiece of ...

owned stallion Rowdy Rev, who competed in the World Grand Championship multiple times but never won. In 2005 Bobo and Rowdy Rev won the Four-Year-Old World Championship. The same year Bobo showed another Harlinsdale horse, a yearling named Power Force, to a Yearling World Championship. The first year Bobo tried to show Rowdy, a

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stallion, in the World Grand Championship was 2006, when disagreements between trainers and government officials over the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

's Horse Protection Act led to cancellation of the class. Rowdy Rev was one of three horses who passed inspection and would have been allowed to show had the class been held. The next year he and Bobo won the Reserve World Grand Championship. Bobo hoped to win another World Grand Championship on Rowdy, but in 2008 the horse had a cold. In 2009 Bobo competed in and won the Preliminary Stallion class, but Rowdy Rev developed a hoof crack and could not compete in the World Grand Championship. Rowdy Rev and Bobo were successful in other shows, winning the Spring Fun Show stake class two years in a row, 2007 and 2008, and in 2008 won the National Trainers Show. In June 2012 Rowdy Rev was moved to Brandon Stout's training barn. Bobo has won a total of 45 World Championships.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Tennessee Walking Horse breeders and trainers Sportspeople from Shelbyville, Tennessee