The Celebration was conceived by Henry Davis, a horse trainer who along with several other horsemen, felt the Shelbyville area should have a festival or annual event.

Although the Celebration was originally held in Wartrace, Tennessee, it moved to Shelbyville, the seat of Bedford County, a few years later.

A Wartrace resident, Henry Davis, went to Winchester, Tennessee to buy hay and while there observed the Crimson Clover Festival being held.

[2] The Celebration later moved to Shelbyville, which is located about 60 miles southeast of Nashville,[3] due to space issues, as small Wartrace was unable to cope with the volume of visitors and horses the show attracted.

Strolling Jim was a former plow horse retrained for show by Floyd Carothers and Henry Davis, and was only three years old at the time of his win.

[18] Although there have been six horses who won the stake two years consecutively, there have been only two three-time winners in the history of the Celebration: The Talk of the Town in 1951, 1952 and 1953, and I Am Jose in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Initially, trainers refused to submit their horses for inspection, creating a stand-off that required law enforcement intervention.

However, citing safety concerns, the show management cancelled the class altogether and no World Grand Champion was crowned that year.

[25] The TWHNC features a wide variety of classes in both in-hand and performance, including divisions for youth, amateurs, and professionals.

The most anticipated class, however, is the World Grand Championship, the largest honor in the Tennessee Walking Horse breed.

[29] The World Grand Championship, also known as the "Big Stake"[30] or "Rider's Cup, Canter"[19] is the final class of the Celebration.

[19][31] The competing horses enter the arena to the song "Flat Walk Boogie" which was composed and is played by official TWHNC organist Larry Bright.

[19] The winner is announced while a spotlight sweeps back and forth along the line-up of horses and then settles on the World Grand Champion.