Dunn, Bud

There will always be a part of Bud Dunn present when thousands of fans gather each year for the
Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration in Shelbyville, Tennessee. His influence on the training of Tennessee Walking Horses redefined the sport in many ways. He earned a world-renowned reputation as a trainer and was sought out by the top horse owners throughout the country. He produced several World Grand Champion horses at the highly competitive national celebration in Shelbyville. His last two World Grand Champion horses came in 1991 when he was 74 and in 1998 when he was 81. He trained walking horses for over 50 years. He personally showed 108 horses at the celebration and trained hundreds of others that were shown by other riders. Dunn was given the Trainer of the Year award by the Professional Walking Horse Trainers Organization for the first time in 1980. In 1987, he was inducted into the Tennessee Walking Horse Hall of Fame. In 1991 Dunn was named the Tennessee Walking Horse Professional Trainer of the Year by his fellow trainers for consistently showing and training top-quality horses.
Dunn's training facility, Bud Dunn Stables, (later Bud Dunn and Son Stables) was in Florence, Alabama, on a ten-acre property. Dunn moved to north Alabama from Georgia in the 1950s, and bought out another trainer who was quitting the horse business.