Judy Martin (horse trainer)

Judy Wiser was born to Winston Wiser and his wife Katherine. Winston Wiser was a notable Tennessee Walking Horse trainer who won five World Grand Championships on three horses, including Merry Go Boy and Go Boy's Shadow.[1] Judy married Joe Martin. The couple ran a training and show stable in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and trained the black stallion Shades of Carbon, who was owned by Glen Loe.[2] Originally ridden in shows by Joe Martin, Shades of Carbon won the Two-Year-Old World Championship at the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in 1972.[3] The following year, Judy Martin took over Shades of Carbon's training. She showed him to the Three-Year-Old World Championship in 1973, and the Four-Year-Old World Championship in 1974. In the spring of 1975 Mark of Carbon and Martin won the stake in the Spring Celebration.[4]

Shades of Carbon won the World Grand Championship in 1976, making Martin only the second woman to win the stake,[2][5] after Betty Sain in 1966. Martin said after the win, "I don't feel any different from any other trainer. I compete against these boys all the time."[2] In 1976, Judy Martin was named Trainer of the Year by the Walking Horse Trainers' Association.[6]

After her World Grand Championship, Martin continued to train and compete in the Celebration.[7] She also judged Tennessee Walking Horses in shows,[8] from small one-day competitions to major shows including the Celebration. In 2003 she was named director of judges for the National Horse Show Commission.[9]