The road to the 2011 Mississippi Trainers Showcase could take a detour for Traveler, the horse rescued from near starvation by the Vicksburg-Warren Humane Society.

Initial evaluations Monday with prospective trainer, former NFL running back Marcus Dupree, revealed that Traveler does not have the fancy high-stepping show gait of the Tennessee walkers Dupree normally trains, he said in a telephone interview.

For now, Dupree’s Madison County neighbor Stephanie Billingsley of Twelve Oaks Farm will continue evaluating Traveler as a possible hunter-jumper, or have Dupree showcase Traveler as a pleasure-riding horse, Billingsley said.

“We don’t tell horses what their career is going to be,” Billingsley said Monday afternoon after she, Dupree and one of Dupree’s assistants took their first look at Traveler, with Dupree’s assistant doing the riding. “We’re still evaluating him to see how we can best make this horse shine.”

Traveler will still be showcased in the May 13-14 event in Canton, Billingsley said. The showcase includes the Operation Mississippi Horses Adoption Event, where bids can be placed to buy Traveler and other rescue horses.

Traveler was seized from a Freetown Road resident in September. He was nearly starved and had three infected legs. Since then, he has healed and put on about 350 pounds.

“He’s got enough gait that they can work with him,” said Georgia Lynn, director of the local humane society who oversaw Traveler’s rescue and rehab. “He’ll still be in the showcase and everyone involved in training him says he’s an amazing horse.”