AQHYA Region 5 Youth Conference Promotes Youth Development
All images courtesy of AQHYA Executive Committee.
From Adrianna Goolsby, AQHYA Executive Committee Member:
Youth from New York to Virginia to even Ohio gathered in State College, Pennsylvania, for the 2025 AQHYA Region 5 Youth Leadership Conference on January 25-26. Each year this event is organized and ran by the currently elected AQHYA Region 5 Directors. This year’s organizing committee included Addison Kimble of Virginia, Caroline Wisniewski of New Jersey, Lauren Goolsby of New Jersey, plus AQHYA Executive Committee Member, Adrianna Goolsby of New Jersey, who flew in from Texas to help.
The two-day conference included educational lectures, live horse demos, and interactive learning sessions to support youth development and involvement by increasing awareness to AQHYA programs and opportunities. Saturday morning started at Penn State University with a lecture on higher education involving horses, a walking tour of the Penn State Quarter Horse Farm and a form-to-function demonstration using the newly acquired multiple Congress and World Champion mare, Glo InTheDark, as the example.
To promote a “yes, you can” mindset, Adrianna Goolsby shared her own AQHYA journey before announcing her intentions to run for AQHYA President. The youth then completed a series of fun and interactive activities to learn about the AQHYA programs involving racing, competition, outreach, partners and even ones that do not involve horse ownership. Day one ended with a community service project supporting animal welfare and a competitive but fun bowling event.
AQHA-carded judges Lora Knelly Thomas and Cayce Miller also a ran an interactive session called the Judge’s Perspective on Saturday. While giving their own tips for potential improvement, both judges reviewed the scoring system for showmanship while highlighting available AQHA judging resources. After the session, Lora Knelly said, “It was fun and an honor to talk with everyone. I loved how interactive everyone was.” Cayce Miller hopes that “some future judges will come from this exceptional group of horsemen and horsewomen.”
Sunday morning opened with a Meet Your Director session allowing the attendees to have open discussions with their AQHYA leadership before three presentations filled the rest of the morning. Members of the Penn State University Western Equestrian Team presented information on riding in college. AQHA Professional Horsewoman, clinician and trainer Kristy Lee Smith gave an overview of Ranch Riding. The meeting closed with pictures and autographs with the amazing All-American Quarter Horse Congress Queen Madi Heilveil.
After setting an attendance record in 2024, a new goal was set by the AQHYA Region 5 Directors to continue this momentum. With over 90 youth and adult chaperones registered, the goal was met and exceeded. However, the organizing committee fully recognizes that it takes more than just their efforts to run a successful conference.
Attendees received product samples from Cowboy Magic and Pyranha plus a conference t-shirt sponsored by Gariel Screen Printing of New Jersey and G4 Farm. Other supporters included Jersey Mikes, Platinum Performance, NJQHYA, PQHA, PQHYA, VQHA, Summit Farm and Winery, Pinewood Equine, NJQHA, Three Sisters Farm, Desiree Farm, Mariposa Medical Spa, BMZ Law, PC and WNYQHC, Inc.
To learn more about Region 5 and future conferences, be sure to check-out the AQHYA Region 5 Facebook page or Region 5 AQHA website.
