Around the Rings – 2023 Paint Horse Congress
Pro photos by Ruehle Photographix courtesy of the Paint Horse Congress
The newly reinvented Paint Horse Congress, produced by the Kansas Paint Horse Association, recently took place October 18-22, 2023, in Oklahoma City at the OKC Fairgrounds.
The multi-judge POR hosted judges Patty Campbell, Robert Dehn, Rebecca Halvorson, Ann Jones, Lisa Moden, Teresa Pelton, Rhonda Replogle, and Daren Wright.
Besides the competition and accessible location, what stood out to everyone on social media and in person: the appreciation of the exhibitors! Afterward, social media was filled with compliments of the show!
Kevin George: “Thank you for having us !!!! We all felt like we were truly appreciated for coming!”
Jackie Weatherman: “Super Show! One of the best and it’s only the beginning!! Next year is gonna be off the charts!!! Thank you to EVERYONE involved.”
Jayme Fleeman: “I highly recommend this show! It was the best and well run show I have been to all year. We traveled from Ca to attend, the weather was perfect the entire trip. APHA World is very hard to attend due to the heat in Fort Worth and the entire trip. Planning on next year!”
Summer Knaus: “There was a lot of effort to improve on what the show has lacked in previous years. Great and friendly staff, great improvements to schedule (running everyone once instead of two full schedules). I like the OKC location for this time of year. I really hope the show takes back off and goes back to being the big deal and fun show it used to be!”
The Mad Money Yearling Halter Futurity was also a big hit, with judges Steve Ferguson (Mad Money Open Judge) and Tim Finkenbinder (Mad Money Non-Pro Judge).
The $150,000+ futurity was open to Yearlings registered with one of the following breed associations: APHA, AQHA, ApHC, PHBA, IBHA, ABRA, PtHA, and ARHA.
Six classes were offered:
- Non-Pro Yearling Mares
- Non-Pro Yearling Stallions
- Non-Pro Yearling Geldings
- Yearling Mares
- Yearling Stallions
- Yearling Geldings
Additional classes:
$1000 NSBA Open Western Yearling Longe Line Futurity was sponsored by O’Gorman Show Horses – Home of Required Invitation.
$1,000 NSBA Open Hunter Type Yearling Longe Line Futurity sponsored by Laurie Roden in the name of Stallions Pandemic and Ultimately Fabulous.
$2,000 3 YO Open All-Breed Maiden Western Pleasure and $1,000 3 YO Open All-Breed Maiden Hunter Under Saddle with additional cash bonuses to ATHA registered horses sponsored by the American Tobiano Horse Association.
$1,000 payout to high point ranch horse sponsored by Ranch Horse Congress.
Official results for Mad Money, thanks to show chairperson Casey West:
Show High Points from Diane Gage can be downloaded here: Paint Horse Congress High Point Awards
Find your score sheets here: 2023 Congress Scoresheets – Google Drive
More candid photos from Ruehle Photographix are below, so keep scrolling! If you’d like to find your own photos from the show, they’re online: https://www.ruehlephotographix.com/sytist/horse-shows/horse-shows/2023-paint-horse-congress/
