11-year-old Caleb Fields May be First African American Youth to Win AQHA Halter World Title

Last week, at the 2013 AQHYA World Show in Oklahoma City, 11-year-old Caleb Fields achieved a long term goal he has been working hard to accomplish. After coming in 15th place in Aged Geldings at the 2012 World Show, Caleb was determined to improve his performance, and ultimately his placings, this year.

“Last year, he was 15th,” says Caleb’s father, Dr. Deacue Fields. “When he came out, the first thing he said was, ‘Dad, how do I get in the top five?’ We came up with a strategy and looked at the classes and saw how tough the aged classes are. There were seven World Champions in the class last year.”

“We got connected with Chris Arentsen, and he helped with finding us a horse.”

Not only did Caleb achieve his goal, he surpassed it by being named the Reserve World Champion in Yearling Geldings with his horse, Truizm, a bay gelding by Ckade and out of Tru Obsession. Winning a Reserve World title at the tender age of eleven is an accomplishment in and of itself. However, it wasn’t until the class was over that Fields discovered his son’s win might be noteworthy for an entirely different reason, the color of his skin.”

“After the class, an AQHA Past President indicated that Caleb was the first African American youth to win a World title in halter,” Fields says. “I was unable to confirm this with AQHA, but they were certain that there were none in the past 20 years.”

“We show all the time, and we rarely see another African-American or other minority in the show ring. I have friends with horses, but the general belief is that ‘times haven’t changed’ or ‘we can’t win if there is subjective judgment.’ I think Caleb’s win is a testament to the fact that times have changed, and the majority of today’s judges will fairly evaluate your horse.”

Dr. Fields has been breeding and fitting his own horses since he was just 14 years old. However, it wasn’t until the last decade or so that he entered the show pen as an exhibitor.

“For the longest time, I wouldn’t show my own horses,” he says. “I’ve had a horse in the show ring since 1984, when I was 14 years old, but I refused to show them myself and didn’t want anyone to know that I actually owned the horse. I think there are others who feel the same way. We would actually fit our own and breed our own. My dad and I would contact trainers before the show and let them show. We pretty much sat in the stands and watched.”

By refraining from showing the horses himself, and taking his place in the stands as a silent owner, Fields intended to give his horses the best chance at success. His self-denial simply helped to eliminate another variable in the already complex world of objective vs. subjective judgment.

“We’ve had some tough experiences over time, but there have been so many people in the industry who have assisted us and made the good outweigh the bad. In the 80s, times were a little different, but I had a trainer that encouraged me to start showing as an amateur, Jerry Wright from Arkansas.”

Although his son enjoys a slightly different experience in today’s show pen, Fields remembers a time, not that long ago, when this wouldn’t have been the case.

“We’ve had a lot of experiences being at shows,” he says. “We’ve been asked to clean stalls. I was at one show putting shavings into my own stall, and two different people came up and asked if after I got done I would come do theirs.”

Fields remembers one particular instance in which a trainer asked why he even bothered to show horses, because he was never going to win. Although that kind of racially-biased attitude is certainly disappointing, Fields believes that nowadays the bigger issue is the lack of participation among minorities.

“We have other friends, and they show at open shows, but they don’t show at larger breed shows,” he says. “At this point, everyone is welcoming, and, for the most part, we know everyone at the shows. We reach out to them and have learned a lot from them. I’d just like to see a larger response from people using this as a way to spend time with their kids. The main thing I tell Caleb is that this is for fun. It’s competitive, but every show is just one judge’s opinion.”

Interestingly enough, another 11-year-old competitor found herself in a similar situation at the Youth World Show this year. Miss Alexandria “Lexi” Tan of Sherman, Texas was named the World Champion in Yearling Fillies with Oh So Righteous, a chestnut filly by Righteous Mister and out of Fancy Me A Cool. On occasion, Fields has chatted with Lexi’s father, James, about this very subject.

“Lexi’s father was the first Asian American to win a Championship a couple of years ago,” he says. “We have talked about this, and he has his own experiences.”

“I will say that there is a slight difference if you look at societal acceptance. Asian Americans are typically more easily integrated into society than African Americans. I think, in terms of their involvement [in the horse world], both are underrepresented in AQHA and other breed associations.”

Caleb isn’t the only Fields child with an affinity for horses. Fields’s other sons, 9-year-old Cade and 6-year-old Collin, have shown interest in showing horses as well.

“I have two younger boys,” he says. “The youngest rides and really likes horses. He will more than likely show pretty soon.”

“I would like to see others show [as well]. It would be good to see [African American involvement in the horse industry] become a more natural thing.”

Upon concluding our interview, Fields shared one final anecdote that illustrates the true meaning of being a minority in the horse industry.

“You know Michael Horace with the Nacogdoches Boys Ranch?” he asks. “We are so few that everyone had been congratulating him [on Caleb’s win]. He said he’s been getting all of these congratulations over the last couple of days because [Caleb] had to be one of his kids!”

We also had a few moments to speak with Caleb himself, who was able to tell us exactly what his first Reserve World Champion means to him.

“It was a thrill,” Caleb says. “I enjoyed it. I thought there was a chance… but I wasn’t sure. My goal was at least top five.”

“Truman is a really great horse. I haven’t show him for that long. We bought him in April.  I’ve only showed him one time, so I was a little bit nervous. [Mr. Arentsen] told me to go in there, be calm, and show.”

It seems that another congratulations is in order for the Fields family because Dr. Fields, a Professor of Agricultural Economics at Auburn University, was recently named Chair of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology. Congratulations to this family of horse-lovers on all their recent achievements. We look forward to seeing the younger Fields in the show pen very soon.