2017 AQHA Convention Update- With Cece Campbell

EC Blog by: Cece Campbell

Friday night at the 2017 AQHA Convention began with the President’s Reception. 996 AQHA attendees joined Sandy Arledge to celebrate her year as President of the American Quarter Horse Association. As always, the appetizers and social hour gave us all a chance to meet new friends and reconnect with those members we only see at Convention.

I was lucky enough to meet Kaitlyn Myers and her mother, who are from Moorpark, California. They both showed up looking like actresses from a movie, but had the most interesting story to share about why they attended the AQHA Convention. You see, Kaitlyn, now 26, had shown in AQHA with her Hunt Seat horse as a youth. Now that he’s in his 20’s, she decided that perhaps trying AQHA Dressage might be an option to keep him in shape. Unfortunately, he did not take to the Dressage arena, so Kaitlyn decided to take her 15 hand, ex-Reining horse “Candy” (Sweet Blue Skys) to take a lesson in Dressage.

The rest is the stuff of fairytales. Sweet Blue Skys (yes a gray, but no, not a Sky’s Blue Boy, but with movement that’s off the charts) won an AQHA Superior for Kaitlyn and also won the AQHA Year-End Highpoint award in Amateur, Second and Third Level Dressage. She competes (and regularly beats) her Warmblood and other breed competitors on her American Quarter Horse.

Another reconnection at the President’s Reception was Katie Flynn, our veterinarian from CDFA. Katie advises us on infectious diseases throughout the West Coast, recently lifting the ban from all California Equestrian Centers. She has promised to send us all biosecurity measures for the horse show to keep all our beloved horses safe.

On Saturday, the AQHA General Membership Meeting began at 8:00 am (early for us coming from the West Coast – actually 6:00 am). The lineup was memorable with the Miss Rodeo California speaking on her experiences with Quarter Horses and how they have impacted her life – and onto D. Wayne Lukas, the leading Thoroughbred racehorse trainer, who shared his secrets for success with horses and life.

His remarkable story began in a one room schoolhouse in Wisconsin. Little did anyone know he would later become a race horse trainer for four Kentucky Derby Winners. His secrets were simple, starting with our own attitude, even when life doesn’t give us what we want. He went on to share his tips for buying yearlings and then his advice on how to handle defeat. Now in his 80s, Wayne gave this advice: “Lose your fear of losing and recognize that the losing gives you an opportunity to educate, where winning helps you to build confidence.”

Sandy Arledge, AQHA President, was up next and shared a memorable review of her year as President of AQHA. Beginning with her start on the AQHA Executive Committee four years ago, this past year’s journey was a blur of thousands of miles traveling for AQHA. She suggested that we all, “focus on what matters to feed your passion” to ensure we never forget our love for the American Quarter Horse. After all of her international travels with AQHA members all over the world, she felt that we all shared the passion and engagement for the American Quarter Horse. Sandy’s extensive efforts to connect with AQHA members worldwide via her blog, airline travels, work on the animal welfare committees, biosecurity for horses, and many other AQHA programs will be long remembered.

After the general membership meetings, the AQHA Directors met for a private meeting, followed by committee meetings at 2:00 pm. In the evening, the AQHA Year End Highpoint winners were celebrated at the AQHA Awards Banquet.

Thanks for listening and more on our AQHA Committee Meetings later today.