APHA & Daniel Patton Partner to Expand All-Breed Ranch Horse Opportunities
Photo credit: PHJ
By Jessica Hein, PHJ News
Calling all ranch horses! A new partnership between serial entrepreneur and horseman Daniel Patton and the American Paint Horse Association is expanding opportunities for ranch horses of all breeds. The team’s International Ranch Horse Association will offer expanded competitions for ranch horses, including offering IRHA world championship classes and expanded Ranch Horse Triple Crown events during the APHA World Championship Show in Fort Worth, Texas.
The IRHA also owns the largest ranch horse futurity in the country; the IRHA Ranch Horse Futurity takes place at the Tulsa Reining Classic, and for 2023 the show will offer Open and Non-Pro ranch riding futurities, with the potential for multiple other event futurity classes.
Daniel Patton, the creator of the Ranch Horse Triple Crown, will serve as IRHA president for at least two years and provide essential involvement in the organization’s growth and development.
“Developing these amazing events has been a highlight of my life,” Daniel said. “This was the culmination of what legendary horseman and ranch horse pioneer Clark Bradley and I envisioned. Partnering with APHA on the International Ranch Horse Association will take this to another level. Through our collective efforts, the IRHA will become the parent organization for ranch horse competition worldwide, in partnership with various organizations and associations.”
Features include:
- IRHA world championship classes (all-breed), taking place in Fort Worth, Texas, at the APHA/IRHA World Championship Show. For 2023, that includes Open, Youth and Non-Pro classes in ranch riding, ranch rail and ranch trail.
- The Ranch Horse Triple Crown Challenge will make its permanent home in Fort Worth, Texas (concurrent with the APHA/IRHA World Championship Show)
- Opportunities to offer IRHA sanctioning by APHA affiliates and industry partners as part of their current ranch events
- IRHA Ranch Horse Futurity (previously the National Ranch Horse Futurity), taking place in conjunction with the Tulsa Reining Classic in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2023 and 2024
- Development of an IRHA award system
- IRHA judge training via the APHA HorseIQ platform
- IRHA Stallion Service Auction & IRHA Youth Car Raffle
The International Ranch Horse Association website will launch soon; for more information, email showing@apha.com.
