The All American Quarter Horse Congress, the world’s largest gathering of American Quarter Horses, will award more than $3 million in cash prizes to the top exhibitors who compete in Columbus, Ohio.

The High Money Earners after four classes in the Youth, Amateur, and Open divisions win All-Around Championship cash prizes. There is room for 100 horses to compete. The event will be judged by David Avery and Chris Hardcastle will judge. If the event fills to capacity, the show will payback over $30,000, saddles and more.

Honorees were named in each of the six timed-event categories (there was a tie in the steer roping), with the lone repeat champion being steer wrestling horse Landrys Cadillac, aka “Cadillac.”

Adequan® Level 2 classes will be offered in a one-go-round format. Awards for Adequan® Level 2 will be awarded after each preliminary. The top-10 placings and five finalists will be awarded in each Adequan® Level 2 class. AQHA will also award the top three 13-&-Under exhibitors in both the Adequan® Level 2 and Level 3 classes.

The 2017 Farnam Central AQHA Level 1 Championships is April 11-15 at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, the 2017 AQHA West Level 1 Championships returns April 19-23 to the South Point Equestrian & Events Center in Las Vegas and the 2017 Nutrena East AQHA Level 1 Championships is May 3-7 at the Gov. James B. Hunt Horse Complex in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The qualifying period began June 1, 2016, and ends May 31, 2017. The Adequan® Select World returns to Amarillo August 25 – September 2, 2017.

Things livened considerably with the arrival of William Shatner riding three different horses in competition. The “Captain of the Starship Enterprise” rode Smart In Coryagable (Ill Be Smart x Miss Chex N Freckles) into the money in the NP Masters and the Intermediate Non Pro on Tuesday. That’s particularly impressive when you discover he’s 86 and still riding and competing!

“Novice reinstatement and the Walk-Trot program are excellent opportunities for exhibitors to regain their confidence in the ring,” Director of Amateur Activities Savanna Robbins said. “By competing in these specialized divisions, exhibitors are able to be successful while refining their skill sets.”