On July 30, 2018, AQHA Professional Horseman and judge Nancy Renfro hooked up her truck and trailer and started off on what should’ve been a routine three-day drive to the AQHA Youth World and NSBA World Show. Along for the ride were Renfro’s two girls, three dogs, and six horses loaded in the trailer.
Continue reading …On September 29, 2018, the horse world lost one of its best. Gene Parker, 68, owner of Gene Parker Farms in Orrum, North Carolina, passed away at the JP Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas.
Continue reading …Katelyn Schultz had an exceptional year with her 11-year-old gelding, Dance Somemore (aka Connor). She says her goal for the AQHA Youth World was simply to have solid rounds and have fun. She says, “My biggest thing before every single ride and every single course that I jumped was that I wanted to go in and enjoy my horse. When I went in with that mindset, it obviously worked pretty well for me!”
Continue reading …Arizona Quarter Horse Association strives to give exhibitors what they want at all the shows they produce. Delivering towards that goal has been a big component of the upward trajectory of entries at the Arizona Fall Championship. The 2018 show, held September 19-23 in Scottsdale, Arizona, saw 7,603 AQHA class entries, which represents a 17% growth over the previous year.
Continue reading …As the season of reflection and resolution surrounds us, thoughts turn to charting a course for the coming year. It can be a daunting task with so many competing commitments. Several veterans of the process share their thoughts on planning for the New Year… of horse shows.
Continue reading …“Too many cooks in the kitchen” is a common trope of supervisors and employees alike. I can’t speak for the entire Texas A&M Equestrian Team, but those words were certainly running through my head when Coach Tana McKay announced that we would no longer have a team captain.
Continue reading …Spring is on the horizon, love is in the air, and so is the promise of breeding season. The excitement of what each new cross may bring is the lure and magic that motivates every mare owner. Choosing a stallion for a mare offers unrivaled anticipation. Amid the fun and frenzy of breeding is that pesky little detail of paperwork, a necessity that protects both the interests of the mare owner and the stallion owner.
Continue reading …Ask anyone at your local horse show and they will tell you, in no uncertain terms, that showing horses is an addiction. If the horse show bug bites, you will be stuck with a life-long craving for the feel of freshly raked arenas, the scent of Show Sheen, and the sound of an announcer’s booming voice over the loudspeaker. This glorious obsession is often terminal, spanning the decades between Youth and Select, and acts as one of the defining interests of an individual’s life.
Continue reading …Some people are just born with horses in their blood. Such is the case for AQHA Select Amateur competitor Laina McNelis Banks, of Schulenberg, Texas. Originally from Boise, Idaho, Laina was raised on a ranch where her family raised Quarter Horse racehorses and owned a World Champion racing stallion.
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