PQHA’s Summer Kickoff Show- First in Series of Three

By: Rita McMullen

PQHA’s slogan, “We’ve Got You Covered,” lived up to its name this past weekend in Centre Hall, PA, with almost 400 stalls filled during the Pennsylvania Quarter Horse Association’s Summer Kickoff Show.

“May has been an unusually wet, rainy month so far, and this weekend was no exception,” says PQHA President Carla Weaver. “We’re so thankful to call Centre County Grange Equine Park home, where the covered arena allows the show to go on and exhibitors to show in a dry arena. We would like to thank everyone who attended our show and for their patience as our show management allowed ample time for riders to warm up their horses in the arena prior to the riding classes.”

Exhibitor entry numbers remained strong with some classes exceeding 30 entries per class. “Several riding classes required multiple splits due to the number of entries and the smaller arena size,” says Ed Campbell, PQHA Show Manager. “This did add additional time to the show; however, we wanted to keep our exhibitors happy and allow exhibitors time to warm up their horses.”

Comments received from exhibitors reflected the size of the show as well as the well-apppointed facility and friendly show management.

• “We travel here because of the number of points available to exhibitors.”
• “Great hospitality and friendly folks here.”
• “Beautiful facility and a covered arena to show no matter what the weather.”
• “We heard from other folks what a great place this is.”

During the show, PQHA offered over 108 classes including EWD (Equestrians with Disabilities) classes which continue to grow. The show began on Friday evening at 4 pm with all the Trail classes. Also, Ranch Riding classes continue to grow (over 40 total entries) as more exhibitors are drawn to this discipline.

The PQHA Series Champions Program is an added benefit to exhibitors who support all three PQHA circuits and show to all 14 judges in 2016. These Series Championship awards are available to all Ranch Riding classes, Junior Western Pleasure, and Junior Hunter Under Saddle classes due to the generous support of added money from several sponsors. Full details are available at www.pqha.org.

The Centre County Grange Equine Park continues to make improvements. This year, a new stall office welcomed exhibitors at the entrance to the Equine Park, thanks to a grant courtesy of the Central PA Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The Bureau was happy to be part of our expansion due to the economic impact of the ‘heads and beds’ that our horse show numbers bring into our Centre County community,” says Darlene Confer, General Manager of the Grange Equine Park. “They are amazed at the number of out of state exhibitors who attend the equine events at our facility. The next expansion and improvement planned is to cover the outdoor arenas and warm up arena. This would continue to draw exhibitors to our facility even with inclement weather like we’re experiencing this month in Pennsylvania.”

PQHA continues to look for ways to improve the efficiency of the shows and has invested in a new tablet system that electronically transfers the live results from the ring stewards to the office and announcer, thus reducing the paper trail and time to announce results.

In an effort to give back, a Coats For Kids Collection Box has been placed in the covered arena of the show grounds and will remain throughout the duration of the PQHA show season. “PQHYA will join with other youth associations in the AQHA Region 5 to collect donations of new and lightly used coats, shoes, and clothing to be presented to needy families in the Appalachian Mountain area later this fall,” says Sloane Vogt, PQHA Youth President. “We feel it’s important to give to those in need. PQHYA will also be doing a fundraiser at the July Mid-Summer Madness show to raise funds for a local equine youth, Rebecca Knepper, who was injured in a horse-related accident.”

PQHYA would like to thank Steve Andersen/Equine Equipment Savings and Toro for their generous donation of a Toro Zero turn mower. PQHYA sold raffle tickets as a fundraiser for their youth projects. On Sunday, they drew the winning ticket and presented the mower in person to Rhonda Replogle of Clear Spring, Maryland. Rhonda is the owner and trainer of Rhonda Replogle Quarter Horses and has been a long-time supporter of PQHA and PQHYA. Rhonda proudly displayed her mower key and said, “I will put the mower to good use on my farm.”

Exhibitors are encouraged to attend the other PQHA shows this summer. All shows are held at the Centre County Grange Fair Equine Park in Centre Hall, PA, and showbills and stall reservations can be obtained at www.pqha.org. The PQHA All-Novice show and clinic will be held on Wednesday, July 13th, followed by the PQHA Mid-Summer Madness July 14-17th with six judges and over $10,000 in cash and prizes to be presented. The final show of the season, the PQHA Nittany Classic and Futurities, will be held on Sept 2-4 with four judges and includes an Exhibitors’ Party.