The world’s largest single-breed horse show begins October 2 in Columbus, Ohio.

2008 Congress Grand Champion Mare Top Secretina.

From the Ohio Quarter Horse Association

The Ohio Quarter Horse Association founded the All American Quarter Horse Congress in 1967 as an event to showcase and promote the American Quarter Horse and to educate horse owners about the care, training and showing of horses. The show has continued under OQHA’s sponsorship for more than 40 years and is managed by the Ohio Quarter Horse Association’s elected officers and directors. as well as three elected Congress Tri-Chairman. Here are some quick facts about Congress: Read the rest of this entry »

Watch America’s Horse TV from anywhere!

A few weeks ago, AQHA re-launched America’s Horse TV, focused on making things easier and more accessible to everyone. It is all online and archived, so you never have to worry about missing an episode, no matter where you are! America’s Horse TV features six channels, each one sponsored by one of AQHA’s awesome Corporate Partners. Check out the episodes on each channel below. Read the rest of this entry »

Use athletic skills you already know – like golf – to help you ride your horse.

Maintaining your rhythm is an important part of precision.

By AQHA Professional Horseman Richard Shrake

As golfers know, once you’ve got rhythm in your swing and your timing in place, you have to hit the ball precisely or it will end up in the rough. Rhythm, timing and precision are essential to becoming a better rider, too.

What Is Precision?

To me, precision is about doing things correctly. It means having every part of your body in the correct position to help the horse, from your head to your hands and from your seat to your toes.

When you watch a top golfer, his approach never changes. From the way he warms up to the way he addresses the ball, it’s the exact same thing every time. That consistency helps maintain precision, and precision is what makes champions. Read the rest of this entry »

Facebook helped tell this tale of a reunited racehorse.

Pies Royal Request with Wayne Brasher's great-grandson, Lelton Wayne Morse. Photo courtesy of the Morse family.

Often, when people ask me about my job, they want to know where we find our story ideas — do I get assignments from some higher-up, or do I come up with the ideas myself, and if so, where do I get them? There’s not one set answer to that, but one thing that has held true, even in my previous jobs at newspapers, is that the best stories just seem to organically appear, as though they’re asking to be told.

That’s what happened with the tale of Pies Royal Request. You can read his full story in the October issue of America’s Horse, but the short version is that this incredible, record-setting racehorse, who was much-loved by his owner, went missing while serving in his second career as a steer-wrestling mount. About three years of searching passed before Wayne Brasher, who had trained “Pie” while he was on the track, was able to locate his horse.

“It was quite a little emotional homecoming,” says Wayne’s wife, Loretta. And Pie is now being doted on by members of the family who’ll always keep him safe.

I learned of his story when Andrea Caudill, editor of The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal, featured Pie on her magazine’s Facebook page. The post read: “This day in Quarter history… July 9, 1995 … Pies Royal Request wins his 14th consecutive race at Prescott, Arizona, tying the record set by world champion Josie’s Bar (53-54) and Destiny Drummer (80-81). Instead of ducking competition to seek the record in an easy spot, owners Howard and Wanda Lanus announce they will next race him in the World’s Championship Classic (G2) at Ruidoso.” (Note: Pie didn’t win that race; his record stood at 14 consecutive wins.)

Amy Owens, a former editor of the Racing Journal and current contributor, replied in a comment: ” ‘Pie’ and his connections are among my all-time favorites. I just learned from Loretta Brasher (via Facebook) that Wayne turned 80 last December. After his remarkable racing career, Pie became a rodeo horse, and the Brashers lost track of him. They spent three years looking for him and tracking down leads; through an anonymous call, they found the gelding was living just 7 miles from them. Wayne and his famous horse have been reunited. About Pie, Loretta says, ‘He’s loving life right now and so are we.’ ”

So thanks, Facebook! A little technology, a little help from Racing Journal colleagues … and a great interview with Loretta combined to make a heart-warming story.

And a postscript: Another racing superstar — two-time champion Snowbound Superstar – tied the record for 14 consecutive wins in May. And on Sunday, Snowbound Superstar won his 15th consecutive race, putting him in a class by himself. Thanks, Andrea, for the YouTube link! Look at how many chances this horse had to not win this race, but he manages to overcome in the final stride. It was a tough trip, and it took the heart of a champion American Quarter Horse.

Happy riding (or racing!)
Holly Clanahan
Editor, America’s Horse magazine

Don’t miss the fun, educational and heart-warming stories in the print version of America’s Horse! It goes to all members of the American Quarter Horse Association, and it’ll also keep you in the loop on Association news. We want you to belong!

Exposure to just one rabid animal could be fatal to your horse.

Question:

Today is World Rabies Day, and I’d like to know more about the effects of rabies in horses. Where can I get more information?

Answer:

For the answer, Daily went through some recent America’s Horse archives and found a great story to get you pointed in the right direction. Consult your veterinarian in any event your horse needs medical attention.

Rabies 101

From America’s Horse magazine

Dr. Ann Dwyer, a veterinarian in New York, took the call: “Our mare is Read the rest of this entry »

Plans are already in the works for the 2010 AQHA Region Two Experience.

Look Whos Larkin Now won back-to-back Region Two Experience open all-around titles. (Christine Hamilton)

The last two days of the 2009 Region Two Experience went by in a blur. And the Region Two steering committee met to get started on the 2010 show, aiming for the same weekend next year. The final number of entries shown hit around 1,300, according to Kari Williams of Quarter Time Management.

Saturday, September 26, Team Wrangler Member Traci Johnting of Butler, Kentucky, flew in to give a clinic on barrels and poles. With so many exhibitors entering both the showmanship and speed classes, Traci’s official clinic was shifted to later in the day. She ended up giving two mini clinics to accommodate riders who had come to work with her.

Saturday also featured a Breyer Fun Day hosted by Y-L Saddlery in the trade show area. For $2 a horse, kids young and old could paint their own mini Breyer horse. There was a total of 136 horse painted. Read the rest of this entry »

Test your knowledge about feeding your horse with Junior Master Horseman’s Hay Horse Sense True-False Exercise.

From Junior Master Horseman

How much do you know about feeding your horse properly? Find out with this quick true-false exercise:

1. Your horse’s weight isn’t important when it comes to feeding.
2. It’s a good idea to make sure your horse likes his feed before buying a large amount.
3. Feed in equal amounts at the same time each day.
4. Keep feed bins off the ground but much higher than the horse’s shoulders.
5. Feed good hay like alfalfa because it is high in energy, protein and calcium.

How did you do? Find the answers at the bottom of this post. Read the rest of this entry »

Do horses keep you walking? They do Bryan Jones.

Bryan Jones competed with Leroy in the freestyle reining at the 2009 Region Two Experience. His elk hide warrior regalia is Sioux made. (Christine Hamilton)

From Jamestown, North Dakota, (“up in the tundra,” as Bryan says), Bryan shows his 2003 stallion Nu Chex Nics, aka “Leroy,” in reining and working cow horse. This year’s Region Two Experience is his third to show in.

But when Bryan was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 18 years ago, his doctor said he’d never sit in a saddle again. It ended his work as a farrier and horse trainer and put him in a wheelchair.

“The doctor told me pretty much that I wasn’t going to get out of the chair,” Bryan recalled. “He probably didn’t like my response. I said, ‘You’re wrong; I’m going to do it.’

“It was a desire for the horses and to get back on, otherwise I’d have never been able to get out of Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hard to keep up…

Youth and amateur entries have been strong at the 2009 AQHA Region Two Experience in Rapid City, South Dakota. (Christine Hamilton)

…with everything going on between both show arenas at the 2009 AQHA Region Two Experience in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Friday, September 25, began with practice trail outside in the Bray Arena and western riding in the indoor Coliseum Arena. Then trail and reining dominated the rest of the day: Trail had approximately 145 entries, and the reining had about 95.

Rapid City home gal Kerry Papendick stopped by the show grounds to watch the trail; she’s fresh off a Select reserve world championship in western riding with Harley D Zip at the 2009 Bayer Select World Championship Show in Amarillo.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Hey, how are you doing?”

The 2009 Region Two Experience is under way in Rapid City, South Dakota. (Christine Hamilton)

I heard that everywhere I went on the Central States Fairgrounds in Rapid City, South Dakota, as the first day of the 2009 AQHA Region Two Experience got started. The show runs from September 24 to 27.

It’s the fourth Region Two, and the folks who gather here seem to really enjoy getting to see each other annually. Region Two covers such a wide territory – Alberta, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Saskatchewan, South Dakota and Wyoming – it’s brought together a far-flung community.

It’s also got a great “try everything” attitude. Take Jill Swanhorst, the horse event coordinator for the Black Hills Stock Show: She has been Read the rest of this entry »

All business on the track, the stallion and racehorse was a gentleman with heart.

By Richard Chamberlain of The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal

Streakin La Jolla has gone to that great green pasture in the sky. The 1985 son of Streakin Six who became the racing industry’s all-time ninth-leading sire died June 11 at Granada Farms near Wheelock, Texas, of heart-related problems due to old age.

“He was a gentleman,” says Alvin “Bubba” Brossette, who in 1988 rode Streakin La Jolla to score in the Sound of Summer Derby at Delta Downs. “He was a stakes horse, and he was all business. Read the rest of this entry »

Tickets to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games go on sale Friday, September 25.

Tickets to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games go on sale Friday, September 25, at noon EST, exactly one year before the Games begin in Lexington, Kentucky.

The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will celebrate the launch of ticket sales and the final year countdown to the Games and you are invited to join the celebration around the world with a live Web stream of Read the rest of this entry »