Overcoming hurdles: That’s what it’s all about for many Adequan Select World exhibitors.

Charlene Timmins and Huntin The Blues, aka "Tuffy." There's a great story behind every Select exhibitor. (Scroll down for today's Journal slide show.)

By Mallory Martin, AQHA Marketing Intern

For many of the over-50 crowd showing at the 2010 Adequan Select World Championship Show, coming to show their American Quarter Horses is a big challenge in a variety of ways.

Every Select exhibitor has a story to tell; we thought you’d like to meet a few.

A Belated Start and a New Horse

Charlene Timmins of Chipley, Florida, came to the Adequan Select World to show in trail after losing her horse last year just two weeks before the 2009 show.

In August 2009, Charlene’s horse died of a kidney infection. She had planned on taking him to Amarillo for a second time.

As a way to remember her horse, Charlene wears jewelry made of his tail hair.

“I wear this bracelet when I ride,” Charlene says. “It gives me spirit that he’s there.”

Charlene’s husband, Stanley, had surprised her with a horse when she was 58. She hadn’t been around horses since before she was married. Stanley wanted her to live out her dream. ‘He told me we have worked too long and too hard not to fulfill that dream,’ Charlene said.

Charlene has been showing her new horse, Huntin The Blues, aka “Tuffy,” for almost a year now and will be competing in trail September 1.

She has really enjoyed coming to this show and has met many wonderful people, but she relies on her husband’s support, her trainer’s guidance and Tuffy’s great rides, Charlene said. Read the rest of this entry »

Champion barrel racer Kristie Peterson offers some advice on what it takes to win consistently.

Sitting and relaxing into the turn brings your horse’s hind end under him and allows him to leave the turn faster and harder.

From The American Quarter Horse Journal

Kristie Peterson is a four-time Women’s Professional Rodeo Association world champion barrel racer, originally from Colorado but now living in Chilton, Texas. Kristie is the owner of the famous barrel horse French Flash Hawk, aka “Bozo,” and together they were as competitive and fierce as any barrel racing team out there.

But that was then and this is now, and, as a grandmother, she has transitioned into a different phase of her life that she loves and enjoys just as much as she loved and enjoyed the rodeo road. Today, she trains horses with her daughter, Jordon, for themselves and clients.

Here are Kristie’s tips on how to get the most out of your barrel runs:

Read the rest of this entry »

Riders in the last split of the western pleasure prelims at the 2010 Adequan Select World wait for the callbacks. Scroll down for more Journal photos.

Check your knowledge of the Adequan Select World Championship Show against this quiz.

With a rumble and a roar of diesel buses, the 2010 Adequan Select World Championship Show exhibitors are rolling into Amarillo for their turn in the spotlight and their time at the parties.

Thirteen new world champions will be named by the end of the second day, but there are many more to come. In all, 41 new world champions will be crowned this week. While you’re catching up with the show on the live webcast, here are a few questions to test your knowledge of the Adequan Select World.

1. How many entries are there?
2. How many horses?
3. How many exhibitors are showing in English classes?
4. How many in western?
5. How many halter horses will go through the coliseum gates?
6. Which horse is the oldest?
7. Which exhibitor?
8. How is the Farnam All-Around Amateur picked?
9. Which class is the largest?
10. How many countries will be represented? Read the rest of this entry »

AQHA Professional Horseman Al Dunning offers tips for “sitting deep” on your cutting horse.

Question:

I just started cutting and have a great older and finished cutter who’s been there, done that.  I have a terrible problem leaning forward in my saddle instead of “sitting deep.”  What does sitting deep mean?  What is the “cutter’s slump?”  Every time I try to mimic what I see, I’m all over in the saddle.  It frustrates me so, and I’ve tried rolling my pelvis, etc., but it doesn’t seem to work.  Pushing on the horn to press my butt back in the seat seems to be a disaster, and relaxing my shoulders makes me look like a sack of potatoes. Can you help me out?

-Kelly

Read the rest of this entry »

With eight organized Nevada Quarter Horse Association trail rides a year, trail riders are making an impact.

Not only does NQHA President Laurel Wachtel compete in AQHA trail classes, but she also organizes eight NQHA trail rides a year. Photo by Don Trout.

From America’s Horse

When AQHA announced plans for a recreational riding program with trail rides around the country, many horse people in Nevada thought there would never be a demand for organized trail rides in their state. They were wrong; the Nevada Quarter Horse Association now hosts about eight trail rides a year, many of which are big fundraisers for charities and nonprofit groups.

Laurel Wachtel, of Elko, Nevada, is the NQHA president and was one of the people who set out to prove the naysayers wrong.

“Nevada is different from many other states because we have so much public land,” Laurel explains. “Many people said ‘You can never have a great Ride program because there’s so much public land that people can ride whenever they want to.’ ”

Read the rest of this entry »

AQHA Incentive Fund provides unexpected bonus at Adequan Select World Championship Show.

John Hoffer of Auburn, Kansas, received $500 along with his bronze trophy in 2-year-old stallions through the Incentive Fund. To see more photos from the 2010 Adequan Select World, watch the slide show below.

John Hoffer came into the media room at the 2010 Adequan Select World Championship Show on August 29 with an important question: how to collect his money.

John entered his 2-year-old stallion, Special Ordered, in the AQHA Incentive Fund, and during the Adequan Select World, one randomly selected entry in each finals class that is enrolled in the Incentive Fund receives $500.

“Well, I got third in 2-year-old stallions, and they said I got 500 bucks,” John says, “so I’m not going to turn it down.”

Not bad for one day’s showing.

The AQHA Incentive Fund, a multimillion-dollar program that started in 1984, pays people for showing their Quarter Horses. At the end of the year, horse owners and breeders get money for the points they have earned. Through September 30, owners who enroll eligible horses can do so at a discount.

“(It’s a) real good day,” John says of his unexpected bonanza at the Adequan Select World. “I’m going to buy a new hat for my wife, probably from Shorty’s.”

John and his wife, Barbara, who live in Auburn, Kansas, are also the breeders of Special Ordered. John told his wife he wanted a buckskin. When the stallion was born, John figured the horse was “special-ordered.”

To see more photos from the Adequan Select World, watch the slide show below. Click on the photo to see the caption. Read the rest of this entry »

Who will be reining at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games? The nations range from newcomers to seasoned veterans.

Many countries are coming to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games with “dream teams” and plans for a fierce competition. However, some of our neighbors to the south are just looking forward to being recognized.

Colombia is being represented in reining for the first time at an Federation Equestre Internationale event. Hernando Jimenez, a trainer from Bogota, qualified while competing in the FEI reining at the Young Riders Championships held in Lexington, Kentucky, in July.

Read the rest of this entry »

How do you make the most out of your time at the barn?

I hear there are people out there who take long, leisurely walks, linger over good books in their neighborhood coffee shop and even complain of occasional boredom. I am not those people.

For me, life is a rapid-fire succession of things that have to be crossed off an ever-growing to-do list. With family, work, cattle and horses all making demands on my time, you can bet that I don’t get many extended periods of time to lollygag around.

But that’s OK. While I don’t exactly get a lot of leisure time, I find a million small moments during the day — mini vacations if you will — that remind me to be appreciative of the blessings around me. It’s not exactly stopping to smell the roses … it’s more like horse sweat and alfalfa hay.

I’ve also learned to milk the most good out of my allotted hours. Like so many busy people, my lunch hour is often spent running errands or catching up on work that’s piling up. But on those rare lucky days when work is caught up and errands are either done or can wait, you’ll often find me at the barn.

It’s a move I’ve copped from a friend of mine who is fortunate enough to board her horse not far from her workplace. And it does have its own set of skills. After all, we’ve all been told not to put time constraints on our training — it takes as long as it takes, and that might or might not be within the limits of a 45-minute block of time. So it’s important to bite off only small chunks. This isn’t where I’d introduce something new or tackle something a horse is having problems with. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking for the one-shot answer to combat your mare’s estrus cycle? Dr. Patrick McCue walks you through the estrus cycle and how to battle it.

Estrus suppressing vaccines offer great potential for blocking estrus or inducing contraception in mares, however, they could also lead to some serious future reproductive issues.

By Dr. Patrick M. McCue in The American Quarter Horse Journal

Mares come into heat or estrus due to rising estrogen levels produced by developing ovarian follicles. Mares typically do not show heat during the winter when they have small, inactive ovaries. Heat is also not exhibited after ovulation when mares have a corpus luteum producing progesterone. Ultimately, expression of behavioral estrus occurs in the presence of estrogen and the absence of progesterone. Absence of estrus is a function of low estrogen levels and/or elevated progesterone levels.

The development of follicles and ovulation are initiated by hormonal signals from the brain. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone is produced by the hypothalamus and secreted in pulse into the bloodstream. The anterior pituitary gland near the base of the brain receives the hormone signals. The pituitary secretes a follicle-stimulating hormone that stimulates follicular growth and a luteinizing hormone that causes follicle maturation and induces ovulation.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s always important to maintain the health of your horse’s mouth.

Proper dental care has its rewards. Your horse will be more comfortable and may even live longer.

From the American Association of Equine Practitioners

Routine dental care is essential to your horse’s health. Periodic examination, corrections and regular maintenance are especially necessary for a number of reasons:

• We have modified the horse’s diet and eating patterns through domestication and confinement.
• We demand more from our performance horses (beginning at a younger age) than ever before.
• We often select breeding animals without regard to dental considerations.

Proper dental care has its rewards. Your horse will be more comfortable, will utilize feed more efficiently, may perform better and may even live longer.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bringing western pleasure to all kinds of riders.

Corbett Ryan is the 2010 NSBA world champion in riders with disabilities walk/trot western pleasure - supported rider. (Scroll down for more Journal photos from the show.)

The National Snaffle Bit Association crowned many worthy champions during its world championship show August 18-22 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. But few garnered as much applause or tears as those in the riders-with-disabilities division.

“My dream has been to be a world champion in the (horse) show world,” said Corbett Ryan, of Chicago. It happened on August 21, when he won the NSBA world championship in RWD walk/trot western pleasure – supported rider, riding his 14-year-old American Quarter Horse gelding, Clay Bar Chips.

Born with cerebral palsy, Corbett has been riding almost all his life. Since age 15, his coach/trainer has been Diane Helgeland of Partners for Progress in Mundelein, Illinois.

“(Corbett) has always wanted to show at a national level,” Diane said. “He was hoping to get on the show team in college and he couldn’t get any doors opened there. NSBA, a year ago, said they would add the supported (rider) classes; they’ve been wonderful for us.”

With his parents, Pat and Shirley Ryan, in the stands, Corbett came into the arena with his regular helpers Jamie Herwald at the lead and Kyle Helgeland and Lindsey Weick as his sidewalkers. Read the rest of this entry »

At the 2005 AQHA Select World Championship Show, three fearless riders and their talented horses combined for an unforgettable jumping finals.

Truck A Buck and Dr. April Speyer sail over a jump in the jump-off for the jumping world championship at the 2005 Select World Show.

By Honi Roberts in The American Quarter Horse Journal

The championship jumping class is usually one of the last at the AQHA Select World Championship Show. The crowds thin as the clock ticks, and people head home. But stalwart fans who stayed to watch the finals in 2005 were thrilled when a jump-off became necessary between three horse-and-rider teams, all either previous world champions or high-point horses. The rides that followed were not to be forgotten.

Ellen Williams of Bon Aqua, Tennessee, was first to go aboard her great jumping mare Earth To Wanda, the 2004 Select world champion. When Ellen, whose background includes steeplechasing and eventing, purchased the pretty bay in 1998, Earth To Wanda (by Earth Station (TB) and out of Wanda Charge) was her first American Quarter Horse.

“I’d just retired my Thoroughbred,” Ellen recalled. “A dear friend who showed Quarter Horses always told me what great fun the shows were and how versatile the horses are. I liked Earth To Wanda the instant I saw her. She was game and would jump anything.”

Ellen and Earth To Wanda covered the jump-off course in :34.271 seconds, a clean round, with no faults.

Read the rest of this entry »