How to get a replacement AQHA membership card.

Every AQHA member is sent a membership card. This card contains all of your membership information and is your ‘golden ticket’ to receive a lot of awesome discounts through AQHA’s Corporate Partners. It serves as the ultimate membership renewal notice – hard, plastic and difficult to destroy – it has your expiration date printed on it. This seems like such an inconsequential subject, but my fellow AQHA Customer Service reps and I receive several phone calls each day with questions about membership cards. They also make up a big part of the e-mail we receive.

AQHA Customer Service Rep Kayla Randall

Read the rest of this entry »

Everything you need to know about breeding and registering American Quarter Horses.

I’ve been writing this blog for almost three years now, and since technology and the horse industry are ever-changing things, most of my older posts need updating. Over the years, I have written several posts about breeding, DNA, transfers and foal registration. All that information doesn’t help you if it’s not current, so today I’m updating all of those posts, correcting links and making sure that information follows current AQHA rules. Read the rest of this entry »

Check this out, trail riders (and everyone else, too)!

Get a three-year AQHA membership, Horseback Riding Program enrollment and a one-year subscription to The Trail Rider Magazine for $119.95. Plus, get a saddle bag on us, just for joining.

That price, combined with all the other great AQHA member benefits you get from AQHA Corporate Partners, is an incredible deal! If you have been trying to decide whether or not to become an AQHA member, join now before this great deal ends! If you are currently a member, but would like to take advantage of this great offer, go ahead and renew now, and we’ll tack your three-year membership onto the end of your current one.

Questions? Leave a comment.

Kayla Randall
AQHA Assistant Internet Production Manager

Feel more confident when purchasing an American Quarter Horse with the security features on our new certificate!

Change isn’t always easy, but it’s usually for the better.

Last Fall, in response to member feedback, AQHA released the newest version of the certificate of registration. The new cert sports easy-to-spot security features and a better display of your horse’s program enrollments and the markings, brands and other physical characteristics that make him unique.

Your horse’s certificate is verification of his authenticity as an American Quarter Horse. To ensure your certificate is as versatile as your American Quarter Horse, AQHA requested feedback from members of all walks of the equine lifestyle. The input we received was phenomenal and helped us come up with some pretty awesome features on the new certificate. Read on to see an example and a feature-by-feature explanation. Read the rest of this entry »

The difference in the AQHA Appendix and Quarter Horse registries.

AQHA Customer Service Rep Kayla Randall

In my previous post, Thoroughbred Recording, I gave you all a little information about listing a Jockey Club-registered Thoroughbred on AQHA records for breeding purposes. But what happens once the foal is born? Since AQHA is a breed registry, how does a horse that is not completely Quarter Horse get registered and differentiated from full-blooded Quarter Horses?

AQHA has created a special registry and numbering system for these Quarter Horse-Thoroughbred crosses. These horses are considered Quarter Horses, but are named for the registry system created for them — Appendix. They are denoted by a registration certificate that is white with a gold border (or completely gold if you have an older-style certificate) instead of blue. Their registration numbers also begin with an X.  AQHA has registered more than 600,000 Appendix horses to date.

Read the rest of this entry »

Add amateur status to your membership in a snap.

Want to compete in AQHA’s amateur division? A general or life membership can be easily upgraded to an amateur membership. Simply follow the instructions below to upgrade your membership today.

To upgrade your membership, print and complete the AQHA amateur membership application and mail or fax the application to AQHA. Since an amateur membership has to be renewed at least every three years, upgrading your current general or life membership is the same. To upgrade a general or life membership to amateur status for one year is $5. To upgrade for three years is $10.

You may also upgrade your membership at an AQHA-approved show. There is an additional $5 fee for upgrading a membership at a show.

Membership upgrades cannot currently be processed online.

Questions? Leave a comment!

As Always, At Your Service,

Kayla Randall
AQHA Assistant Internet Production Manager

Check out the new address change feature for AQHA!

AQHA has recently created a new way to update your address. Moving is enough of a hassle; getting all of your contact information updated should be easy!

Read the rest of this entry »

AQHA Customer Service Rep Kayla Randall

Earn rewards for what you love doing most!

AQHA’s Horseback Riding Program rewards you for doing what you love – saddling up and riding. Whether you are exclusive to the American Quarter Horse or also ride other breeds, you can participate in this fun and rewarding program. Read the rest of this entry »

Get your multiple horse transfers out of the way today!

Buyer beware? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe that horse picked you. You saw him and thought, “wow, he’d be the perfect [insert discipline here] horse!” So you talk to the owner, (or whoever was buying the feed…) pay the person, load him up and ride off into the sunset with the perfect horse.

AQHA Customer Service Rep Kayla Randall

Then you wake up in the middle of the night and realize that your wonderful [insert discipline here] horse didn’t happen to have a transfer tacked to his ear. What now? Thank goodness, you got the horse’s AQHA registration certificate. You decide to do some investigating, and the owner listed on the certificate is NOT who you bought the horse from.

Read the rest of this entry »

All the ins, outs and in-betweens of naming your American Quarter Horse.

I find myself intrigued most days about some of the names owners and breeders come up with for their American Quarter Horses. I’ve seen plays on words; made-up-on-the-spot-for-the-occasion names; we-must-have-let-that-one-slip names; cliché names; and the ever-popular pedigree names. I get a chuckle each day wondering, “How in the heck did they think of that? I never, in a million years, woulda thought of that name!”

AQHA Customer Service Rep Kayla Randall

What and how an American Quarter Horse can be named is a common question. AQHA does have rules that tend to change from time to time regarding naming a horse. I’ll explain these rules, plus tell you how to change your horse’s name if you decide you don’t like it, or didn’t pick it in the first place. Check out the AQHA Rule Book for a complete look at AQHA rules and regulations. Read the rest of this entry »

How to make leasing an American Quarter Horse a smooth operation.

Filing a lease with AQHA is a fairly simple process that is often overlooked.  Many people are unaware when they enter a lease agreement with an American Quarter Horse owner that they need to officially file the lease with AQHA. This is a very important step to take. You’ll protect yourself and any investment you make by entering into a lease agreement. It’s always good to have it in black and white!

Read the rest of this entry »

How to get your Jockey Club-registered Thoroughbred listed for breeding with AQHA.

American Quarter Horses are extremely versatile horses, very strong and powerful. There’s no question about the American Quarter Horse’s ability to beat out any other breed in a short-distance race – he’s just built for it! But quite some time ago, AQHA’s eyes turned to the Jockey Club and the large, long and lean Thoroughbred horses it registers. Thoroughbred (TB) horses succeed in long-distance racing. So what happens when you mix the sought-after characteristics of the Quarter Horse and the Thoroughbred? You get an Appendix Quarter Horse that will be a powerhouse on the race track and capable of so much more!

Read the rest of this entry »