MAY 2012 THE RIDER /31
AQHA Director’s Report INSIDE
AQHA Director’s Report....31 Straight Talk
with Patti Carter-Pratt......31 OQHA News.......................32 My Year of the Racehorse..33 AREA 3 News ....................34 EOQHA News....................35
OHRIA News .....................35 QROOI News .....................36 OHRIA and WEG Meet MPPs .....................37 EPONA Photo Contest .......39 Clenbuterol .........................39
By Kathy Patterson.
The AQHA 2011 Conven- tion was held in Las Vegas in March. It was a great conven- tion and the accommodations and hospitality at the South Point Hotel were exceptional. My husband Dan and I attended joined by our good friends Jim and Barb Lockyer from Alliston Ontario and we all had a great time! I hope to help keep every- one informed with the new and continuing programs of interest to the members here in Canada in this and future reports during 2012. Many thanks to Barry Finn and The Rider for making this possible!
Annual Reports
The 2011 AQHA Annual Report and the 2011 American Quarter Horse Foundation Annual Report have been released and are available for download. The AQHA report contains complete statistics on AQHA membership, horse reg- istrations and transfers, show and race statistics and much more. AQHA members will
enjoy reading the report to get a better idea of the Association’s functions, goals and how it operates as a business dedicated to serving it’s members in the best ways possible.
Coat Color Testing
AQHA is now offering several coat color tests, includ- ing a panel test, individual color tests and gray zygosity test. These tests are designed to determine the actual coat color of a horse. A completed panel test will cost $85.00 for mem- bers and $125 for nonmembers. Individual tests will cost mem- bers $25 each and nonmembers pay $65 for each test adminis- tered. Please note, roan is a sep- arate test and not included in the panel test.
The coat color panel test includes: Extension (Presence of red/black pigment), Agouti, Champagne dilution, Cream dilution, Dun dilution, Pearl dilution, Silver dilution, Gray (presence or absence of gray). To give you personalized, fast advice, AQHA equine color
specialist Lisa Covey will be on AQHA’s Facebook page from 2 to 4 p.m. each Friday through June to answer your coat color questions. Additional AQHA’s equine color specialists are available during regular AQHA business hours to answer your coat color questions. The Quar- ter Horse Coat Colors report is also an excellent resource for breeders who aspire to breed for certain colors. To order color tests, call AQHA at (806) 376- 4811 and discover your horse’s true color!
Ford Youth World Show The 2012 Built Ford Tough AQHYA World Champi- onship Show is scheduled for August 3-11 at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City. The qualify- ing period wrapped up on April 30, 2012. In February, AQHA announced that AQHA affiliates could approve up to six state entries in each class at the Ford Youth World. However, total affiliate entries still may not exceed 136; this does not include any national qualifiers
for the show. The theme for this year’s Ford Youth World, “Find Your Inner Rockstar,” is sure to inspire youth members to bring their best to the Jim Norick Arena. At the Ford Youth World, AQHYA members will find glory outside of the arena as well. Youth members have the chance to compete in a vari- ety of contests; from judging to speech, horse bowl, team demonstration speech and year- book, and Ford Youth World teams will also vie in a team spirit contest. Ontario youth members interested in compet- ing as affiliate entries can con- tact me for more information. Ford Youth World updates can be found at
www.aqha.com/youthworld, including the schedule, host hotels, trade show and 2013 qualifying points; each as it becomes available.
2011 Hi Point Winners
Catch up with the 2011 AQHA high-point winners in the April Journal Plus. If you peruse the pages of the 2011
Straight Talk
Get the inside scoop on AQHA shows with Straight Talk, a new blog from AQHA Executive Director of Shows Patti Carter- Pratt.
By Patti Carter-Pratt
The American Quarter Horse Journal, March 12, 2012
From an AQHA Profes- sional Horseman, AQHA judge and AQHA director, Patti Carter-Pratt’s service with AQHA has full circle as she works on staff as the AQHA executive director of shows. (Journal photo).
I have always loved train- ing, judging, showing and coaching people on American Quarter Horses. It has been my life’s passion. If someone would have told me two years ago that I would give all of that up for an office job, I would’ve called them crazy.
The fact is, it was crazy, moving from Ontario to Amaril- lo to be the AQHA executive director of shows.
Would you expect a big move like that to be easy? You might be surprised how relative- ly easy the relocation itself has been. However, can you imag- ine a transition from working outside your entire life and being your own boss, to report- ing to an office 8-5, Monday through Friday (not counting world shows and events, of course!)? It has been a real lifestyle change, to say the least. Back in November 2010 at the AQHA World Champi-
onship Show, I was still living my dream as an AQHA Profes- sional Horseman,AQHA judge and AQHA director. In fact, judging was what brought me to that fateful AQHA World Show, where I was approached by Tom Persechino, AQHA executive director of competition and breed integrity, with a job offer. I was honored to accept the position, but I was totally blown away.
Even though I have always had a love for the American Quarter Horse, honestly, the thought of working at AQHA had never crossed my mind. Looking back on it now, I shouldn’t have been so taken aback by the offer. I had served AQHA and the membership through several committees and as a Professional Horsewoman, director and judge – it was prob- ably a natural progression that I would migrate south to AQHA headquarters.
A Bit About Me
There are two things in life that are especially important to me: my family and my horses. And the line between the two is pretty blurry most of the time. I’ve been especially blessed that the two have always blended together.
I grew up in a horse train- ing family. In fact, my mom, Pat, had the first AQHA trail world champion. She trained and showed several high-point trail horses in her showing career. To this day, at 80 years old, she has a long list of current
teaching and training accom- plishments, but I’d have to say that her greatest talent is helping me keep things in perspective. My father, Joe Carter, is a well-known name in the AQHA show community – he has trained, shown and judged horse shows his entire life. He’s the past chairman of the AQHA Judges Committee, an AQHA director-at-large and he now helps Alex Ross, AQHA senior director of judges, monitor the judges at all AQHA world championship shows. It was his passion for judging that inspired me to seek my own judges card. Back in the mid-1990s, my dad and I were traveling home from the AQHA convention. It was then that I said to him, “I think I’d like to apply for my judges card and maybe apply for a breed card to get some experi- ence.” He told me, “Just go on and apply for your AQHA card.” And I did. Since then, I’ve held judges cards with AQHA, Palomino Horse Breed- ers of America, American Paint Horse Association, National Snaffle Bit Association, Nation- al Reining Horse Association, National Reined Cow Horse Association and the Internation- al Equestrian Federation (FEI). There are a barnful of things that I feel quite proud of, including my 2005 AQHA Pro- fessional Horsewoman of the Year award, but I’ve got to say that my daughter, Paige, tops the list.
Paige has her own long list of horsey and academic accom-
plishments, including a riding spot on Team Canada at the 2010 American Quarter Horse Youth World Cup. She still lives in St. George, Ontario, but I’ve been urging her to attend West Texas A&M
University in Canyon, Texas, right south of Amarillo – here’s to hoping!
I’ve got to say, this last year has been a sacrifice for all of us, since we are such a close family, but I count myself lucky for how supportive and proud my family has been. And I also count myself lucky that I’ve had my best friend and husband, Doug Pratt, along to help with this adventure.
The Big Move
You know, horse showing was what really made the move to Amarillo fairly easy. Because Doug and I are used to traveling so much, we have adapted very well. And we were lucky to have Alex help us find a place to live where we could keep horses. But that first month was pure torture! We went stir crazy because we had no furniture and no horses. That was tough. There are some great posi- tives that have come out of my position at AQHA – from serv- ing the membership and the horse, to doing the best job I can do for the Association. I’ve also built great friendships with the awesome people I have the priv- ilege to work with.
However, this job certainly has had its challenges. The hardest part physically has been
going from riding horses all day to being inside for most of the day. It’s a mental check to go from being self-employed your entire life to working for an association. After being used to working around the clock, which is what a horse trainer is called to do, it’s easy to fall into always feeling the need to be on the job. I’ve really had to learn – and I’m still learning –how to slow down when I’m asked to take something on. In the past, when I needed something done, I just did it. I made it happen. It has been a challenge for me to learn how to navigate the AQHA chain of command and that it takes time to get things done in an association. I’m in a position that requires me to work as part of a team, and it’s a work in progress to figure out all of the components of that team.
The long and short of it is that Doug and I have really come to love the western lifestyle of Amarillo. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t things that I miss about Canada, such as my family (of course), Tim Hortons coffee, the vegetable market that we always shopped at (and its fabulous tomatoes), plus green grass!
Eye on the Future
To be honest, I really miss showing horses and judging horse shows. I worked hard at it, and I took it very seriously. I really enjoyed giving back to the industry in that way.
One of the hardest things
AQHA high-point winners in the April issue of The American Quarter Horse Journal and Jour- nal Plus you will find an article on Hi-Point Amateur Limited Horsemanship winner Kim Allen and her horse Zips Fancy Talk from Markdale, Ontario. Congratulations to Kim and Diesel on their many achieve- ments!
Straight Talk
Get the inside scoop on AQHA shows with Straight Talk, a new blog from AQHA Executive Director of Shows Patti Carter-Pratt. Patti talks about her new position and her many experiences as she contin- ues to develop the Leveling Pro- gram and many new shows and programs for the future. Con- gratulations to Patti on her many successes and although we miss her here in Ontario we are all very proud of her accomplish- ments and her dedication to AQHA and the American Quar- ter Horse!
Rule Changes For the most current ver- Kathy Patterson
sion of the AQHA Handbook, please be sure to refer to the online version, which can be found at
www.aqha.com. The AQHA Handbook includes AQHA rules, showing patterns, horse markings, equipment guidelines and more. You can also download the free AQHA Handbook app for your smart phone or tablet device.
If I can be of any assis- tance, please contact me at: Phone: (519) 345-2861, Fax: (519) 345-2742 or by e-mail at
tbrkathy@hsfx.ca.
The Canadian Quarter Horse Association is an affiliate of the AQHA. Annual membership is free to current members of AQHA. To enroll on-line, visit the CQHA web site:
www.cqha.ca, and choose
“Membership” section. Choose “Affiliates” to link to provincial Quarter Horse & Racing Association sites. Contact: Marnie Somers, President (204) 834-2479 or email:
marnie@horsescoops.com
has been trying to find my way around my position. But it has been a year, and I believe that I’ve found my niche and gotten the ball rolling on some great new shows and programs at AQHA.
There are so many things that I’m looking forward to in 2012, such as watching the lev- eling program come into fruition, the development and the launch of the inaugural AQHA Novice championship shows, and the connections that I’m building with show man- agers and their staffs, plus my co-workers at AQHA. But what’s really a gift, and some- thing that I look forward to each day, is finding more and better ways to improve AQHA mem- bers’ experiences with their American Quarter Horses.
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