34/ MARCH/APRIL 2014 THE RIDER
AQHA Director’s Report INSIDE
AQHA Director’s Report....34 OQHA Trainer’s Challenge.........................35 OQHA News.......................36
OQHA Show Dates ............37 AREA 3 News ....................38 EOQHA News ....................38 QROOI News .....................39
INSIDE
on areas of continuing education for AQHA’s judges, as well as leveling the playing field in the show arena and on the racetrack by creating and enforcing guide- lines on animal welfare, drugs, tack and training methods. For a complete update visit the AQHA website on these and other important AQHA activi- ties. AQHA welcomes member input on all issues concerning the American Quarter Horse. Judges
judges recertification program that was unanimously approved by the AQHA Judges Commit- tee after a task force developed the outline for it. The recertifi- cation program is another way to help educate our outstanding judges and provide them with
judges of any equine organiza- tion and oftentimes other associ- ations and organizations tap them. The challenges of helping judges remain highly educated have never been more important and AQHA is providing avenues for improvement. AQHA is developing a
AQHA has the best
From Kathy Patterson AQHA has been working
field” is not only about provid-
another tool to continue to excel in the work they do and in the important role they fulfill in our industry. AQHA expects 300 judges to attend the first recerti- fication event in December 2014. AQHA wants to provide its judges with an environment that allows them to take full advantage of the process and meet the Judges Committee’s objective of developing a pro- gram to educate, not eliminate. AQHA is also developing a feedback system for their judge that is designed to help both judges and exhibitors become even more proficient and con- sistent. The importance of pro- viding feedback to judges became even more evident dur- ing the recent industry show summit where exhibitors and judges expressed the need for this to occur. The program will give judges feedback, including a written assessment, so judges will know where they are excelling or where the observ- ing judge might have recom- mendations. Animal Welfare “Leveling the playing
fare Commission, which was formed in 2012 and reports directly to the AQHA Executive Committee, addresses these ani- mal welfare issues. Certain standards must be established and adhered to at all AQHA shows. Something AQHA had been hearing for years was that “our industry” was becoming numb to certain training tech- niques and the use of devices. The commission is addressing that issue. Although AQHA has had a drug-testing program in place since the 1970s, the Asso- ciation embarked on stepping up its drug-testing campaign nearly a decade ago. Drug testing at AQHA shows is a nearly $1 million annual expense by the time you include testing that occurs at AQHA’s world shows, the cost to run the tests and pay for travel-related expenses of the technicians. Last year, near- ly 1,500 horses in 40 states were
ing competition opportunities for all skill levels, but it’s also about making competition fair by tackling the use of illegal or illicit drugs, illegal tack and unethical training methods. The AQHA Animal Wel-
wrapping up its 2013 statistics, and you can find them on the AQHA website or in the Q-Rac- ing Journal’s March Annual Review. This year, 15,761 hors- es started in 8,328 American Quarter Horse races. They com- peted for $125,877,223 in purs- es and averaged $7,981 in earn- ings per starter. There was $289,748,484 handled on those races during the year, and bet- tors saw favorites finish in the money nearly 69 percent of the
tested, which resulted in tests being made on 186 days. Out of all the horses tested, there were 35 positives, some simply over- ages of permitted, therapeutic medications, and others were people using illegal drugs. AQHA is not going to tolerate the use of illicit or illegal drugs in horses. The drug testing pro- gram, whether at a weekend show or at one of the world shows, is based on randomly selecting certain classes and testing. At a minimum, at the AQHA world shows, every world champion is tested for the use of forbidden substances. Racing Update The racing department is
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
Horse Association is excited to announce the release of
OnlineStable.com, a compre- hensive, inclusive and all-breeds record-keeping system to help youth stay engaged in the equine industry. AQHA hopes this digital filing cabinet will encourage easy record keeping from any mobile device and be an accessible and affordable way to reduce clutter, and moti- vate youth to keep track of any horse-related accomplishments. The system is designed to make life easier, and provide a way to support youth involvement with horses.
OnlineStable.com was developed to keep 10- to 19- year-olds engaged in horse activity. It gives youth the abili-
time. This year, the most popu- lar distance was 300 yards, with 25 percent of the races run at that length and 74 percent of the races at distances between 300 and 400 yards. In 2013 AQHA implemented its Multiple Medi- cation Violation System, and you can read more about that on the AQHA website Racing Wel- fare and Medication page.
OnlineStable.com The American Quarter
Kathy Patterson
ty to record everything, have it in one place, and make complet- ing annual record books, schol- arship applications, college applications and resumes much easier. Additionally, AQHA understands today’s active youth may also manage a differ- ent species of livestock, regis- trations and memberships.
OnlineStable.com is designed with this in mind. Today, youth can add cattle, swine and sheep. More species will be added as they grow in popularity and new features will be introduced throughout 2014. Till next time, if I can be
thrkathy@hsfx.ca.
of any assistance, please contact me at: Phone: (519) 345-2861, or
by e-mail at:
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