24/ JUNE 2018 THE RIDER Area 3 Spring Classic May 18-21, 2018 Photos by Lone Oak Photography www.loneoakequinephoto.com


Celebrating Increased Participation in AQHA Level 1 Championships


AQHA Executive Vice Pres- ident Craig Huffhines cele- brates exhibitor


victories and a record-


breaking year for the Level 1 Championships.


By AQHA Executive Vice President Craig Huffhines What a year it has been


for the AQHA Level 1 Championships! At


this


point, three of the shows ex- perienced increases in ex- hibitor numbers – a whopping 114 percent at the East Level 1, alone. And as entries are being tabulated for the Level 1 Cattle, it also appears we have doubled our exhibitor numbers at that event. We made a couple of


significant alterations to the shows this year: We moved the cattle events out of the Central Level 1 and com- bined them with the 2018 Zoetis AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse World Cham- pionships


in June in


Guthrie, Oklahoma; and the Nutrena East AQHA Level 1 Championships moved to the beautiful World Eques- trian Center in Wilmington, Ohio, where it was the largest equine event the fa- cility has ever hosted. You would think that moving the cattle classes out of the Cen- tral Level 1 would impact the exhibitor numbers, but that show’s numbers were


still up. Increased exhibitor numbers can also be attrib- uted to the AQHA Execu- tive Committee’s decision to lift qualifying requirements for these shows. Based on exhibitor re-


quest, the Central, West and East shows added walk-trot classes. AQHA began offer- ing walk-trot classes in 2016 to give exhibitors – or their horses – yet another way to begin showing with AQHA. Kimbra Asqueta of Nampa, Idaho, is one of several ex- hibitors who entered walk- trot classes at the West Level 1. While Kimbra isn’t a newbie to showing, she had lost her confidence with a previous horse and finally found a new horse – A Cer- tain Rockstar – whom she felt comfortable on. “I have only had ‘Gibs’


a year,” Kimbra told the Journal. “I had come un- corked with my other horse, and I went and found some- thing that’s quiet, and we’re back.” AQHA Chief Show Of-


ficer Pete Kyle and his team report that they met a lot of first-timers at all


three


shows, which means that these shows are doing ex- actly what we set out to do with them: Bringing entry- level exhibitors into the AQHA family by providing a place for them to comfort- ably learn and show.


We saw the Jolstads –


Jake and his mom, Julie – share a horse named Betta Believe It and sweep the youth and amateur Cham- pion of Champion halter classes at the Central Level 1 in Oklahoma City. Also at the Central


Level 1, we met do-it-your- selfer Teresa Benes of Val- paraiso, Nebraska, and her mare, Touch Of Little Lena, who have worked hard for some time and walked away with the wins in Level 1 am- ateur ranch riding and B&W Rookie amateur reining. They were also the reserve champions in Level 1 ama- teur reining. “I’ve known her since


she was a baby,” Teresa said of the mare. “Her mom was my 4-H horse, and I started her as a project horse for Nebraska 4-H. She’s quirky, but I like that about her.” Teresa, 20, is already


qualified for the 2018 Lucas Oil AQHA World Champi- onship Show, which is an- other step we really like seeing our Level 1 competi- tors take. Ocean Ballard is a


DIY’er we met at the Nu- trena East. Ocean and De- signer Hank were the bronze champions in the Level 1 youth barrel racing. “Hank” was supposed to be Ocean’s dad’s horse, but he was so quiet that Craig Ballard de-


cided the 2014 palomino gelding would be perfect as Ocean’s first colt-breaking project. “I actually broke him


from the ground up, so I’m happy he has done so good,” Ocean told the Journal. “He was really easy to break. He just picked up on everything I wanted him to do. He’s been really good for me. He just went in there and did it.”


Another success story is


the $3,600 raised for the AQHA Professional Horse- men’s Crisis Fund during the Ride the Pattern clinics at all three shows. Many show attendees heard per- sonal stories at the clinics from the AQHA Profes- sional Horsemen who have been assisted by the crisis fund when they encountered a hardship. We also paid out nearly


$65,000 in jackpot money at all three shows combined, which made for some very happy exhibitors. With record sales at the


Nutrena East, there’s a lot of new AQHA-logoed mer- chandise hanging in closets, as at all three events our American Quarter Horse Store sold event jackets, T- shirts, hoodies and other lo- goed items. As I mentioned earlier,


we have merged the Level 1 cattle classes with the 2018


We are proud to be able to provide championship events that showcase our walk-trot, Rookie and Level 1 exhibitors! (AQHA Journal photo)


Zoetis VRH World in June, and we are excited to an- nounce that we have more than 300 entries in youth and amateur Level 1 boxing, working cow horse, cutting, heading, heeling, breakaway roping, tie-down roping, and Rookie and Level 1 ranch riding. That’s double the en- tries we had for these classes at the 2017 Central Level 1. But Level 1 competition


doesn’t stop there. We’ve added three more open Level 1 (horse) stakes


classes, also with added money, at the 2018 Lucas Oil AQHA World Champi- onship Show. In addition to the open Level 1 western pleasure and hunter under saddle, exhibitors can now show eligible Level 1 horses in Level 1 ranch riding, trail and western riding stakes classes. Check out the tenta- tive


schedule


www.aqha.com/worldshow and verify your horse’s eli- gibility


www.aqha.com/leveling. Thank you to our corpo-


rate and event sponsors, as well as our affiliates, be- cause without their physical and financial help, we wouldn’t be able to put on these incredible events. And a big thank you


at at


goes out to all of our mem- bers and spectators who at- tended the AQHA Level 1 Championships. We are proud to be able to provide championship events that showcase our walk-trot, Rookie and Level 1 ex- hibitors!


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