By Andi Ridgway, Reporter ArQHA
If you love quarter horses, but don’t quite fit into the show ring, you may be interested in the Horseback Riding
Program from AQHA. This program is designed to reward AQHA and AQHYA members who spend time riding
American Quarter Horses and now other breeds. With the introduction of the new All Breeds division of the
Horseback Riding Program, a unique opportunity to earn awards, outside of traditional competition, is available
to AQHA and AQHYA members. So, start logging your hours toward great awards! Visit www.aqha.com and
click on recreation to enroll.
The time will be here next month to begin our 2008 show season. The show schedule has been set. March
Mania will be held at Hestand Stadium on March 21-24. Team penning and ranch sorting will be held on
Saturday beginning at 10 am at the Redfield arena. The show schedule is similar to last year’s and can be
found on the website.
The 2008 Arkansas Jamboree will be held on April 18 – 21 at Hestand with team penning and ranch sorting at
Redfield on Saturday. The Memorial Day circuit will be held on May 23-26 at Hestand and will again feature the
Stanford Happening Memorial events with several special prizes.
The host motel will once again be the Holiday Inn Express at 3620 Camden Road in Pine Bluff. Make your
reservation early to ensure a room.
NEWSFLASH - The number of points needed to qualify for the 2008 Youth World has been cut by one-third in
each class. For example in 2007 it took 36 points to be national qualified in Western Pleasure; in 2008, this
number has been decreased to 24. Barrel Racing points have changed from 19 to 12.5. The National
qualifying period started May 1, 2007 and runs through April 30, 2008.
Each state will be able to send 4 state qualifiers instead of the normal 2 contestants in each class. According
to AQHA this change has been made to enable more youth to participate in the world show. Because of the
move to Oklahoma City, this increase in participants will be possible. The state qualifying period includes the
March, April, and May shows.
Be sure to check out our website at www.arkansasquarterhorse.com. News and information can always be
found here. Photos from the banquet will be posted soon.
We are looking forward to a great 2008!! See you down the road.