Well known AQHA breeder and founder of the Hylton Maiden, Cecilia M. Hylton, passed away today, following a long battle with several health issues.

Cecilia was the founder of the Hylton Maiden 3-Year-Old & Over Maiden Western Pleasure slot class that originated at the Reichert Celebration. She moved the prestigious event to her home state of Virginia, where it has been held at the Virginia Classic in Lexington in recent years.

Hylton attended Fairfax High School and started showing alongside her father. Following his death in 1989 she turned to showing Quarter Horses full swing. Cecilia served as Executive Vice President of The Hylton Group, a building corporation, and Hylton Quarter Horses, located in in Nokesville, Virginia, where she worked with her son, George Markley, business manager, and her daughter, AQHA and NSBA competitor Jamie Hylton, farm manager.

Cecilia was steadfast in her commitment to supporting horse owners and trainers who allowed youngsters to develop at their own pace and refrain from pushing them to show before they were ready both physically and mentally.

“I did not like some of the young horses being pushed out there too early,” she said at the time. “I figured I would put money in maiden classes for older horses to hopefully lead people in that direction.”

Hylton had a vision of bringing big money Western Pleasure futurities to the East Coast and between the $50,000 Hylton Maiden, $10,000 Hylton Green Western Pleasure class held at the Endless Summer Show in Williamston, North Carolina and her sponsorship of futurity classes at the Little Futurity in Raleigh, North Carolina, she succeeded in that goal.

Inducted into the Virginia Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame in 2014, Cecilia owned, raised and stood numerous highly decorated AQHA contenders including:

• Invitation To Flash, a bay stallion by Invitation Only, won an AQHA World Championship in Performance Halter Stallions and was also the 2008 AQHA High Point Green Western Pleasure Stallion. 

• Do Ya Think Im Flashy, a bay stallion by Flashy Zipper and out of Willow Rider, was the 2013 High Point Junior Ranch Horse Pleasure Champion.

• Slip Slyden Away, a 1996 bay stallion by Mister Slyden Pine and out of Cowgirls Cody, was the 2008 AQHA World Champion in Senior Reining.

• Lotto Flash, 1993 sorrel gelding by Flashy Zipper and out of Cinnamon Seeker, was the 2001 AQHA Reserve World Champion in Senior Western Pleasure and 1998 NSBA Horse of the Year.

Hylton was also fascinated by equine genetics and was dedicated to donating to equine reproduction research dating back to 1999, when a foal was able to be conceived out of her daughter’s youth horse, Jaguars Bar Bee Doll, who was euthanized due to founder. Over the years, she donated well over $1 million to Colorado State University which has helped advance techniques in embryo transfers and splitting semen straws.

Information on services for Cecilia Hylton will be announced as they become available.