With a breathtaking backdrop of snowcapped mountains and friendly show staff, it’s easy to see why the Western Regional Zone 2 Show and Utah Paint Horse Association Paint-O-Rama was the number one APHA Show in 2013.

This year is shaping up to repeat that performance with over 320 stalls rented at the Salt Lake County Equestrian Park in Salt Lake City this Memorial Day weekend and excitement mounting surrounding the presentation of the first Premier Paint Sires 3-Year-Old Limited Horse Limited Rider Western Pleasure Class tomorrow.

Judges for this year’s event are Tom McBeth, Julie Thompson-Martell, Nancy Wilde, Clint Fullerton, Mark McCarthy, Susan Stafford, Michael Ochetto, Kathryn Bogetta, Cindy Chilton-Moore and Brad Jones. A full slate of APHA and Solid Paint Bred classes are featured in Open, Youth and Amateur divisions.

Action got started on Thursday with Driving, Over Fences, Hunter Under Saddle, Equitation and Reining classes. Today was busy with Yearling In Hand Trail, Western Pleasure, Horsemanship, Western Riding and speed events.

I think the show is going great the numbers are up & the quality of horses is up over last year,” says Show Manager Teri Worthland, of Las Vegas, Nevada. “All the exhibitors have been positive and are enjoying the show.”

Michael Davis, of Seattle, Washington, has been coming to the show for the last 10 years. This year he brought eight customers from Washington, Oregon, California and Canada to compete in all-around classes in all levels.

“The staff is easy to work with and they give great prizes,” Davis says. “Plus the facility is really good too.”

According to Show Secretary Marla Fadel, of Farmington, Utah, entries are right at 1,205 per judge this year.

“We get really good support from all the states in our zone and the entire northwest,” Fadel says. “The great staff and great facilities draw exhibitors. The Premier Paint Sires has definitely helped this year.

Jenna Hyde traveled from Collinsville,Texas for the Premier Paint Sires 3-Year-Old Limited Horse Limited Rider Western Pleasure Class. She will show Can I Get Your Number, a chestnut overo gelding, sired by A Sudden Surprise and out of the AQHA mare, She Made It Sweet.

Joe Hansen, of Anna, Texas, purchased Can I Get Your Number as a weanling and showed him to an APHA World Championship title in Amateur Yearling Longe Line in 2012.

“We gave him his 2-year-old year off so he would be a strong 3-year-old,” Hyde says. “He is a ham and likes attention. I would say he is a very confident horse. Nothing seems to bother him.”

His appearance in the Premier Paint Sires class will mark the gelding’s maiden voyage under saddle.

Click Here to check out the candids from the show.

Check back here tomorrow for full results from the Premier Paint Sires class.

For additional information on the show visit: http://www.utahpainthorseclub.com/western-regional-zone-2