Billy Dickerson and Dudes Baby Doll, the mare he showed at the first Congress in 1967

When Billy Dickerson steps into the Coliseum arena today at the Quarter Horse Congress to show Miss Extraordinary in the 3-Year-Old Open Halter Mares class he will be one of an exclusive group of exhibitors who can boast that he was here when it all started.

 
In October of 1967, Bill Dickerson then of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania headed for the very first All American Quarter Horse Congress held in Columbus, Ohio driving a white Buick Electra and a 2-horse Miley in-line trailer.

 
Before the days of the AQHA World Show, he was hauling 2-year-old mare, Dudes Baby Doll by Blondys Dude for the prestigious Honor Roll Mare title.

 
“I was chasing Roxanna Bar shown by Pat Lemmon,” he recalls. “We were at a run of shows down by Goldsboro, North Carolina. Back in those days, we showed one day to one judge in one location and then moved to another nearby show grounds to make up a run. Baby Doll’s owner, Doris Hinton, wanted me to go to a new big event up in Columbus. I didn’t hardly know anything about the Congress at the time but Miss Hinton wanted me to go.”

 
So, Dickerson left North Carolina and drove all day to Columbus pulling into the fairgrounds that night.
“I wasn’t entered and I didn’t even have a stall!” he says. “There were some empty stalls where Congress Hall is now from a sale that had been held there a few days before so I stuck Baby Doll in one of those.”

 
The next morning, he grabbed his handy Sunbeam clippers to fresh roach her mane, his leather Buck stitched show halter, brush to clean his mare off and a little squeeze bottle of black Kiwi Shoe Polish to black her feet. He put on a clean white shirt, cowboy hat and starched jeans.

 
“There was only one judge then. It was George Tyler,” he says. “There was a pen full of 2-year-old mares and when the smoke cleared I won the class. I didn’t think too much of it at the time. It was just another horse show to me!”

 
He remembers watching a demonstration by John Cratty and PeeWee Barbara on how to start Western Pleasure horses and the big duo between Wallaby and Bar Flower for Grand Champion Stallion even though neither of them won instead Double Devil finished on top.

 
“I headed home that night in a snow storm which wasn’t too much fun with my in-line trailer in the mountains of West Virginia,” he says. ” A few days later I was off again to another big show at the time the Chicago International.”

 
Through the last 48 years, Dickerson has only missed attending one year and has shown at least one horse there every single year but two. He recalls the show starting out a main event that quickly grew into the largest single-breed horse show in the world.

 
“I remember showing in the Coliseum the very first year but the whole landscape of the show grounds was different. There was no Gilligan barn, Celeste, over hang pen or covered arenas,” he says. “There was a large race track out where the tents are now and different barns including one that burnt down in later years. The biggest changes through the years are the multiple judged format, pre-entries, and added events.”

 
Still at it, Dickerson is looking forward to attending the event bringing a fresh string of show horses like Miss Extraordinary and others competing in other Halter classes including Performance Halter Stallions and Aged Geldings.

 
“It’s the hardest horse show in the world to win bar none,” he says. “But a win at the Congress is quite the thrill to be remembered and treasured!”

Today in the Coliseum the Congress features Weanling Fillies, Yearling Fillies, 2-Year-Old Mares, 3-Year-Old Mares, Performance Haler Mares and Grand and Reserve Champion Mares.

Results are being posted at www.oqha.com/aaqhc/results

For a live stream from the Congress visit: www.iequine.com