If you ever watched the 2005 movie “Batman Begins,” starring Christian Bale, you surely recall the line “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do, that defines me.” Back then, Batt Man, an American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) leading sire of Western Pleasure contenders wasn’t even born yet. But all of the astute […]
Sometimes, no matter what the discipline, a show horse hits a brick wall in the training process and just fails to perform at the level expected. There are many potential reasons for the change – stress, horse show burnout, a change in rider or discipline. The first thing that needs to happen is that any […]
Anyone with even the slightest bit of experience in the show pen knows that there are many variables that go into the making of a champion. Conformation and genetics have big roles. And of course there’s the training aspect. But when you start with an animal that is a natural things just seem to fall […]
Multiple Congress Champion and Reserve American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) World Champion producer Hot Diggity Joe was humanely euthanized on Friday in Ocala, Florida, following a brief battle with congestive heart failure. The 1998 sorrel stallion, sired by Blazing Hot and out of Jodie Fivette, was bred by and owned his entire life by Kerry […]
Competition in the pattern classes at top breed shows and futurities has improved so much in the past decade that course designers have had to add maneuvers and to the degree of difficulty just to keep up and make the classes challenging. Some of today’s Showmanship Horsemanship, Equitation, Trail and Ranch patterns can get extremely […]
When she was just a kid, growing up in rural Brill, Wisconsin, Ann Lapacinski was lucky to share a passion for horses and showing with her mother. “When I was in kindergarten I can remember getting picked up by my mom on our old horse Rusty who was a Quarter Horse/Welsh Pony cross and we […]
If you are watching the Amateur Hunter Under Saddle or Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle Maturity at the National Snaffle Bit Association’s World Championship Futurity this month or at the Quarter Horse Congress, it will be easy to spot Amanda Smith. She will be the one with the big smile on her face, courtesy of her […]
“Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.” – Michael J. Fox. For the Herman Family, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, nothing could be closer to the truth. It’s what defines them, both inside the show arena and out. The Hermans have patriarch Dr. Robert Herman to thank for their love of horses and competition. He was […]
Close your eyes for just a moment and imagine Elle Woods from Legally Blonde as a horse. What you will have is Alexis Gooding’s 3-year-old Western Pleasure contender Snazzy Lil Machine (Molly). Alexis and her husband, Austin, purchased the 2021 sorrel mare by Machine Made out of Lazy Lil Me, last April from her breeders […]
It’s just like Prince penned in his 1988 Billboard Hot 100 single ….. And the ride I say, the ride is so smooth. You must be a Limousine. Redd Corvette (Smith), a 2021 chestnut gelding, sired by Allocate Your Assets out of Blue Couture, is indeed a “smooth ride.” Purchased by Pamela Raad, of Middlebury, […]
A total of 19 unshown Western Pleasure prospects are slated to compete for a total purse of $46,125 in the Virginia Maiden 3-Year-Old & Over Open Western Pleasure Slot Class later today at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington. The winner will collect $10,053.52 and the class will pay all the way down to 10th place. […]
A total of eight horses are entered in the 3-Year-Old Maiden Open Hunter Under Saddle slot class, being presented tonight for second straight year as part of the Virginia Maiden at the Spring Breakout AQHA Show in Lexington, Virginia. Action will get underway starting at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) and will be broadcast […]