Spirits are up and sights are set high as the AQHA World Championship Show is now in full swing for the 40th year. During its two weeks of competition from Nov. 8-23 at the State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the show will crown 98 new World Champions in amateur and open competition of  AQHA approved classes from Halter to English to Western disciplines. With more than 3,390 entries, the AQHA World Show draws the world’s best talent from not only the United States but from many foreign countries such as Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

The show starts with amateur events and already a World Champion has been crowned in Trail. Peyton Bivins of Amarillo, Texas, and her longtime show partner, Dress In Gold, scored a 234 to win the gold trophy this year. Dress In Gold is a 2001 sorrel gelding by Dress Western and out of Romancing The Gold. Bivins and Dress In Gold also qualified for the finals in Hunter Under Saddle and Equitation, both on the schedule for Wednesday, Nov. 13. Finals of the Western Pleasure are later tonight.

Beyond the competition, AQHA has a full event schedule throughout the show that offers many “Ride the Pattern” events with several AQHA Professional Horseman who are conducting clinics in a variety of events. There is also the Cowboy Mounted Shooting and Shoot- Out event, Para- Reining Demonstration Class, the World Show Sale, Team Wrangler Night, the AQHA Collegiate Horsemanship Challenge, Judging Contest, Frisbee Toss, and new this year the Freestyle Horsemanship Exhibition.

“New this year is the addition of Amateur Ranch Horse Pleasure to our class schedule. We also have a Para-Reining clinic and demonstration for the first time on November 14 and 15. The event is in the process of being approved for AQHA shows,” said Sarah Davisson, AQHA Manager of Publicity and Special Events.

According to Davisson, the total entry numbers have remained nearly the same as last year’s event. In particular, she is enthusiastic about the new event of Freestyle Horsemanship Exhibition on November 16 where Professional Horseman will compete against each other in costume to music in order to raise proceeds for the AQHA Professional Horseman Crisis Fund.

Also, new this year are the box medallion awards for Top-Ten placers in place of ribbons. The engraved wooden boxes display placing and title for each class. However, finalist ribbons remained as awards for 11^th to 15^th place finishers and trophy globes for gold, silver, and bronze place winners.

Amateur competitor, Steffaine Tozer of Gloucester, VA is competing this year aboard Lil Picanic in Amateur Ranch Pleasure competition. Tozer is no stranger to World Show competition, she has shown at several World Shows in both youth and amateur Halter in the past.

“The best thing about the AQHA World Show for me is the competition. Everybody is good and the level of competition is very high because qualification is required,” she said.

In addition, Tozer appreciates the laid back atmosphere of the show and enjoys seeing people in the industry from other parts of the country that she normally does not see throughout the year.

For Amateur competitor, Rose Santos of Auburn, CA this year marks her seventh year at the AQHA World Show. This year Santos is competing in both Amateur Yearling and Two-Year-Old Stallions, which are scheduled as back to back events at this year’s show. So, Santos is aware that she will need to be extremely prepared to have both of her horses ready to compete in a limited time frame.

“I have to say my favorite thing about the World Show is the competition. I love seeing good horses and appreciate the level of competitors,” she said.

In the future, Santos hopes AQHA changes rules of Amateur Performance Halter where the horse would have to have an Amateur Register of Merit to compete not just an Open one.

“I think the Performance Halter competition would be a lot fairer if the horse had to have a Register of Merit per division per year to compete in World Show competition,” she said.

Overall, the AQHA World Championship Show gives away more than $2.4 million in total purse and brings more than $17.9 million to the economy of the Oklahoma City area. The largest class this year in entries the Open Ranch Sorting with 144 exhibitors. It is also the class with the largest purse paying back more than $78,000.

A full schedule of events, results, and winning run results are available at www.aqha.com/Showing/World-Show.aspx