The dates for the 53rd annual All American Quarter Horse Congress, held Oct. 1 to 27, have been set by the Ohio Quarter Horse Association. The dates for the 2020 Congress have moved up one week to take place from Sept. 22 to Oct. 18. 

The decision is based on increasing the window between the Congress and the AQHA World Show, organizers said.  In the past, these shows have been back-to-back with very few days in between to recover and prepare for the Open/Amateur AQHA World Show. In 2018, there were three days in between the shows. The new date implementation will take effect in 2020 in hopes that exhibitors and attendees will have time to plan accordingly.

 “The schedule right now presents some challenges with the AQHA Open/Amateur World Show, forcing exhibitors to get ready and compete at the two premier shows in the country without much time to recover and rest their horses,” said OQHA Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Scott Myers. “We consider the welfare of our horses the utmost priority, and we believe this will be beneficial to our show and the industry as a whole.”

This change will increase the window of time needed in between the Congress and the World Show for exhibitors to better prepare with a longer recovery period. This year’s Congress will continue to be held Oct.1 -27, and the date change will be implemented in 2020. 

The All American Quarter Horse Congress is known as the largest single breed horse show in the world. The annual event is held at the 360 acre Ohio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds in Columbus, Ohio, and is hosted by the Ohio Quarter Horse Association. The AAQHC has multiple events in a variety of disciplines.