Quarter Horse/Western courtesY of the american quarter horse journal
Maine Quarter Horse Association Has Big Plans for May By MarsHa Polley
M
aine Quarter Horse Association (MeQHA) is gearing up for some fun events in the month of May. Some of these events are open to all breeds, so keep the club in mind if you are looking for horse related activities and don’t yet own a Quarter Horse! The month kicks off with our Spring Fun Show on May 6. The show will be held at the Maine Trail Riders Association grounds in Litchfield, Maine. The show will have three age divisions and classes that include Showmanship, Equitation, Trail Class, and a few speed events such as Barrels. It is open to all breeds of horses. Wanda Lounder of Double L Stable in Hancock, Maine, will be the judge. Wanda is the 2010 AQHA Most Valuable Professional, and aims to give participants the best show experience possible. She takes the time to talk to the riders and gives them tips after the classes. Many riders use this show as a little practice to get ready for the rest of the show season and Wanda’s helpful advice is the topping on the cake. A copy of the class list can be found on the MeQHA website at www.meqha.org under the Events tab. The fees at the show are only $6 per class or $35 for unlimited classes. The Maine Trail Riders will also have a food booth open at the event with many options available for sale. The second event of the month is the MeQHA Trail Challenge, to be held on May 13 at Sable Oak Equestrian Center in Brunswick, Maine. The club has been hosting these events for a few years now (formerly known as trail trials) and they continue to grow. These are also all breed events and include Youth and Adult divisions. The best way to describe a Trail Challenge is to say that it is a short, judged trail ride. Riders head out on a short trail ride and encounter judges stationed at obstacles along the way. Some of the obstacles are natural but others are not. You may be asked to cross a tarp or to back your horse through poles. The overall course is not timed so you do not have to rush through it. This year AQHA has implemented a program that gives Quarter Horse owners the opportunity to earn Trail Challenge Merits on their equine’s permanent record. Again, the Challenge is open to all breeds of horses, but only Quarter Horse owners are eligible for Trail Merits on their registration papers. The cost of the Challenge is $15 for members of MeQHA and $25 92
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MAY 2012
Amateur Versatility World Champions Areal Chic Magnet and Laurie Shelton.
AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse Championship continued from page 91
meet a better group of nicer people,” she vowed. “They’ll give you the shirt off their backs and help you with anything you need. It’s a great atmosphere [with] lots of fellowship. I just love it.” Racing around the arena during their victory lap, Areal Chic Magnet donning his world champion neck wreath during a fancy slide, the horse and rider team are certain proof that honing of horsemanship skills pays off in the end.
Open Cowboy Mounted Shooting Finals
Competitors completing the Rope Gate.
for non-members. Lunch is included for participants. MeQHA is looking for volunteer judges and set up crew for this event as well. If you cannot ride or are not ready to ride please consider signing up to be a judge. It’s a great way to learn about the event. For more information check the Events tab on the MeQHA website, www.meqha.org or call Marsha Polley at 207-582-1494. May wraps up with MeQHA’s Pine Tree Classic Horse Show held at the Skowhegan Fairgrounds on May 25-28. This is an AQHA pointed show with six judges. Those familiar with MeQHA shows will be happy to learn that the club has come up with several flat fee options to make the show more affordable. MeQHA is excited to add the new AQHA Ranch Horse Pleasure class to its class list as well. It is a great opportunity for ranch horses in Maine. For more information on this, and to see a complete class list, visit www.meqha.org.
How fast is fast? Well, Chad Little was plenty fast enough at 10.031 seconds, which won him the very first AQHA Open Cowboy Mounted Shooting World Championship. It was about five years ago that Chad, of Saint Michael, Minn., met up with his World Champion mount Hickorys Irish Gold. “I got her when she was coming three,” Chad recalled. When it comes to possessing qualities needed in cowboy mounted shooting, Hickorys Irish Gold fits the bill perfectly. “She’s got a little run to her; she’s plenty fast, but she’s got the ability to turn,” Chad said. “She’s got a lot of rate when I ask for it. Mainly, she’s just broke and in my hand. When I ask her to do something, she’s willing to do it.” Open Cowboy Mounted Shooting wasn’t Chad’s only win of the night—he and Hickorys Irish Gold also won the Rifle class, which currently is not an AQHA-approved class. Chad’s quick firing ways trace back to one fateful day in 2000, when his neighbors rode over and introduced him to what would become his life’s passion. “Some really good friends of ours—they had been doing [cowboy mounted shooting] for a year or so—came over and said, ‘You gotta try it.’ So, I tried it once and that was it and here we are.” For more information on the AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse Championships, visit www.aqha. com/versatility.