Paint Horses from around the world compete at
the APHA World Championship Paint Horse Show

FORT WORTH, Texas—Continuing the tradition of hosting the largest
Paint Horse Show anywhere on the planet, the American Paint Horse
Association (APHA) welcomed 1,671 Paint Horses owned by people from 47 U.S. states, Canada, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the
United Kingdom and Germany for its annual World Championship Paint Horse Show. The event took place June 24 through July 7 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

The first week of the 2007 World Championship Paint Horse Show was dedicated to Youth competition. At final count, 1,242 Youth exhibited their horses at the event. Photo by Abigail Wilder Hirez TIFF (16.4 mb) Hirez JPEG (4.71 mb) more photos

APHA offered a record 183 classes at the show and logged 4,219 entries —including 1,242 Youth, 1,362 Open, 1,390 Amateur and Novice Amateur, 207 Futurity and 18 specialty class entries. The association added Youth and Amateur hunt seat equitation over fences, gambler’s choice trail and Solid Paint-Bred reining to the line-up, to make this year’s show the most diverse World Show on record.

Youth classes and activities dominated the first week of the show,
while the following week hosted an array of events for Amateur and
Open exhibitors. Horsemen and –women of all ages exhibited their
Paint Horses at the annual non-qualifying event, displaying their
skills in halter, Western, English, cattle, driving and speed
classes. Those traveling from near and far competed for more than
$400,000 in prize money, buckles, saddles, trailers, and other
awards, along with coveted World Championship titles.

Awards and Sponsors
Event sponsors added support on many levels at this year’s event,
particularly in the area of awards. Bailey Hats, Big D, Lucchese
Boots, SmartPak feed supplement, Western Horseman Magazine, the Paint Horse Journal and Paint Racing News provided award certificates to winners redeemable for cowboy hats, horse blankets, monogrammed halters, boots, supplement packets, complimentary art prints and magazine subscriptions. Blue Ribbon Custom Tack and Charlotte’s Saddlery provided Western and English Saddles for overall show winners and Charlotte’s provided leather halters for English World Champions. Class trophys and ribbons were provided by APHA
Affiliates: the National Snaffle Bit Association, the National
Reining Horse Association and Hodges Badge Company. SR Gold custom jewelers provided custom items for the judges and general event support was added by Coors Distributing Co. of Fort Worth through hosting the first-ever July 4th party. Purina Mills sponsored the
Purina Mills Colors of the West Arena where educational seminars
hosted by top equine professionals were held daily in the Gift Show.
Additional sponsor support was provided by Jerry’s GM, Kiser, Metro
Golf Cars, and Ulcergard.

APHA Corporate Sponsors contribute to the success of the association
throughout the year, as well as during the World Show. Barnmaster
provided a $7,500 product certificate to the Barnmaster High-Point
Exhibitor. Chase Bank added $25,000 to five futurity classes. Gist
Silversmiths provided trophy Gist belt buckles for the five Challenge
and Stick Horse classes. Hart Trailers provided two three-horse
aluminum trailers; one for the All-Around Open Horse and one for the
All-Around Amateur. Adding to the educational aspect of the show,
HorseCity.com hosted a seminar featuring well-known clinician Craig
Cameron on the topics of colt starting and riding the reining horse.
Markel Insurance Company provided 24-hour coverage for APHA members who purchased horses at the World Showcase Sale. New Holland wrapped up it’s Donate and Draw (tractor give-away) program and Pro Orthopedics provided saddle pads and splint boots to winners.

Lucky winners
APHA’s newest corporate sponsor New Holland launched the Donate &
Draw program to support the American Paint Horse Foundation (APHF).
The opportunity to purchase tickets to win a Boomer Compact Tractor,
during World Show. After $17,800 was raised to support the APHF, APHA member Joyce Reim of Cobb, Calif., was named the winner.

Another fundraiser to support the APHF—more directly youth
scholarships—was made possible by Floyd and Maryann Moore of 6-J
Paint Horses, who donated a yearling filly to be raffled during World
Show. Wayne Iverson of Haltom City, Texas, won Wynnin Gay Bar. More
than $17,000 was raised to support AjPHA scholarships.

Youth events
The first week of the show was dedicated primarily to Youth
competitors. The week kicked off with the Youth team tournament. Ten
youth teams participated in the competition, and the Rocky Mountain
Junior Paint Horse Club went home as the team tournament world
champions.

The AjPHA youth judging contest, sponsored by Hart Trailers, was
another highlight. More than 300 youth from 84 teams traveled to Fort
Worth for the competition, which is one of the largest in the nation.

Other happenings
World Show also featured several other ways for people to join the
action outside of the show arena. The American Junior Paint Horse
Association (AjPHA) sponsored a benefit goat roping, with all
proceeds supporting youth activities and scholarships. The roping
featured Youth, Amateur and Open categories, with Gist belt buckles
awarded to the winners in each division.

After a big turnout for a similar event last year, Kids Day made its
return on July 4 in the Colors of the West Gift Show. The day’s
events ranged from free horseback rides, coloring stations, and stick
horse races to a scavenger hunt. More than 200 children rode American
Paint Horses at the event.

The ever-popular World Showcase Sale offered 81 of the industry’s
finest Paint Horses to interested buyers. Flying Dare Devil, a 5-year-
old chestnut tobiano stallion, was the top-selling horse, bringing
$25,000. Consigned by Greg and Jenenne Tambke, the stallion was
purchased by Carlos Deleu and will soon be shipped to Brazil. The
average selling price for horses in this year’s sale was $5,126.

The sale also featured four collector items to benefit the American
Paint Horse Foundation. These items brought a total of $1,900.

For the first time, APHA presented a Humanitarian Award at World
Show. The award was presented to Lee and Venetia Caudle of Edge O
Texas Paints in De Berry, Texas. The couple donated a stud colt,
First John Three, out of their multiple superior earning stallion
John Three Sixteen to Roel Nieto of Uruguay. First John Three will be
sent to Uruguay and become the first horse ever to be commissioned
for oversees ministries.

Along with First John Three, the Caudles and Nieto, Bob Ray Sanders,
vice president of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, was on hand to
present the award. Sanders originally brought the story to light in a
March column.

More about APHA
Currently, American Paint Horses are being registered at APHA’s Forth
Worth, Texas, headquarters at a rate of about 40,000 horses each
year. APHA has registered nearly 900,000 horses in 49 nations and
territories since it was founded 45 years ago, and now serves
approximately 100,000 active members around the world. Among its many activities, APHA works to preserve bloodlines and maintain the
outstanding characteristics of the American Paint Horse breed.