AQHA Facing Horse Abuse Charges In The Name of Training and Showing
Friday, March 20, 2015
A recent story in the publication Horse Nation points out the challenges facing the Quarter Horse breed and their breed association the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). A group of concerned horsemen under the name of the Protect Them Coalition (PTC) has sent proposals to the AQHA for their annual convention in March where rule changes are dealt with.
The group acknowledges that the AQHA has promoted a versatile breed and made it the largest breed in the United States. But the group accuses AQHA of transforming the showing of horses into something almost unrecognizable to the equestrian world. The PTC wants to reward the natural forward going horse and less of the overly-collected and unnatural looking action, especially in the western pleasure classes.
The group accuses the Association of sweeping this issue under the rug and allowing the abuses to continue. They further accused the Association of being too political by allowing the top trainers and judges basically to do whatever they want. The PTC wants increases in fines and penalties for violators for inhumane treatment such as excessive spurring, excessive jerking of the reins and using overly-tight cavessons and draw reins in training. AQHA has lost 83,000 members in recent years according to the group and is urging immediate action on their proposals.
PTC points out the trend in humane treatment of all breeds including the “questionable” ways big-lick gaited horses make it into the show ring and they are encouraging the AQHA to retain its integrity and be a positive leader in the horse industry.
The Coalition wants a steward program similar to the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) instead of the current stewards who are typically horse trainers; stronger fines and penalties sufficient to present a financial hardship, including banning for life repeat offenders. A list of offenders should be published and available to all the members.
More Stories |
-
The North Carolina Championship, scheduled for Oct. 4-6, has made the following changes to their class schedule...
Read More
-
Burl Jacob Dale entered into eternal life Tuesday, September 18, after a courageous fight with heart disease. He recently celebrated his 82nd birthday...
Read More
-
Columbia’s mayor Dean Dickey proclaimed Sept. 20 to be Gen A' Mighty Day following the horse’s recent World Grand Championship victory at the Celebration, making the horse the fifth World Grand Champion to hail from Columbia...
Read More
-
Read More
-
Going into the coveted World Grand Championship class Saturday night, Sept. 1, the field was somewhat wide-open for contenders riding for the biggest prize of the show. The preliminaries had given several horses a chance to shine, a few surprises emerged, and the judges were spread out with their opinions throughout the week, as was the crowd, demonstrating stiff competition.
Read More
-
North Carolina's PPWHANC Show scheduled for Oxford,N.C. on September 15th has been rescheduled; the new show date is September 29th with the same class schedule as previously presented.
Read More
-
At the 79th anniversary of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, Bill Callaway and Gen’s Black Maverick rode into the ring on the last Saturday night to a roar of applause and cheering, and they exited the ring in the same fashion as they claimed the title of 2017 Tennessee Walking Horse World Grand Champion...
Read More
-
Pat Kirk, 89, of Purdy, Missouri entered into eternal rest on Tuesday September 11, 2018 while at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, Missouri.
Read More
-
The Report has recently learned of the sudden passing of Burl Dale on September 18, 2018. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, September 22 at 2:00 PM at Camp Yonahnoka in Linville, North Carolina.
Read More
-
The Celebration and the Adamson family are proud to announce the 2018 winner of the Evan Lloyd Adamson award, Connie Allen, director of office operations for The Celebration.
Read More
|