The American Quarter Horse Association has formed a new department within the organization – the competition department. The new department will encompass all aspects of American Quarter Horse competition such as racing, showing, judges, international efforts, breed integrity and animal welfare. Tom Persechino has been selected to lead this new department.
During their discussions, the Executive Committee approved four objectives for the new department and have charged the current leadership of Trey Buck, Alex Ross, Charlie Hemphill, David Avery and Rajeana Thompson to move forward with these objectives to ensure:
* the American Quarter Horse is presented properly in all venues;
* the best competition in the performance arena and at the racetrack occurs;
* an infrastructure is in place that ensures opportunities for growth at all levels of participation;
* and the welfare of the horse is always at the forefront.
“AQHA has an excellent team in place to manage the infrastructure of the current AQHA show and race system,” said AQHA Executive Vice President Don Treadway Jr. “By combining racing and shows under the heading of competition, we will be able to create a synergy to move AQHA competitions forward and allow AQHA to reinvigorate its efforts to ensure fair competition and the highest quality of care for American Quarter Horses around the world. Having always been a leader in the equine industry, AQHA has also heard the call to refocus our efforts on breed integrity and animal welfare.”
Gary Carpenter will move from the American Quarter Horse Foundation and join the competition department to head the association’s efforts in equine research, breed integrity and animal welfare.
With Carpenter’s move, the American Quarter Horse Foundation has also undergone management changes whereby AQHA management will enhance the Foundation’s efforts in fund raising, program development and operations as these two separate but related organizations continue to work side-by-side.
When AQHA hired a management consultant after Bill Brewer announced his retirement, one of his main recommendations was to reduce the number of direct reports to the executive vice president. With the formation of the competition department, the opportunity to combine two additional departments also occurred. The marketing and communications department will join the membership, corporate partnerships and business development department. Karen Latta will head this new department.
“These moves allow us to achieve additional goals,” Treadway said. “It also helps us to gain valuable momentum as we move forward to work to pursue our animal welfare initiatives while strengthening and enhancing AQHA’s competitive venues. I am very excited about the future and the opportunities this has opened for our team and for AQHA, and as with any change, there will be adjustments. The AQHA team will continue to be guided by the AQHA mission statement and will continue to work to promote the world’s most versatile horse.”
