The East Coast Novice Championships is in full swing at the Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. With gorgeous sunny weather so far, GoHorseShow has been checking out all the sights and sounds at the event with over 2900 entries showing over the course of four days.
On Thursday, the show held all the halter and showmanship classes which went late into the night. While today, the hunter under saddle and equitation are currently underway followed by the speed events. Some events featured Congress-size classes with nearly 200 competitors, several cuts, and finals. At first, AQHA had only hired two judges for this show, but they quickly realized they needed several more judges to cover the demand. At some points during the show yesterday, AQHA had two arenas split in half and was running four classes at one time.
“This show has been an amazing success so far,” says AQHA President Gene Graves, who is attending the event with his wife, Barbara. “We had no idea it would be this popular the first year, but we are exciting that everyone seems to love the show and we may even have to split it into three shows next year on different dates.”
Graves adds, “The main purpose of the show was to give the Novice a place to succeed on a national level as well as trying to build up our youth numbers, and I believe we have succeeded in both respects.”
CLICK HERE to check out the candids provided by GoHorseShow and sponsored by Rodrock Ranches.
Stay tuned for more stories and highlights throughout the show!
