Check out some fun candids taken by Kelly Boles Chapman at the AQHA Convention sponsored by Rodrock Ranches by CLICKING HERE.
Also check out the articles below about the new AQHA Executive Committee members, Hall of Fame Inductees, and Merle Wood winner.
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The American Quarter Horse Association Executive Committee was elected at the 2013 AQHA Convention in Houston.
This five-person committee is responsible for implementing important
decisions made by AQHA members through the Association’s board of
directors.
President Johne Dobbs
Johne Dobbs of Champaign, Illinois, has been an AQHA board
member since 1997 and is currently serving as a director at large. Dobbs
has served on the marketing, hall of fame, equine research, and
nominations and credentials committees. She has also served as the
chairman of the nominations and credentials and the hall of fame
committees. In addition to having served on the National Snaffle Bit
Association board of directors, Dobbs has been active in projects
benefitting her hometown and her church.
Dobbs attended Stephens College and the University of Illinois where
she majored in business. In 1992, Dobbs established Johne Dobbs Equine
Insurance, which allows her to be actively involved in the horse
industry.
Dobbs’ family continues to be involved in AQHA. Her son, Travis, and
his wife, Johnna, along with their children, Cooper, 11, and Dylan, 9,
compete in multiple events from roping to halter to barrel racing. Her
daughter Courtney and husband Josh Clagg also continue the AQHA
tradition with their daughters, Carly, 5, and Quincy, 3.
First Vice President Johnny Trotter
Johnny Trotter of Hereford, Texas, has been a member of AQHA since 1970.
Trotter has served as an AQHA director from Texas for 10 years. He has
also served on the racing, and stud book and registration committees, as
well as the ranching council.
Trotter is the CEO of Livestock Investors LLT and owns Bar G
Feedyard, and serves as president of the Texas Autos Investors DBA
Whiteface Ford in Hereford. His involvement in the American Quarter
Horse industry is focused on racing, roping and horses used for ranch
work and breeding.
Away from the track and ranch, Trotter is very involved in his local
community. He has served on the West Texas A&M University Foundation
and has been a part of the Alumni Association’s Silver Phoenix group.
He also served on the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Deaf Smith County
Chamber of Commerce and the Kings Manor Methodist Retirement Home
boards. He presently serves as the chairman of the executive committee
of The Spicer Gripp Memorial Youth Foundation, a board member of First
Financial Bank in Hereford and First United Bank in Lubbock, Texas, and
an executive committee member at First Financial Bankshares Inc. in
Abilene, Texas.
Trotter and his wife, Jana, have one son, Eddie.
Second Vice President George Phillips
George Phillips of Sumrall, Mississippi, begins his third term on the
Executive Committee. Phillips is a longtime breeder of Quarter Horses
and past president of the Mississippi Quarter Horse Association. He has
been an AQHA member for more than 30 years, serves as an AQHA director
and served on the public policy committee. Phillips is also a member of
AQHA’s “Q-Contact” group, which fosters relationships with members of
Congress.
Phillips received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the
University of Southern Mississippi and his law degree from the
University of Mississippi. In 1980, he was named the U.S. attorney for
the southern district of Mississippi. Phillips also served as special
counsel to Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran (R) for six years, and he was
director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics before being named the
state’s commissioner of public safety in 2005. In 2008, he was appointed
the Mississippi state director for USDA rural development.
Now retired, Phillips and wife Nicole have three children: Garrison, 22; Margaret, 21; and Mary, 18.
Dr. Glenn Blodgett, Member
Dr. Glenn Blodgett of Guthrie, Texas, begins his second term as
a member of the Executive Committee. Dr. Blodgett became an AQHA
director in 1991, and in 2011, elevated to director at large. Dr.
Blodgett served on the AQHA Stud Book and Registration Committee and as
its chairman. He also served on the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame
Selection Committee.
Dr. Blodgett received his bachelor’s degree in animal science from
Oklahoma State University and earned his degree in veterinary medicine
from Texas A&M University, and has since been recognized as an
outstanding alumnus by both universities.
In 1982, Dr. Blodgett became the resident veterinarian and manager of
the horse division at the Four Sixes Ranch. In his tenure at the Four
Sixes, which is located near Guthrie, Texas, the ranch has become an
all-time leading breeder of both racing and performance American Quarter
Horses, and in 1993, won the AQHA Best Remuda Award. In addition to its
cattle, the horse operation raises racing, performance and ranch
horses. Dr. Blodgett is the recipient of the 2011 AQHA Racing Council
Special Recognition Award. He and his wife, Karen, have two daughters:
Buffie Guynes, 40, who lives with husband Michael and daughters
Catherine, Rebecca and Clair in Keller, Texas; and Brandie Mustian, 37,
who lives with husband Mike, son Maddox and daughter Myla in
Weatherford, Texas.
Sandy Arledge, Member
The newest member of the AQHA Executive Committee is Sandy
Arledge of Encinitas, California. Arledge has been an AQHA director
since 1997 and elevated to director emeritus in 2012. She has served on
the membership, show and professional horseman’s, judges, and hall of
fame selection committees. She also served on the nominations and
credentials committee and served as the committee’s chairman in 2010.
She currently serves on the stud book and registration committee.
Arledge received her bachelor’s degree from San Diego State
University and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego
School of Law.
Arledge is active within the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Association
and California Horse Council. She owned and operated Sandy Arledge
Quarter Horses and was a general partner and manager of Far West Farms, a
full-service boarding facility in Del Mar. She has bred and trained
numerous AQHA world champions and reserve world champions. Arledge was
named the 2010 Professional’s Choice Professional Horsewoman of the
Year.
Merle Wood Award
Judy Bonham of Norco, California, received the 2012 Merle Wood Humanitarian Award from the American Quarter Horse Foundation on March 10 at the 2013 AQHA Convention at the Hyatt Regency Houston in Houston.
An educator for numerous years, Bonham combined her love of horses
and teaching by founding Frodsham Farm. This was the beginning of her
impact on the American Quarter Horse industry.
An AQHA Professional Horseman, Bonham is heavily involved with the
Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Association having served as a director,
committee member and as a beloved youth adviser.
A mentor to kids and adults, Bonham always finds a way to help others
participate, often finding loaner horses or even paying fees. She
donates her services at clinics and shows, test rides, 4-H and horse
club activities and other events.
An AQHA world champion in trail, Bonham was presented the 2008 AQHA
Most Valuable Professional Award. She was also inducted into the Norco
Hall of Fame for her many contributions to her community.
Established in 1997 in honor of the late Merle Wood, an AQHA honorary
vice president, this award is designed to recognize an individual who
exemplifies an ethic of meritorious kindness and benevolence in
providing opportunities for all young people to be involved with the
American Quarter Horse.
The Merle Wood Humanitarian Award is presented each year to an
individual whose outstanding voluntary service has been marked by
actions or deeds that have enabled young people to experience positive
opportunities and or activities involving the American Quarter Horse. A
multitude of service activities will be considered and is not restricted
to any one type of action or deed involving youth.
The deadline for nominations for the 2013 Merle Wood Humanitarian
Award is May 1, 2013. For more information, please call (806) 378-5029
or email [email protected].
For more news from the American Quarter Horse Association, visit www.aqha.com.
AQHA Hall of Fame Inductees
Ten honorees – five men and five horses – joined the 144 people and 89 horses already in the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame.
The inductees were honored at the 2013 American Quarter Horse
Association Convention in Houston. The men who were honored are: Bill
Brewer of Amarillo, Texas; Kenny Hart of Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico;
Frank Merrill of Purcell, Oklahoma; the late Guy Ray Rutland of
Independence, Kansas; and Greg Whalen of Clements, California.
The horses were: Fillinic, Freckles Playboy, Lady Bug’s Moon, Miss Olene and Poco Tivio.
Induction into the Hall of Fame is one of the highest honors
available within the American Quarter Horse community, and it is
reserved to those who have made an exceptional contribution to the
American Quarter Horse.
Bill Brewer of Amarillo, Texas, was the executive vice president for
AQHA from 1992 to 2009. During his tenure as executive vice president,
the Association registered its 5 millionth horse and grew to a
membership high of more than 350,000. In a career with AQHA that lasted
nearly 40 years, Brewer’s legacy was one of improved customer service,
efficiency and member benefits.
Kenny Hart of Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico, was a winning jockey of
American Quarter Horse racehorses for 35 years. He rode his first match
race in 1962, and in 1977, he became the first jockey to exceed $1
million in annual earnings. In 1985, Hart was the AQHA champion jockey,
as well as the leading jockey by money earned and by races won. In 1979,
1981-83 and 1985, he was the leading jockey by races won. Hart now
serves as a steward at Ruidoso Downs, where he has been inducted into
the track’s hall of fame.
Frank Merrill of Purcell, Oklahoma, co-founded Windward Stud, a
stallion station and breeding operation that bred more than 25,000 mares
and stood 92 stallions at different times. Merrill joined the AQHA
Board of Directors in 1980 and was appointed to the AQHA Executive
Committee in 2003. He served as AQHA president in 2007-08. Frank and his
wife, Robin, are also known for their ongoing involvement in cutting.
The late Guy Ray Rutland of Independence, Kansas, was a leading
breeder of racehorses. The rancher and his wife, Mildred, bred the
earners of more than $1.9 million in American Quarter Horse racing.
Among the horses they bred were Pacific Dan, the 1974 champion racing
3-year-old gelding who set six track records, and his sire, Pacific
Bailey, one of the leading sires of racing Register of Merit earners in
the 1970s and 1980s. In 1967 and from 1970 to 1977, Rutland was the top
breeder of winning racehorses.
Greg Whalen of Clements, California, is a longtime breeder and world
champion exhibitor of American Quarter Horses. His first world
championship was in 1974 with Opie’s Pride at the first AQHA World
Championship Show. Whalen was an AQHA judge for 14 years and began
breeding American Quarter Horses in 1962. He and his wife, Mary, have
bred foals earning 7,821 halter points and 700.5 performance points in
all divisions, with more than $210,000 in AQHA Incentive Fund earnings.
Whalen was also known for training amateur and youth competitors to the
top and for mentoring young trainers.
Fillinic was associated with the late Greg Ward of Tulare,
California, who rode her to many championships in reined cow horse
competition before beginning his family’s breeding program around her.
The 1957 chestnut mare was by Arizona Junie and out of Alouette by
Master Boss (TB). She produced 10 foals that earned $130,834, including
Reminic, her 1978 stallion by Doc’s Remedy, who earned more than $90,000
before becoming a sire of horses that have earned nearly $4 million in
reining, cutting and reined cow horse competition. Fillinic was inducted
into the NRCHA Hall of Fame in 2003.
Freckles Playboy was a leading sire of western performances horses.
The 1973 sorrel stallion by Jewel’s Leo Bars was out of the Rey Jay mare
Gay Jay and was bred by Marion Flynt of Midland, Texas. In 1976,
Freckles Playboy was the co-reserve champion at the National Cutting
Horse Association Futurity, the start of a successful cutting career
that continued until 1980. In the breeding barn for owner Kay Floyd of
Stephenville, Texas, Freckles Playboy sired offspring that earned $24.56
million in NCHA competition, $125,696 in National Reining Horse
Association competition, $285,596 in National Reined Cow Horse
Association competition and $176,970 at the AQHA World Championship
Show.
Lady Bug’s Moon is known as a broodmare sire of top racehorses and
barrel racing horses. The sorrel stallion was foaled in 1966, the son of
Top Moon and out of FL Lady Bug by Sergeant. On the racetrack for owner
and breeder Marvin Barnes of Ada, Oklahoma, Lady Bug’s Moon earned
$191,536. He sired the earners of more than $4 million, including one
world champion, Chicory Moon. He also sired Shawne Bug, a leading sire
of barrel racing horses. In the 1982 All American Futurity, Mr Master
Bug won and Miss Squaw Hand was second. Both were out of Lady Bug’s Moon
daughters. At the time of the stallion’s death in 1995, he was the
fifth all-time leading broodmare sire of earners.
Miss Olene, a 1957 bay mare, was the product of American Quarter
Horse racing royalty. Her sire, Leo, and her dam, Barbara L by Patriotic
(TB), are both members of the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame. Miss
Olene became a winning American Quarter Horse runner, with earnings of
$31,022 and a record of 11-3-3 in 33 starts. She produced 17 foals that
earned $700,673 on the track in the 1960s and 1970s. Her 1972 foal,
Little Blue Sheep, was the world champion aged mare twice. Of the 17
foals Miss Olene produced, 15 were starters, and the unraced foals went
on to produce black-type performers. She was bred by the late Bruce
Green of Purcell, Oklahoma, and was last owned by Herbert Dillon and
Myron Palermo of Houston.
Poco Tivio was foaled in 1947 on the famed Waggoner Ranch. Sired by
American Quarter Horse Hall of Famer Poco Bueno and out of Sheilwin by
Pretty Boy, Poco Tivio was a full brother to American Quarter Horse Hall
of Famer Poco Lena. Poco Tivio began cutting just as the sport was
beginning to take off, and in 1952, Poco Tivio headed the first list of
AQHA Champions. He was shown in cutting, reining and reined cow horse
competition by trainers Milt Bennett, Don Dodge and Charley Araujo
before going to the breeding barn and becoming known as a sire of horses
that showed as well at halter as they did in cutting, siring 10 AQHA
Champions. He was owned by Floyd Boss of Fresno, California.
The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame is housed in the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum in Amarillo, Texas.
