The 2016 AQHA World Show has just wrapped up and this time of year often becomes the time for reflection and thoughts of what one can do better next year. The need to improve the World Show was the topic of conversation for many people this year while at the show. GoHorseShow spoke to exhibitors and trainers who attended the AQHA World Show in Oklahoma City, and we received some outstanding ideas on how they would improve the show.
While it is easier from an outsider’s standpoint to criticize without knowing all the logistics and details involved with putting on such an enormous event, it also can be helpful to get an additional perspective of what would lead more people to attend the event in the future.
Let’s find out what everyone had to say.
Candice Hall (pictured above) – First off, I would say that Marilyn Randall’s smiling face around the show, her cheerful “Good Morning” and pleasant demeanor deserves a BIG thumbs up. AQHA morale, in general, could be improved — the stands are mostly empty. Even friends watching at home have commented on this. Perhaps the sixty dollar badge should be reconsidered to encourage friends/family to come cheer on the exhibitors.
We’ve all come a long way to get to the AQHA World Show; hauling to numerous shows, getting qualified, dedicating many hours and dollars to follow our dreams. With all that blood sweat and tears, it would be nice to feel more excitement and camaraderie at the show. How about exhibitor welcome parties? Random back number draws for extra prizes? Music and festivities? A bar on-site?
The mood needs to lighten up and AQHA needs to look to other booming shows like Congress and NSBA World Show for ideas.
The guys checking us in at the gate, Casey Devitt and Tracy Willis, were wonderful, keeping things organized while still joking around with trainers and exhibitors who are understandably nervous headed into the pen. This was much appreciated as an Amateur showing both a mare and a stud in the western riding.
There are many people that travel to the World Show who don’t make the finals in any of their events and the only thing they take away are their memories. Wouldn’t it be cool if they felt good about the experience, made some new friends and had fun at the show? They still paid their entries, stall, bedding, hauling, meals and hotel like everybody else.
Jason Wanderer– As an event producer by profession, I recognize that it is always easier to provide suggestions for the improvement of an event as an outsider looking in than it is to make improvements by the organizer who truly understands the challenges presented by logistics, costs, etc. With that said, here are some ideas:
Dissolve the separate open and amateur weeks, and instead, group events together by discipline. For example, hold all speed events within two days, all cattle events together, etc. This is a similar fashion to how the Open and Amateur hunter events are currently scheduled.
Given the short time between the Congress and World Show, review the Congress schedule and attempt to replicate the discipline patterns. For example, as the reining is the first event at the Congress, make it the first event at the World Show to allow a bit more turn around time for trainers and exhibitors between the two events.
Institute one full day between all prelims and finals. Eliminate ticketing and badge requirements to access seating areas and view events. Provide exhibitor hospitality (food, beverage, etc.) throughout the day.
Bruce Vickery – I think the schedule needs to be changed to make it more favorable to junior horses. The young horses need more time to settle in and having them show as soon as the show begins isn’t really fair to them or the trainers. I think having the cattle and timed events first would help. We are supposed to be trying to preserve our horse, yet putting them in such a pressure filled situation right off the bat is the complete opposite of what needs to be done. We are already worn out from Congress and we need more down time before we have to show again.
I also liked it when the Amateur week was first because it makes the Open week feel more prestigious. I also liked the scheduled evening classes because it made the AQHA World feel more prestigious and an event for people to attend. I also think the $60 badges are too expensive for people that just want to come and watch the show. We need to encourage all the spectators we can.
Gil Galyean – I believe the qualifying points for the western pleasure classes at the AQHA World Show need to be lowered. It takes 15 points to qualify for the Junior Western Pleasure, yet the Junior Ranch Riding, which is usually one of the bigger classes at the shows, is only 4 points.
People also need to realize that the Level 2 classes are great, but they also make the Level 3 classes smaller because some of them choose to just show in the Level 2 classes. So, the lack of numbers is deceiving because the leveling somewhat dilutes the numbers.
Also, at the Congress, there is more money added, so it may be good to find ways to increases the payouts in classes like the Two-Year-Old Western Pleasure. I went up and watched the Amateur Western Riding finals and the majority of the class had horses that started out in the western pleasure classes. The pleasure classes are the foundation for the all-around horses, so I believe the discipline is still very strong. I think with just a few tweaks that we can help increase the numbers at the AQHA World Show.
Alyse Roberts – The overall feeling from the pleasure/hunt seat group is that the World Show has become primarily geared towards the cattle and ranching classes. Numbers in the pleasure part of the industry are already diminishing and AQHA has a responsibility to all its members to help our numbers stabilize and grow.
The ranching horses and pleasure type horses just don’t mix. It’s the nature of what we do. I believe it would help if there is a greater separation of the two industries at the world show.
This includes show pens, work arenas, and scheduled riding times. We are all there to show and prepare our horses to the best of our ability, but especially at the World Show, these prep times are crucial.
Preparing a hunt seat horse is not an easy task to begin with, then add the extra distraction of Ranch Riders or Reiners galloping circles and the frustration level becomes insurmountable.
For this reason alone, I know people who will not be attending the World show next year. They do not feel that their presence and financial commitment are valued.
Lea Ann Koch – Most everyone I talked to agree that they want to see the halter horses lined up (under each judge) no matter how many are in the class. Most feel that we have put a lot of time and money into getting here. I have wanted this brought back for years, not to put the judges on the spot, but for that person who may place first under one judge. It’s a thrill to stand up there, and even if they don’t win the class, that memory of being up there will last a lifetime and makes you more determined to come back and try to be at the top again.
I did hear some people say they missed the retirement ceremony for A Certain Vino and I know I didn’t hear about it until the next day. I saw the video and noticed in the stands there weren’t many people. So sad for a great horse.
Jerry Erickson – I think the world show is in a tough spot being the last event of the year. People, horses, and finances are shot by November. Notice, I used the word event, and I think the world show needs to strive to be an event that people want to attend as the Congress has become.
With that in mind, I think they need to hire an outside event planner who might come up with ideas of special attractions that the public wants to attend. An example, is the way The Reichert Celebration was a fun event with interesting gimmicks that held our attention.
As it presently stands, the only show passes that are sold go to the owners and exhibitors who are already stretched thin financially.
I am sure you will receive a number of responses involving the schedule and that is something that
cannot make everyone happy but should be addressed. Many of us with English horses are there from the first day until the second to last thus completely worn out by the end.
Something that is on my mind each year is the situation involving the traffic and parking around the barns. Clearly, it must be controlled, but I am at a loss why the control by the “rent a cops” is not more consistent. I am firmly told that I have 20 minutes to load and unload while I watch trailers from other events, speed and cattle, being allowed to work out of their trailers while these events are going on. They are parked on the street for hours.
After I have been there for 15 days spending money not only at the show but in Oklahoma City itself, why should I endure the harassment from the man on a golf cart while I watch the cutting, roping and speed event horses tied to the trailers for hours on barn row. How can I be told that my having to move is by the order of the fire marshall one day while on other days the same rule does not apply? Nerves are raw by the end of that show and perhaps a course in public relations needs to be taught to the individuals working at the show.
Johnna Dobbs – I recommend five nights of the week, especially weekends to have the finals in the evening at 7 pm to promote people to buy box seats/use VIP. We spent $1250 on VIP and $600 on box seats and only had appetizers and drinks one night at the VIP.
We need to have exciting finals. For instance, barrels were in the afternoon and it was so boring. Darren Moore should do the announcing. He puts on a great show and gets everyone into it.
AQHA needs to hire a show management company to run the show. There are too many events. The L2 needs to be held at the L1 show. Regarding payouts – a 70% payback is not going to work. Also, the schedule was confusing and it drags the show out. The schedule needs to be revised.
Adam Wainscott- I believe that AQHA has a great responsibility to uphold the integrity of our breed. They have done a fantastic job of putting people like Patti Carter, Pete Kyle and others in positions where the general public can access them. They are always willing to listen and give a genuine, “How can we help?”
I was made aware this year of something that I never really had considered all the years I have been attending the AQHA World Show. Of all the different types of events offered and the most elite horses and exhibitors, the need for different types of footing is different for every class. The cutters, the ropers, the hunters, the pleasure horses, the reiners, the halter horses and the barrel and pole horses all need different types of specialized footing to compete safely and at the level that makes the AQHA World Show such a prestigious event. The scheduling and arena prep guys are truly something that goes largely unnoticed to provide everyone what they need through one arena.
That being said, everyone including myself, want to always change the schedule so it works for us as the exhibitor and/or trainer. The schedule will never make absolutely everyone happy, but I feel like we could come up with a better option. Maybe even have the World Show Committee come up with 3-4 schedules that they approve and then send to the Professional Horsemen who attend the world show and let us vote on which one we want. At least something like that would allow the trainers to see something and talk with our clients that will be going. We as trainers can also usually look at the schedule and know when we are going to have conflicts. Giving us some kind of voice could help.
Spectators, people off the streets, families and just general horse enthusiasts need to be able to come and go FREELY! The badges and tickets need to be done away with. No one with a family of four who has a horse crazy kid should be charged to come watch an event that we would hope they become interested in, see the value to become a part of our association. If badges are necessary to gain access, it should be to go back in the stall area or arenas.
I also believe AQHA could get some insight from an event coordinator to come and assist. It should be more of an event!
Caroline Rogers – The AQHA World Show is one of my favorite shows of the year. Laid back atmosphere, tons of places to prepare, and there are only a few “night rides” required. It is the show that most of us have worked all year for, and as exhibitors, we want to have judges who understand and appreciate the subtleties of the classes they are judging.
I would love to see AQHA be creative in utilizing the best judges available for every class. There are several out of the box ideas that could be discussed, and as someone who has spent some time in competitive arenas outside of the show horses, I feel there are some viable options that could work. AQHA continues to be the premier horse association in my mind and the way they will continue that on all fronts is to never settle for status quo and be the leader in cutting edge ways to constantly improve.
Beckie Peskin – I would like to see online entering or at least the ability to email entries. This would be more efficient and decrease errors/lost entries, etc. Plus, for those state qualifying entries, it would really help.
I think they should run the prelims for Level 2 and Level 3 pattern classes together. They already do in trail, western riding, and showmanship. Or, they should have different patterns for prelims of Level 2 and 3. Running separate days, but using the same pattern for 2 and 3 of horsemanship and equitation gives some riders an advantage if they are better with practice and others a disadvantage if they have horses that memorize/anticipate. If running them separate, why have the same pattern?
If you are going to change the schedule at or right before the show, please text people. Level 2 horsemanship was originally at 10 am. When we got to the show, we realized it had been moved to 2:30. Some of us spent a lot of money to reschedule flights. I get that the original schedule is considered tentative, but they text other changes out, why not that as soon as they know?
Holden Jung – I would like to see the finals run the day after the preliminaries. The main reason being a lot of people just show one class, and it’s hard for them to be away from work that long.
I would like to see the senior classes be first throughout the week and the junior classes run after. The junior horses need more time in the arena to be comfortable and the senior horses don’t need as much. I understand the scheduling is hard, and I wouldn’t want to be the one in charge of it.
I would really like to see in the future for the judging to be more specialized at the world show. I feel like the reining and cutting associations have their own specialized judges for their individual classes, and, at the world show, we should too, especially in the bigger classes like Senior Trail, Senior Western Riding, and Amateur Horsemanship. We need to have judges judging the classes they like and the classes they have ridden before and they are good at and just not put someone that knows nothing about riding the class in there having to judge it. It puts them in a bad spot, and it puts us as exhibitors in a bad spot also. Now, that being said, I’m not complaining about the judging at all. I’m just saying in the future I would like to see AQHA work on that. It’s a great horse show, and it takes an army to run it.
Lauren Crivelli – The AQHA World Show is the pinnacle event of the year for AQHA exhibitors. AQHA has done a great job working to make the show better every year, however, there is always room for improvement.
The Level 2 classes have opened up a new venue for horses and riders to show in, but at the World Show, the guidelines for the Level 2 Open were different from the rest of the year. It would be nice to see that be congruent with what shows offer all year long so horse and rider pairs can practice together for the big event.
We are all there for the completion, but it would be nice to have more things to do on the show ground when not competing. Draw parties for finalists are a great way to rally competitors and friends to see what order they will compete in on finals day. Something as simple as a flower or glass can be given to finalists as they select their draw.
Money can be hard to come by but, offering a small purse for the prelims round would be nice to see as well. Even if it’s is a flat fee structure where top 5 earn a check, it’s nice to get a little back in that portion of the show as well.
The Ride the Pattern seminars are fantastic and I would love to see AQHA continue with those.
Joanne Garnett – I think it would be nice to have the finals at night like they used to be. Each night offering a variety of different classes. I would also like to see the Select World moved to Oklahoma City so the select riders would be able to compete in the open and level two without having the expense of two world shows.
Cathy Corrigan Frank – I cannot think of one thing I would do to improve the World Show. It’s run well, the arenas are good, stalls are good, food options are good in Oklahoma City. Although it was too hot this year, it has a lot of fun things to do while we are there. Nope, I would not change anything.
Lacy Watson – I personally love the World Show. The only thing I would like to see altered are the dates. Being new to the Amateur World, I found it was tough bouncing back this quick from the Congress. The horses and exhibitors don’t get much time to recoup after two weeks in Columbus before competing in Oklahoma City. The other thing I noticed were the western pleasure numbers were lower than previous years. The Junior showed 16 total horses in the prelims, while the Level 3 Amateur canceled their prelims (because there were not enough horses to constitute a prelims) and saw a total of 13 horses in the finals. However, I will say there were many new faces in the Amateur Pleasure which is always great to see!
Lainie DeBoer – I would like to see the preliminaries eliminated and just do finals. The Level 2 events could be in Barn 6 and the Level 3 could be in the Norick. I think it would be easier on the horses and the exhibitors and owners could enjoy Oklahoma City more. It needs to be more of a celebration of the Quarter Horse. I would like to see more parties and functions that would bring our community together. Maybe a buckle ceremony every night like the NFR has at SouthPoint.
Kathy Tobin – I do think they need to lower some qualifying points or like NSBA, let people pay a bigger entry fee if they didn’t get enough points to qualify. That puts more money into the payout purses!
Ashley Hadlock – I really like AQHA continuing to incorporate Level 2 classes at this year’s world show. The Level 2 classes help give many exhibitors who may not have qualified in Level 3, a chance to compete for a world show title. I do wish the judging in these classes was more like the Level 3. If there were four to five judges, it would allow for scores to have a variety that could maybe be in the exhibitor’s favor.
Meghan Tierney – The only thing I would have to say is I wasn’t a fan of the lanyard badges we would have to wear around our necks to watch classes purely on the basis that I always forgot mine at the stalls. Maybe they could replace them with those snap on, or paper bracelets you see at fairs, amusement parks and hospitals. Those will last the 2 weeks, can be hidden under Show clothes, and there is no running back to the stalls to ensure you don’t miss the class.
Sarah Elder Chabot – I love that AQHA listened to the survey results from last year. I felt like the schedule was so much better and didn’t feel like I was schooling in the middle of the night. I loved having the ribbons. It was fun seeing them displayed in the stall areas. I wish the barn four stalls had better lighting and don’t feel the cost of those stalls are equivalent to that of the Super Barn.
Johnna Letchworth – This year’s AQHA World Show was full of new faces for the Adequan Level 2 classes. With that being said, I feel like all the Level 2 classes should be run separately from Level 3 classes because that way there would be more recognition for those who place. It would also be a more fair comparison in the scored classes. One thing I know I was super excited about this year was the return of the ribbons. The World Show used to be known for the beautiful long ribbons and they’ve made a comeback.
Parris Rice – Having the show start with the junior horses was difficult, they are young horses who, in general, need a little more prep time than senior horses. I feel that it would make more sense to start the show with an event that people typically haul in and haul out for, like team penning. This would give the performance horses time to get their legs under them.
Lauren Love – I miss the amateur week being the first part of the show, and with the prestige of the World Show, I wish we won more money.
