As 2017 comes to an end, it has become a GoHorseShow tradition since 2009 to look back on our top-10 most popular stories of the year as determined by our readers.
GoHorseShow’s goal has always been to combine unbiased and responsible journalism, entertainment, education, interaction and fun as well as to provide a reading experience unparalleled to any other in our industry. GoHorseShow was there to cover it all in 2017.
We would like to give special thanks to the many loyal GoHorseShow readers for making 2017 one of our biggest years to date for our website and social media traffic. From now until January 1, we will reveal the top-10 stories for the year 2017.
Number 1
Industry Icon Peter J. Cofrancesco III Passes
Published August 2, 2017
Written by GoHorseShow
In 2017, we had several influential people in the industry pass away including Don Trout, Rick Skelly and our close longtime friend and past AQHA President Peter J Confrancesco, III.
Our number one story of the year honors Peter J who unexpectedly passed away in August. Many of us grew up showing with him. Peter J was always our ring leader and the one person we looked up to and called whenever we needed advice or help. The New Jersey native and halter horse lover was the consummate horse show politician. He couldn’t walk five feet without running into at least 12 people he knew. Peter was always eager to extend a warm handshake, a genuine smile and pleasant conversation to anyone who approached him. He was a huge supporter of AQHA and WCHA and he continues to be greatly missed by everyone in the industry.
Click here to read the number one story of 2017.
Number 2
Forget the Flashing Neon: Five Obvious Signs an Exhibitor Brought Their A-Game
Published May 3, 2017
Written by Megan Ulrich
The number 2 most popular article on GoHorseShow for 2017 was all about bringing your A-Game to the show arena. This article resonated with our readers and provided advice and insight from three top judges in the industry. If you want to bring your A-Game in 2018, look no further and reread this well written article about how confidence and other obvious signs show the judges and everyone else that you are ready to win.
Click here to read the number two most popular article on GoHorseShow.
Social Media 2017 Winner
Honorable mention also goes to our social media winner for 2017 which was Mallory Vroegh’s winning video of her showmanship run at the AQHYA World Show. It had over 272,000 views, 3,300 reactions, 3,100 shares and almost 500 comments on Facebook.
Want to see what it takes to win the #FordYouthWorld in Showmanship? Here’s the video of Mallory Vroegh’s beautiful Showmanship Winning Run. Congratulations!!! 🏆💚🎉#GoDigital #GoHorseShowIsEverywhere
CLICK HERE to view the video.
Number 3
10 Unwritten Rules of Horse Showing
Published July 17, 2017
Written by Julie Hoefling
The third most popular article of the year on GoHorseShow hit home with many of our readers and immediately became a viral sensation. It was so well received that The Paint Horse Congress asked permission to make a poster of these “unwritten rules” and post it at the fairgrounds. Some of the rules included having your eyes up in the warm-up pen, being gracious to office staff and congratulating others. It was also Arizona exhibitor Julie Hoefling’s first article for us, and she hit a home run her first time out. In case you missed it, find out why it was all the rage with our readers.
Click here to read the third most popular article of the year.
Number 4
The Greatest Show Mare to Ever Live, Vital Signs Are Good, Passes
Published January 24, 2017
Written by GoHorseShow
The number 4 story of the year is one of the topics we are sad to write about every year – horses passing away. In 2017, we lost some great horses including, These Irons Are Hot, Zippo LTD, We Be Jettin, Hes Just To Sharp, Artful Move and the greatest show mare to ever live, the legendary Vital Signs Are Good. “Lucy” was also one of greatest dams by producing talented offspring including VS Code Red, VS Code Blue, VS Flatline and many others. Lucy forever changed the industry through her record-breaking performances in the show arena as well as leaving an unbelievable legacy through her offspring.
Click here to read the number 4 article of the year.
Number 5
Five Things You Should Drop at a Horse Show…Right Now
Published September 22, 2017
Written by Chenay Jordan-McDowell
We’ve reached number 5 on our countdown of the Top 10 Stories of the year on GoHorseShow. This article took a humorous twist on our self-help articles and discussed five things we should “drop” at a horse show. Some of these things included “playing the blame game” and taking your horse trainer for granted. This article was very popular among our readers and also went viral on social media.
Click here to read the 5th most popular article on GoHorseShow.
Number 6
Sun Circuit Show Ring Fashion: What’s Everyone Wearing This Year?
Published March 14, 2017
Written by Tiffany Anne Golberg
Our sixth most popular article of the year features a topic that always does well every year – fashion! This story discussed hot fashion styles that were on display during the Sun Circuit in Scottsdale, Arizona earlier this year. Photographer Tiffany Anne Golberg took photos at the show and discussed how these looks were inspired by runway fashion. Take a look back on 2017 fashion through the lens of Tiffany Anne Photo.
Click here to read the sixth most popular article of the year on GoHorseShow.
Number 7
10 Mistakes to Avoid While Showing
Published August 16, 2017
Written by Kelsey Keathly
The seventh most popular article of the year was a self-help article that went viral on social media. These articles are some of the most read on our site, and this particular one provided tips to help riders overcome mental mistakes in the show arena. In case you missed it, reread it to find out why it’s the seventh most read story of the year and use it as inspiration to prepare for next year’s show season.
Click here to read the 7th Most Popular GoHorseShow article of the year.
Number 8
10 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Kathy Tobin
Published November 10, 2017
Written by GoHorseShow
In one of our popular article series, we asked influential individuals in our industry, ten things people probably didn’t know about them. GoHorseShow interviewed Marilyn Masterson, Fritz Leeman and many others. One of the more popular ones was about longtime AQHA competitor Kathy Tobin of Paradise Valley, Arizona. She shared some interesting tidbits about herself including her father inventing the milk carton and her son’s band playing on David Letterman. Tobin is one of the most respected exhibitors in our industry and that was shown by the outpouring of love from people who commented about Kathy on social media.
Click here to read the 8th most popular story of the year on GoHorseShow.
Number 9
AQHA Incentive Fund to Cease Stallion, Foal Nominations
Published on August 3, 2017
Written by The American Quarter Horse Association
In August of this year, The American Quarter Horse Association announced the termination of the AQHA Incentive Fund program. This announcement was a surprise to many individuals in the industry while others had seen the writing on the wall for the past few years. In its heyday during the 80’s and 90’s, this program was one of the most successful programs, however, recently, due to lack of participation, the association no longer had the funds to continue the program.
Click here to read the 9th most popular story of the year on GoHorseShow.
Number 10
Published on March 21, 2017
Written by Megan Ulrich
The tenth most popular story of the year honored fallen police officers that were memorialized in a gorgeous show jacket worn by youth, Alyvia Dixon, and designed by Trudy’s Black Label. We interviewed the family as well as the designer about how this idea and design came to fruition.
Click here to read the 10th most popular story of the year on GoHorseShow.
