OQHA News

Pete Kyle announces resignation from AQHA, and Justin Billings takes the reins as AQHA chief show officer. Pete Kyle announced his resignation as chief show officer from the American Quarter Horse Association on Friday, January 3. “Pete has brought years of experience and knowledge to the Association, and we are grateful for his service to AQHA,” said Craig Huffhines, AQHA executive vice president. “We wish Pete the best of luck in his future endeavors.” “With this announcement, AQHA has promoted Justin Billings to AQHA chief show officer,” said Huffhines. Billings joined AQHA in April 2017 as the manager of shows and was promoted to director of shows in January 2019. Billings formulates policies/procedures

The National Youth Activity Team Tournament (NYATT) brings together youth equestrians from Quarter Horse affiliates across the United States and Canada. Divided into two divisions, this year’s Congress tournament hosted 52 teams. The tournament allows a team to send two exhibitors in each of the offered classes: Showmanship, Hunter Under Saddle, Hunt Seat Equitation, Western Pleasure, Western Horsemanship, Reining, and Barrels. The Ohio Quarter Horse Association team placed very well, taking home 1 st place in Division I! Individual placings include: Barrels: Maggie Cain and WESTWARD MEMORIES, 4 th Place. Steven Beiser and DODGE A BULLETT, 5 th Place.   Hunt Seat Equitation: Alexa Black and BIG COUNTRY

The Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) is a thriving program offering a way for students from many colleges and universities to ride and compete at the collegiate level. IHSA has now created a Hall of Fame for people, horses, and teams that have had an impact on the program. Criteria for induction includes outstanding competitive achievement, exceptional contributions to IHSA, and success or significant impact on the equestrian industry. Cindy Morehead is one of these inductees. Morehead is from Milford, New Hampshire, and joined the University of Findlay equestrian program upon its inception in 1977. She later served as IHSA head coach for the Oilers western team from 2005-2017, leading the

            Exhibitors enjoyed a fun and successful show this past weekend at the Ohio Expo Center, hosted by Eastern Ohio Quarter Horse Association. The final EOQHA show of the year, and the largest EOQHA show to date, featured 4 sets of points and over 1,300 exhibitors per judge! There were 206 trail entries, 180 showmanship entries, 169 horsemanship entries, and split classes in hunter under saddle and western pleasure. The show ran smoothly under the EOQHA board of directors and show manager Casey Devitt. The show was AQHA and NSBA points approved as well. Pictures say a thousand words, and all of the pictures say that the show was full of fun and smiles from everyone! Many exhibitors report that it was also an

            It was a warm weekend, but that didn’t slow down exhibitors at the Fall Extravaganza this past holiday weekend! Hosted by the Northern Ohio Quarter Horse Association, this show was a hit with sold out camping spots and tons of competitors! Held at Eden Park in Sunbury, the Fall Extravaganza featured 3 judges and multiple money classes in various disciplines. The show also featured exhibitor’s breakfast from Buckeye Nutrition and a coloring contest and raffle hosted by the NOQHA Queen Jessica Crozier. The judges for the show were Brendan Brown, Lisa Ligon, and Daren Wright, and the show photographer was ForeverWorks Photography. The Fall Extravaganza rounds out a great year of shows for NOQHA! Check

The weather really held out for the Southern Ohio Quarter Horse Association, as they hosted their Summer Finale 3 judge show this past weekend. SOQHA shared the World Equestrian Center in Wilmington, OH with the American Paint Horse Association’s Buckeye Bonanza, which worked flawlessly! Exhibitors registered with both associations were able to load up on those double points! The show featured over 100 classes and the show was AQHA, NSBA, OQHA, and SOQHA approved. The 3-judge panel included Liz Baker, Jessica Gilliam, and Curtis Reynolds. Stall reservations were up by about 50 this year and entries were up by 150 entries per judge. The weather was beautiful and the show, managed by An Equine Production, moved

The Ohio Quarter Horse Youth Association meeting for Monday, August 19th has been CANCELLED. Please share to help spread the word!

Ohio Quarter Horse Youth Association was well-represented in Oklahoma City this year, with 56 youth exhibitors  and 74 horses making the trip to compete at the AQHYA Youth World Championships. Several youth members took home world champion, reserve champion, and bronze champion honors. These honors went too: Audrey Cole and DMM SECRET SINSATION, Reserve Champion in Aged Geldings. Audrey Cole and MISS LADY ELUSIVE, Reserve Champion in 3-Year-Old Mares.   Emma Grace Gore and ASSETS AGENDA, Bronze Champion in Hunter Under Saddle 13&Under. Emma Grace Gore and MY ONLY GOOD SHOES,  World Champion in Western Horsemanship 13&Under.   Abigail Hardy and MY SECRET PAST,  World Champion  in Equitation Over

  Accepting Applications for 2020 Ohio Quarter Horse Association Queen The  OQHA Queen contest consists of three things: a horsemanship test, a written test and a personal interview.  Interested Queen candidates should contact Tammy Gagliardo | 585.356.1630