As submitted by Northwest Directors
Michele Simmelink-Rask Oregon
Edie Hill - Washington
Scroll to bottom of page for the all entries.

The American Paint Horse Association hosted their annual convention this year in San Antonio, Texas for directors, alternates and general membership October 5^th-7^th 2006.

Our general membership meeting reviewed the status and financial deeds of the association and like in years past, memberships and registrations continue steady growth. Currently, American Paint Horses are being registered at headquarters at a rate of more than 40,000 horses each year. Breeders Trust does not have as many stallions enrolling but the growth of the program continues in payouts for subscribers.

In the directors meeting for the year 2006 we voted on various rule proposals. Please check the APHA website for the updated rule book and be sure to review these changes prior to the new calendar year.

Here is a brief summary of the rule changes that were approved. Registration of horses steaming from two Quarter horses or one Quarter horse and one Thoroughbred prior to the year 2005 will be considered for registration pending DNA and color requirements.

The verification process for the vitrified embryos was voted on and passed, this will set the stipulations of registration of said foals.

The show and contest rules pertaining to the standards of inhumane treatment of animals will now read that horses must appear in good condition while entered in an event, any horse that appears dull, sullen, lethargic, emaciated, drawn, or any physical outward signs of abuse may be disqualified at the discretion of the judge.

Shows committees now may offer 3 year old Hunter Under Saddle and Western Pleasure, along with the standard offering of these divisions-Junior, Senior, and Two Year Old.

The new show and contest rule pertaining to the new scoring system of the western pleasure classes is listed on APHA website, or I have a copy of it and will be happy to provide the description upon request. Please review also the correctness of the lope, it is to be in a straight motion, not with haunches toward center of arena.

Various patterns were added to the reining and cowhorse events, please see 2007 rule book for new additions. Also additional youth reining patterns to be offered.

Proposal for the offering of a grand and reserve halter divisions amongst the amateur division was defeated, it was well supported, but the wording was inconsistent and will be represented at workshop. *Please see notes on Amateur Committee.*

Amateur committee meeting, headed by chairman Mike Short, we took another look at the wording of the purposed amateur grand and reserve halter classes. The wording of the rule stated a show MUST offer the respected classes, stallions, mares and geldings a grand and reserve class. Upon some discussion, the committee would like to see the wording to “may be offered.” Since the proposal did not come from the committee, but a member of APHA, the suggestion of the wording and divisions of age offered be defined as well.

We also discussed the naming of the age divisions now offered by APHA. After many polls, various discussions around the country and much committee discussion, the age divisions will be named designated JR and SR split.

Again I urge you to stop on APHA website: www.apha.com and review the new rule changes and educate your self as we roll towards the new calendar year. IF you have any questions, concerns or suggestions please feel free to contact me or any of our Northwest directors. We are all here to represent you, the member and voice your concerns.

APHA convention in San Antonio, Texas. Edie Hill, National Director, Washington State.

General Membership meeting: APHA is still very strong, with memberships up slightly from 2005.

There is a decrease in registrations of 9% for 2006 year to date. Transfers are also down, 2004 – 2005 saw a decrease of 12%, 2006 is showing a 5% decrease year to date.

Solid Paint Bred entries are up for 2006, PAC is growing and Novice Youth entries are up 21%.

Ride American is growing rapidly and there is a good demand for APHA trail horses.

I attended the Equine Law seminar and felt the following information needs to be shared.

** Dog control: this is the number one liability at show; we need a Safety Committee that can police our rules.

**Generally, releases are valuable if written and signed properly, but not in all states.

Post the sign for state liability correctly to comply with the law in your state.

**Use contracts no matter what, friend or anyone else. Have an attorney who is knowledgeable about equine law draw them up. Documents must be specific, define terms clearly. EX: Live Foal Guarantee give complete explanation.

**Follow the law for the state or country where the buyer lives or happens to show. Keep documents and contracts as long as possible in a safe place.

The rule regarding registration requiring one paint parent was passed. Changed to read: All horses registered in the Regular Registry after Jan 1 1005 must have one APHA registered parent.

EXCEPTION: All horses resulting from the breeding of two Quarter Horses and a Thoroughbred or two Thoroughbreds prior to the 2005 calendar year are eligible for registration using DNA genetic testing.

An open color class for Overo Color and Tobiano Color was approved. Tobiano-Overo (Tovero) horses must choose the class the horse’s markings are most like.

An additional Western Pleasure and Hunter Under Saddle class was approved for 3 year olds only.

I serve on the General Show and Contest Committee; here are the highlights from our meeting.

** Every exception to the APHA rulebook will be listed in the World Show Program

**The Trail rule was discussed and a task force put in place to clarify this rule.

** A rule change will be drafted to address spring loaded bits and use of weighted tails. (Tail testing will be reinstated at the World Show next year.

** Show calendar shift, all states have the same problem; a motion was passed to not shift anymore.

Thanks for supporting me as your National Director, please feel free to ask me questions at any time.

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New incentives for solid Paint-Bred
horses announced at Convention

Solid Paint-Bred horses were on the receiving end of several new incentives announced at the 35th Annual American Paint Horse Association (APHA) Convention. APHA's solid Paint-Bred Registry includes horses that have registered Paint parents, as well as those with one Paint parent and one Quarter or Thoroughbred parent, but do not meet minimum color requirements to be included in the association's Regular Registry.

According to APHA, the organization's Executive Committee, directors and general membership have been working to meet the call to develop more incentives for solid Paint-Bred (formerly called Breeding Stock) horses. While solid Paint-Breds are already eligible for all of the association's programs, APHA reported that it is making a concerted effort to increase awareness about those opportunities and to strengthen the market for these horses.

Developments announced during the Convention that intended to help support those efforts include:

Rule change - APHA directors passed a rule stating that beginning in 2006, all APHA-approved shows must offer at least six halter classes and two performance classes for solid Paint-Bred horses.
Solid Paint-Bred Breeders Trust waiver - The APHA Executive Committee approved a limited-time waiver for 2006. The waiver states that any solid Paint-Bred horse that has at least one Paint parent and whose sire was subscribed for the breeding year that the foal was conceived will be allowed to enroll in the Breeders Trust program, no matter its age or previous points earned. Enrollment fees are based on a sliding scale and money will be paid out on points earned as of January 1, 2007, forward. The Breeders Trust is an incentive program for those who breed, show and race horses.
Class Fees - The Executive Committee agreed to waive all APHA show processing fees for solid Paint-Bred classes for a three-year period beginning January 1, 2006.
New World Show classes - The Executive Committee agreed to add a solid Paint-Bred cutting, barrel race and trail class to the APHA World Championship Show schedule, provided at least six entries are made by the entry deadline. If this requirement is not met, the class will be cancelled.

This year’s convention in Atlanta was very well attended, and our new “forum” formats were well received not only by the directorship but also by the some 3,600+ people who participated in the Solid Paint Bred forum on-line via the internet (over 900 of these people were from foreign countries). Atlanta, Georgia, in the fall is a very pretty city even though with our schedule, there was little time to see much except the meeting rooms at our hotel! Our one planned special event was a trip to the Atlanta Cyclorama & Stone Mountain (a Civil War battle site). This was especially exciting for me since I grew up in the South and studied the Civil War fairly extensively, but had never been to this particular battle site previously.

By now most of you probably have heard that I was very much honored in Atlanta by being elected to serve on the Executive Committee of our Association. I am very excited about being able to lend my expertise to the Association at this level. I know that the horse industry in general will probably see some challenging times ahead and APHA will be no different. I am committed to helping make our Association the best it can be for our membership in the future. APHA’s mission is to collect research and preserve the pedigrees of American Paint Horses; increase the values of horses for our members, & enrich peoples’ experiences with our events.

APHA has been doing our part in helping out with the hurricane relief by participating in a relief fund sponsored by the American Horse Council (www.apha.com/crisisrelief) to provide feed, transport & medical needs to horses affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The 2005 APHA World Show had a total of 4,848 entries (up by 7% over last year). For the 6^th year in a row, we have drawn over 1,800 horses to this event; and have paid out cash & prizes over $400,000. Texas Bill #1253 is now a law, which means that APHA will benefit from sponsoring events such as our World Show in the State of Texas. The 2006 World Show will see a return of the Youth World Games.

APHA now has registration guidelines printed in both Spanish and German. Since 1999 APHA has received approximately $320,000 from USLGE to help promote Paint Horses internationally. We have finally rid ourselves of the oxymoron of the phrase “Breeding Stock” since geldings cannot breed; this never quite fit our definition. We will now refer to this registry as our solid Paint Breds. A little known statistic is that one-third of all horses in the APHA industry are solid. We are constantly looking for ways to promote and expand our promotion of these horses to help increase their values. The rule proposal for mandatory solid Paint Bred classes to be offered at every APHA approved show passed. As well, there are now incentives for solid Paint Bred horses in the Breeder’s Trust program. A new Solid Paint Bred Program brochure is now available providing details on the various programs and competitions available for these horses.

APHA now has 106,245 members world-wide. More and more members are utilizing multi-year memberships for long term relationships. Registration numbers are down by 11%, as are all other horse associations. We have had 5,562 on-line registrations. The horse industry adds 39 billion dollars and provides 1.4 million jobs to the US economy. Through July, our show entries were up by 6% and our shows were up by 4%. APHA is working very hard to improve our judges’ educational programs.

A presentation by Ryan Dhorn of Horse City.com made us aware of the fact that 71% of horse owners are on-line. It is a proven fact that videos sell items 10 times faster than photos alone. You can save big money on postage by putting this on your website. Return Audiences mean profit (RAMP) give people a reason to return to your site with updates, tips, advice, win photos, etc. Get listed on Google or die! Give your web site a face lift at least every 3 years & use print advertising to direct people to your web site. Using the internet for advertising your business is cheaper than print & reaches audiences 10 times larger.

For complete information on the rule proposals that passed for inclusion into the 2006 rule book (all proposals passed as presented), please refer to the web site.

Committee Reports: Amateur – Discussed the World Show & age splits. The committee will be submitting proposals on Amateur and Novice Amateur requirements.

Breed Improvement – Discussed the rules passed in Director’s meeting, the solid Paint Bred issues and forum presented, embryo transfers, qualifying for World Show and splitting of the World Show.

General Show & Contest – Held a joint meeting with the Judges’ Committee. Discussed timed events, jackpots, electronic timers, offering solid Paint Bred timed events at World Show. Reviewed a letter from a lady in Canada regarding multiple judge shows and PORs due to their geographic issues. Received an update on statistics on APHA shows which has shown an increase of 6% over last year due to the adding of the Novice Youth classes and the cross-over into these classes. Discussed ideas to help small clubs increase the size of their shows. Discussed the idea of a pattern book for judges to use to help with consistency from show to show, but decided that we need to leave as is for the latitude if affords them, but made some recommendations on Walk-Trot patterns. The Western Pleasure issue was discussed & a task force was set up to review APHA, NSBA & other associations to create Western Pleasure guidelines for APHA. Ask the Judges’ committee to provide precise info on how judges are selected for the World Show and how the decision is made as to who judges what classes. It was suggested to have a forum at the World Show for exhibitors & all who are interested with the ideas gathered passed on to a committee to review. Made a clarification that the presence of Show Managers and Show Secretaries is required on the show grounds during the events they are managing or secretarying. Discussed other events that clubs can hold to generate more interest. Heritage Foundation – Met jointly with YDF to discuss merger of the two foundations. Pat Newman signed the merger proposal and the committee selected three people to sit on the new joint Foundation Board. Judges – Set the dates for the upcoming Judges academies. 8 temporary and 20 new applicants were reviewed, 24 were invited to test in April. Three complaints were reviewed; and 5 variances were discussed. Met jointly with Show and Contest on the Western Pleasure issue. Recreational Riding – Staff was ask to send out trail ride survey cards to all ride participants & to send the power point presentation we currently have to all regional clubs. Staff must research the trademark issue before we can change the Ride America program to Ride the World. It was suggested to set up a web conference for regional clubs to learn how to set up rides in their areas. Registration – Registration statistics were reviewed, glossary info was reviewed, added info on the Champagne gene, discussed embryo transfer and will submit a rule proposal. Discussed cloning and decided the committee does not approve of this at all. Reviewed color requirements for Paint, Quarter horses & thoroughbreds with qualifying color. Rules – Reviewed and approved 6 clarifications to be updated in the 2006 rule book. Discussed the changing of “Breeding Stock” to solid Paint Bred and made the decision to change all areas of our rule book referring to this. Ways & Means – Financials were reviewed and discussed. Also discussed the fact that the committee is disappointed in the fact that not all rule change proposals that affect the Association monetarily are being brought to the committee for comment. Youth Committee – New AJPHA President, Carson Underwood, gave his presentation on his project for the year. Discussed the Youth World show, the Youth World games for 2006 and the Youth Leadership conference. Youth Development Foundation – Financial reports were presented and approved. An investment report was given. Fund raising updates were given on the Trainer’s Sale (still doing well, raised $5,900 so far this year), the Schooling Classes at the World Show raised $8,900, the Cookbook (don’t forget to submit your recipes if you have not done so for this fund raiser), the Billy Klapper spurs and how best to market these, A Coffee table book (Photographic Paint Horse Portrayal) sale where YDF will receive $10 for each one sold, and 12 breedings to Boomernic (a reining horse) donated to us by the stallion owners. It was suggested that we try to utilize an on-line auction fundraiser when possible because of the larger audience it allows us to reach. The YDF voted to sign the merger proposal between the Heritage Fdn and YDF to form one Foundation and submitted three names of persons to serve on the combined Board.

A forum on Paint Vegas was also held during the Convention. This forum was to outline the proposal for the format of this show to be held December 6^th through the 10^th, 2006 in Las Vegas at the newly constructed Coast Casino. There will be a futurity style format with ticketed events in the evenings (such as freestyle reining). This new casino is located 4 miles south of the Mandolay Bay casino on the strip and will feature an equestrian center, hotel and casino all in one; with a 125’x250’ main show arena, 1,200 climate-controlled stalls and 4,400 seats for spectators. The dates are during the National Finals Rodeo and we anticipate drawing a lot of folks who have an interest in horses because of this. The classes offered will all be money classes (no APHA points) with an open and non-pro format. You can go to www.aphapaintvegas.com for more details on this.

New incentives for solid Paint-Bred
horses announced at Convention

Plans outlined for newest APHA show, Paint Vegas

It's your turn to be the judge

New incentives for solid Paint-Bred horses announced at Convention

Plans outlined for newest APHA show, Paint Vegas

It's your turn to be the judge

New incentives for solid Paint-Bred
horses announced at Convention