TENTATIVE SCHEDULE AVAILABLE FOR FIRST-EVER QUARTERFEST

America’s Horse, February 24, 2009 – Build a bridge, learn how to design and maintain horse trails, start your colt right with AQHA Professional Horseman Jeff Griffith, improve your stockmanship with Curt and Tammy Pate, spend time making friends with some of the greatest horses and horsemen in the American Quarter Horse world and then take a refreshing trail ride on the beautiful trails of central Tennessee. Those are just a few of the things we’ve got scheduled for you at QuarterFest: A Celebration of the American Quarter Horse, May 1-3 at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

We’ll also have an all-star American Quarter Horse Extravaganza featuring top-name talent and spectacular American Quarter Horses in an exciting show on Friday and Saturday nights.

During each of the three days, there will be seminars, demonstrations, contests and a dedicated youth area to make it fun for everyone. Some of the greatest American Quarter Horses and world champion horsemen and -women will be there to greet everyone. And, with an everything-for-the-horse-and-horse-lover trade show, there’s guaranteed to be plenty of shopping.

And perhaps most importantly, AQHA will be kicking off its new conservation division. Taking an active role in preserving access to places to ride, upholding the traditions of horse ownership and enjoyment in America, and educating horsemen on building, preserving and behaving properly on trails is critical to our breed and members. The conservation section will give our members the industry leadership expected from AQHA in this crucial area.

We’ll have clinics all weekend long, with six of AQHA’s Professional Horsemen and women: Julie Goodnight of Salida, Colorado; Curt and Tammy Pate, fromNewell, South Dakota; Jeff Griffith of Gallatin Gateway, Montana; Christy Landwehr of Aurora, Colorado; and Bo Winslow of Estes Park, Colorado. You can bring your horse and participate in as many clinics as you want. Participation with a horse will be an amazing bargain. In most cases, it will only cost $15 per clinic (plus general admission) to participate. Clinics are limited in size, so be ready to reserve space in the clinics of your choice when tickets go on sale in early March.

There are unlimited opportunities to attend clinics without your horse. If you want to audit any of the clinics, your general admission ticket will cover entrance. Visit www.aqha.com/quarterfest for the tentative QuarterFest schedule. You’ll be able to enroll in the clinics and to purchase your general admission, clinic and evening extravaganza tickets, and reserve a spot for you and your horse in the clinics as soon as tickets are available in early March.

With the tentative QuarterFest schedule, we’ve also posted a list of local accommodations at www.aqha.com/quarterfest.

Come to learn. Come to make friends. Come for the entertainment. But most of all, come to honor your horse. Details and reserve tickets will be available online soon at www.aqha.com/quarterfest. If you’re an AQHA member, you’ll be eligible for reduced admission at QuarterFest. So make plans now.

Our sponsors – Tractor Supply, B&W Trailer Hitches, John Deere, Justin Boots, Merial, Nutrena, Professional’s Choice and Wrangler – share our passion for American Quarter Horses, and are an integral part of QuarterFest.

AQHA news and information is a service of AQHA publications. For more information on The American Quarter Horse Journal, The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal or America’s Horse, visit www.aqha.com/magazines.