YOU DON’T NEED A HORSE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CAMPING CLINICS AT QUARTERFEST

America’s Horse, April 28, 2009 – Do you spend more time outdoors than indoors? If you’ve got an interest in camping, one of the coolest things you can do at QuarterFest is sit in on backcountryman Bo Winslow’s clinics. And the best thing is – you don’t need a horse to participate in these clinics.

Currently the fairgrounds and events manager for Estes Park, Colorado, which borders Rocky Mountain National Park, Bo has worked in the horse industry for more than 25 years. He has experience in packing and trail, colt training, riding instruction, breeding AQHA foundation bloodlines and show management. Bo has been a clinic instructor for the Certified Horsemanship Association, an American Quarter Horse Association alliance partner. Bo is also a past president of the organization. He is a life member of both CHA and AQHA.

Here are the topics he’ll be discussing at QuarterFest:

• Preparing for the trip: cover the rules and regulations of the camping/packing area you are going into.
• Horse selection: discuss the conformation you are looking for in your pack and riding animals; securing horses, learn how to tie a picket line that will secure several horses for the night, and many other ways to secure horses.
• Packing: learn and practice using the double diamond hitch and the box hitch, two very basic hitches used by many packers in the industry.
• Campsite selection: learn what to look for in a campsite, low-impact guidelines, fire building in tough conditions, setting up and taking down camp with the least amount of impact.
• Dutch-oven cooking: learn to prepare biscuits and cobbler using a dutch oven.

Bo works with many different horse groups, musicians and artists to put on events throughout the year, everything from an award-winning PRCA rodeo to a hunter-jumper show to a Christmas parade. Bo’s family – his wife, Lauri, and his son and daughter – are the source of joy in his life. In his free time, Bo volunteers with the local fire department and is a deacon at his church. Bo also enjoys winter projects in his wood shop as the snow falls outside.

To avoid long lines, get your QuarterFest tickets online now. Bring your printed ticket to the entry gate, and we’ll let you right in. Get your tickets now at www.aqha.com/quarterfest. All major credit and debit cards accepted.

QuarterFest is a three-day, education-packed celebration of the American Quarter Horse where AQHA members and horse enthusiasts from around the world will gather May 1-3 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for fun, entertainment and festivities to honor the world’s most versatile horse – the American Quarter Horse. Our sponsors – Tractor Supply, B&W Trailer Hitches, John Deere, Justin Boots, Merial, Nutrena, Professional’s Choice, Bank of America, Montana Silversmiths, Farnam, La Cense Montana, Priefert Ranch Equipment and Wrangler – share our passion for 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.