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America<\/span><\/em><\/span>\u2019s Horse, March 17, 2009 \u2013 <\/span><\/em>Even if you don\u2019t own cattle, you have to admit that turning a cow on the fence is about as \u201ccowboy\u201d as it gets. Add some sliding and spinning, and you\u2019ve got the makings of a couple of reining and working cow horse demonstrations with nationally recognized trainer Bob Avila at QuarterFest: A Celebration of the American Quarter Horse, May 1-3 in\u00a0Murfreesboro,\u00a0Tennessee.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Born in 1951 in\u00a0Half Moon Bay,\u00a0California, the future world champion was the only child of Don Avila, a former rodeo cowboy turned professional horse trainer, and Pat Avila (now Pat Berry), an avid horsewoman who worked at a western store and modeled western clothing on the side. Don and Pat raised their son in the heart of the West Coast show circuit, in an era when its vaquero-influenced western trainers and their horses set the standard by which others elsewhere were measured.<\/span><\/p>\n Growing up,\u00a0Avila\u2019s idols were trainers Don Dodge, Tony Amaral Sr., Harry Rose Sr., Clyde Kennedy and Jimmy Williams. At the heights of their careers during the 1950s and \u201960s, these winning Californians influenced bloodlines, tack, riding styles and presentation methods in ways still apparent today.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure a lot of other kids looked up to those horsemen, too,\u201d said\u00a0Avila, \u201cbut thanks to my parents\u2019 involvement with horses, I didn\u2019t have to admire them from afar. I was around them almost constantly, at all the shows we went to. They helped raise me.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Avila<\/span><\/span> acknowledges the advantage he gained from this exposure.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI realize how lucky I was to have had those great horsemen as direct influences so early in my life. I know I absorbed things from each one, starting at a very young age, that otherwise would have taken half a lifetime to learn,\u201d he said.<\/span> \u201cPlus, they were truly horsemen. There was no such thing as specialization in their day. To survive as a trainer, you had to be able to train anything and everything, and they could. To this day, I enjoy producing a good all-around horse, and that comes partly from the influence of my childhood heroes.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Avila<\/span><\/span> also will play a part in the Extravaganza \u2013 <\/span><\/span>the ultimate finale to a great day of education and learning at QuarterFest.<\/span><\/p>\n Besides\u00a0Avila\u2019s demonstrations, we\u2019ll also feature four other AQHA Professional Horsemen and -women and two nationally recognized trainers: Julie Goodnight of\u00a0Salida,\u00a0Colorado; Curt and Tammy Pate, a husband and wife from\u00a0Newell,\u00a0South Dakota; Jeff Griffith of Gallatin Gateway,\u00a0Montana;<\/span> <\/span>Christy Landwehr of\u00a0Aurora,\u00a0Colorado; and Bo Winslow of\u00a0Estes Park,\u00a0Colorado. The demonstrations are free for people to watch, but there will be a limited number of spots available for people to participate in clinics with their horses. Participation with a horse will be at an additional fee to general admission, so you\u2019ll need to reserve your space in the clinics of your choice when tickets go on sale in early March. However, 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.<\/span><\/p>\n