Back around 2000, I worked at the Equitana horse expo in Lexington and I had to GIVE a tape of my eventer and another of my dressage horse for them to show at the ApHC booth. They had NOTHING with regard to Appaloosa showing open in the REAL world of H/J, eventing or dressage. Everyone who saw those tapes basically said, “Wow! I didn’t know Appies could do that like TBs and WBS….I thought they were just colored QH types.” Believe me, the ApHC official didn’t like that one bit. Most people I run into at open horse shows STILL think that Appies are either colored QH, or ugly rent horse types – and ApHC does nothing to disabuse them of that notion.

No, Lisa, the class is NOT still there. It is now HUNTER in hand, not DRESSAGE suitability, and HUNTER and DRESSAGE horses are judged differently in terms of their movement, ergo the “dressage” class no longer exists.

I have to PUT ON MY OWN SHOW in order to get Appaloosa hunters of dressage horses judged correctly by ApHC? ROFLOL I doubt that Morgan riders or Arabian riders had to actually PUT ON A SHOW THEMSELVES in order to get their horses judged correctly. They just got enough people to suggest INTEREST and support for dressage and the AMHA (I think that’s their acroynm) and AHA put on dressage shows sanctioned by their respective associations. The Arabian people even now have a completely separate Sport Horse Nationals for the dressage, hunter and CDE people in their breed association.

Just proves how little ApHC cares about people who do not fit into their little Quarterloosa/breed show HUS niche.

The Appaloosas winning on the flat classes at the Open H/J shows against really, really nice WB and TB Hunters are so talented and so totally ignored in ApHC HUS classes that they don’t show ApHC. There are LOTS of Appaloosas on the open H/J circuit that we will never see at our breed shows. And remember, I said these horses are worth lots of money! Would not it be nice to have this type of horse in the ApHC and a market for breeders/trainers into that higher-priced market? Yes, of course, but it will take some serious changes regarding how Hunters are shown (i.e. collected, in the bridle, NO drapey reins, good movement, and HUS horses that actually jump) and, therefore, changes in how the classes are judged.

My Appaloosas excell in Extreme Trail and Ranch Trail competitions and I have found little to no bias against them there. Many times, I’m the only one on a colored Appaloosa and I get lots of attention because of it. I use it as an opportunity to showcase the breed, talk to people, and give them an overall good impression. I find that my Appaloosas are worth much more in the Extreme Trail avenue than if I were to try to sell them as an ApHC show horse or show prospect. I’ve been offered more for my teenaged gelding at trail challenges than I see pretty and talented multiple ApHC world champions advertised for. Therefore, I think the Extreme Trail and Ranch Trail competitions are an excellent niche market as well as a great way to reach out to people who haven’t seen an Appaloosa in action before.

I also find that local open shows are a good way to introduce people to the breed. I’m not a “show” person but when I can go to an open show and ride all day for $30-50, sign me up! Beyond it being a great training experience, the more inexpensive shows are a great way to get to know people and share information about the Appaloosa. Just having a well mannered Appaloosa standing at the in-gate is good advertisement!

Horse Expos are always fun places to check out different breeds and I have all sorts of people including those who have never even owned a horse looking at my Appaloosas at them. Most people won’t ever go to a breed show to look at horses but they will go to an expo. It is place where people seek out information about breeds and disciplines they’ve never been exposed to. I was quite disappointed when I went to the Northwest Horse Expo in Albany, OR in March of 2008 and the Appaloosa breed was not represented in the barns! There was everything from mini horses to Fresians and even POA’s but no Appaloosa club or breeder! Many of us had traveled over 1,000 miles to be there and it was a disservice to the breed to not have a proper representation. An Appaloosa carrying a flag in the opening ceremonies and my own stallion competing in the Craig Cameron Extreme Cowboy Race were the only ones I saw on the grounds.

I usually go for an all day trail ride once a week with friends. We pick a likely looking mountain or trail head, pack lunches and head out. We started with just a pair and have grown to almost ten with usually four or five of us on any given ride at a time. We meet new people when one of us brings a friend and there is a lot of fun and comraderie. Several of us ride Appaloosas and the non-Appaloosa riders have become exposed to the many good points of the breed. I feel we sell the breed with every ride among ourselves as well as to anyone we happily tell our riding stories to. I think getting out and enjoying your Appaloosa is one of the best things you can do to help the breed.

I think that there are a lot of people who game on their Appaloosas who have never been to an ApHC show. The expensive entry fees compared to the fact that there is no payout and a lack of contestants when you game at an ApHC show will continue to keep those people away. One way I can think of to get some of those people to go to a show would be to have open jackpot classes in addition to the breed classes. Another way is information. Most people I know locally who own Appaloosa have never even transferred the horse into their name, they don’t know anything about the ApHC programs or shows, and they have no interest in traveling to a show. For those with colored unpapered horses, a low registration fee for the geldings would encourage them to apply for papers. If there was a way to get information to them such as by advertising in more local publications like Horse Previews or even The Exchange want ads, we might see some of them showing up to ApHC events.

In summary, I think that by going out and enjoying our Appaloosas, especially in public, we are promoting the breed. We can talk until we’re blue in the face about how great Appaloosas are but if we just go out and show people, there’s no need for words. There’s room for Appaloosas at the top of most all events and if we participate on a quality level, we can be there. And look good doing it!

I’ve not renewed my membership this year. I’d already decided that I’m apparently irrelevant to the ApHC, and, looking through the Journal, they certainly aren’t promoting horses that would be useful in my discipline of choice. (Though looking at the pictures from times gone by, they used to.)