If you attended the 61st National Appaloosa and/or Youth World show this year, we would like to have your feedback. On the home page of Appaloosa.com you’ll find the gas pump graphic. Click on it to take our survey. As a token of our appreciation, if you complete the survey by September 4, your name will be entered to win a $200 gas card. Please fill out the contact information at the end to be eligible.
Competitors at the 61st National Appaloosa Show and the 2008 World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show were pursuing the daydream of winning one of these trophies. It’s always an exciting moment when the name is announced and an exhibitor gets to haul the trophy out of the arena.
Most of us involved with the horse show world have a good idea what it takes to get to that point, but it’s still a staggering amount of effort, time and money. Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Jackson shows. We sincerely appreciate the personal sacrifices you made to be a part of these important events. Thanks for making the trip and thanks for helping us shine the spotlight on Appaloosa horses.
This is my last post from the National Appaloosa Show. I’d like to thank the ApHC for having me out once again and hope to see you for the World Show.
Before I left I spoke to Show Manager, Keri LeForce. She’s seems to be the “lady who knows it all.” If Keri doesn’t know the answer, no one does. She says the show has been going really well and that the facility people are very responsive. To get ready for the new location she’s been on the site at least 5 times before the show. It gave her a chance to see how other shows used the facility for one thing.
I had heard a number of people mention how good the security is and she echoed that. Prior to the show she went through a security schedule with the staff here so that it’s as good as other venues. The feedback she’s been getting seems very positive. She says the theme of the comments she’s been hearing is, “We didn’t expect it to be this nice.”
One of the things that’s nice about this facility she says is that there’s so much parking that people can often park next to their barn. The site also has lots of hookups for anyone attending with a live-in trailer too.
You can listen to my interview with Keri here: 
Interview With Keri LeForce (5 min MP3)
While I was wandering around the barns with Steve Taylor we came upon a relaxing Wayne Beck, Beck Farms. We sat down and had a nice conversation which I thought I’d share with you.
Wayne says he’s owned Appaloosas since 1950 and has been involved with other breeds too. He says the breed has been revolving around the quarter horse which has changed the look and performance of the breed. Wayne is for cross breeding.
I asked him what he thought about Jackson, MS and he said the judgment is still out. He says he told everyone during the last year that “If you come to Jackson with a good attitude, you’ll probably have a good experience. But if you come here mad and upset, your chances of have a good experience would be pretty short.” He’d like to see a better market for Appaloosas and more sales around the country.
You can listen to my interview with Wayne here: Interview With Wayne Beck (12 min MP3)
After a 10 year absence, the Appaloosa Youth Judging Contest was re-kindled at the National Show. Helping make it happen is Lori Wunderllich, pictured to the left of some of the contestants.
She’s real happy with the results since there were 18 teams in the competition, 2 college/16 youth.
They judge horses in the morning then have to face a real judge in the afternoon where they provide reasons to justify their placements. Lori says the contest provides students a first opportunity to learn judging and develop some real self confidence in their abilities.
You can listen to my interview with Lori here: Interview With Lori Wunderlich (2 min MP3)
The Trainer of the Year is Debby Letham, Letham Stables. She received her award during the year end awards banquet.
Debby says she and her husband train mostly youth and non-pro horses. She’s very honored to be chosen for the award. Debby says that they stand various stallions and have four of their own. They also breed mares and train colts and just pretty much stay very busy.
She attributes their success to the fact that they work well together as husband and wife. They complement each other. Besides training they also put on clinics and donate time to 4H. They like to give back to the horse industry they love.
You can listen to my interview with Debby here: Interview With Debby Letham (2 min MP3)
Larry Baker, ApHC Vice President, walked the barns earlier this week at the National Show to talk with people about how things are going and what they thought of Jackson, MS. He was also helping present awards on Sunday night.
Larry says that the show has been good so far and the competitors he’s spoken with seem happy. He admits that the horse business is in a slump but says that good horses are still bringing some good prices. That’s why he promotes quality which is something shows like the one going on are all about.
Larry is optimistic about the future and says the “best is yet to come.” Overall, he describes the mood of the people he’s spoken with as upbeat.
You can listen to my interview with Larry here: Interview With Larry Baker (3 min MP3)
Riders were gathered in the paddock this morning before the stake race and I couldn’t help noticing these particular boots. They certainly project an image of confidence and a need for speed.
It’s been fun watching the parade of colors and designs at the National Show. The horses and their riders provide plenty of variety, but you’ll also see fashion statements made by the assortment of saddle pads, braids, leg wraps and other accessories. It becomes obvious after a while that each discipline has a unique style and theme.
At the ApHC Year End Banquet a number of people were inducted into the Hall of Fame. One of them was Clarence Courtright who was sitting at my table.
I had a great conversation with Clarence who is still riding. His main involvement with Appaloosas has been racing although he says he has done some jumping with a mare he owned. In fact, he won some jumping competitions in Canada with that horse.
Clarence says he started riding at a very young age and was asked to ride and race Appaloosas. He recalls the Sacramento State Fair and winning races with Appaloosas in 1964. He says he won the first Appaloosa Derby in the state of California. Over the years he’s been on a lot of horses and really like Appaloosas. He thinks they’re great horses.
Clarence likes Jackson, MS. He’s been here before and like most towns he says, it just keeps getting bigger. He spent some time at the show and says it looks like the showing side of the business is coming back but he’s not too sure about the racing side of things.
You can listen to my interview with Clarence here: Interview With Clarence Courtright (5 min MP3)
If you want a good lesson in marketing and promotion you might consider talking to Noelle Schmidt, owner of Chocolatey. She’s got a booth set up in the Kirk Fordice Equine Center.
I sat down and talked to her about her involvement with the ApHC during a relatively slow moment. She says that she became involved with the ApHC about 8 years ago and was looking for a good horse and trainer. She met Tim Zuidema and bought her first horse from him.
She’s not showing horses herself now due to the demands of her business but it’s obvious she can work out her schedule to come to a show like this one to see her horse compete. It sounds like Noelle has a real love affair with Appaloosas. She says that she loves to promote, loves to market, loves the Appaloosa horses, loves futurity horses and loves to take risks.
Noelle says she got Chocolatey as a 2005 stallion and brought him home when he was 5 months old. I asked her if he was a “legend” yet and she said that he is in her mind. She knew he was special when she got him home. According to Noelle, Chocolatey has won just about every NSBA open futurity.
Noelle takes her business seriously and applies business practices to her horses as well. She says that she always has a business and marketing plan for a horse going out 2 years. An example of her promotional ideas is the billboard for Chocolatey that everyone sees when they enter the Mississippi State Fairgrounds here at the show. I think you’ll enjoy her comments about competing and winning against other breeds too.
You can listen to my interview with Noelle here: Interview With Noelle Schmidt (6 min MP3)
I’ve been asked quite a few times if pictures I’m taking are available anywhere and the answer is, yes. Feel free to visit my online photo album with the link below where you can look at them individually or as a slide show. They’re easy to download too.
I’m only here for a couple of days helping Steve with his blog but I’ve been trying to get a good representative sample of the activities here at the National Appaloosa Show. Copies of all my photos will be provided to the ApHC office where you can contact them for a higher resolution copy if you need it.
The Appaloosa Show version of musical chairs is the Rope Race.
We had six horses compete last night at the end of the Coliseum program. Basically, you’ve got six horses on one end of the ring and five ropes hanging at the other end. They have to race to the ropes and grab one and hold on to it. The person who doesn’t get one is excused from the ring. Then it continues in the same manner until there’s only one on a rope.
If you haven’t seen one, then you can watch the first heat of last night’s race here:
During the Callaway concert last night, one young man had a song dedicated just to him. Callaway called him down to the stage and provided him with a very special moment.
He’s Justin Ainsworth and if you’ve been here at the show then you’ll have seen him working hard in the rings. Justin says he’s been working cattle, opening gates, setting up poles and doing just about anything asked of him. He says it’s hard work but good work and a little tiring.
He’s been around horses since he was 5 and feels like he knows what he’s doing. I asked him about Callaway and he says he’s known her for a long time but was surprised when she called him up on stage and sang a song to him. He likes to hear her sing and says that someday she’ll, “Make George Strait level.”
You can listen to my interview with the Justin here: 
Interview With Justin Ainsworth (2 min MP3)
Last night Callaway performed her benefit concert for support of Appaloosa Youth Association activities. She was a big hit with the young audience.
She played a full set of songs with her band and showed why she’s an up and coming star.
The ring was opened up so that everyone could come down out of the stands and get up close and personal. It took a little coaxing but once Callaway got started most of the crowd moved on down.
You can watch Callaway perform one of her songs in this video:
I know Savannah Scott’s family didn’t bring an extra truck but they’ve got a Featherlite Trailer to take home and use for a year. Savannah received numerous awards. In fact, you need to listen to her list them off in our interview. Besides the trailer she’s taking home 2 saddles, 2 belt buckles and a laptop computer.
I spoke to Savannah, along with her Mom and trainer, after the youth awards yesterday. She says that this is a once in lifetime achievement and she wants to just enjoy the moment. When I asked her if she had to put in a lot of work to be so good she said, “Perfect practice makes perfect.”
She’s going to continue competing and said she may show a couple of horses still before leaving.
You can listen to my interview with the Savannah here: Interview With Savannah Scott (2 min MP3)
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