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)

National Show Photo Album

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)

National Show Photo Album

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. Laurie 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 Laurie here: Interview With Laurie Wunderly (2 min MP3)

National Show Photo Album

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)

National Show Photo Album

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)

National Show Photo Album

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.

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)

National Show Photo Album

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)

National Show Photo Album

Mark Hardy is the President of Horse Travel Network. This morning he and I sat down and wound up talking far longer than I think we planned but he’s an interesting guy and this new venture sounds like it’s got some great potential. One of the things I find most interesting is how they’re totally internet based and have already got over 700 people signed up and it’s brand new! Word of mouth is working for them big time. The site will include advice, forums, blogs and of course, listings. It’s going to take advantage of some social networking applications which are really popular today.

The Horse Travel Network is a new sponsor of the Appaloosa Horse Club and offering their members a special deal right now of a free membership. All you have to do is use the code czc10 when logging in.

You can listen to my interview with Mark here: Interview With Mark Hardy (8 min MP3)

National Show Photo Album

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.

National Show Photo Album