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AQHA RACING UPDATE
AQHA WEIGHS IN
August 2020
by Janet VanBebber, AQHA Chief Racing Officer
“This is evidence of how resilient we are as an industry.”
It’s sale season, and I believe this year will be different than any other.
When I trained horses, I worked the yearling sales with vigor, knowing I had to scrutinize each possible selection. After doing so, I would make recommendations to my customers as to which yearlings I thought represented the most potential as a racehorse at the best value. I navigated the barn areas with a group of my team members as we examined the prospects. My close proximity to the horse, the consignor, and to my owners were an imperative part of the process.
Fast forward to current times. 2020 has brought a term that has infiltrated our life: Social Distancing. As I write this submission, I ask myself, ‘How would I be able to social distance when surveying potential yearling purchases?’ This is indeed unchartered territory, but I am noticing more and more consignors inviting people to come and see their consignments before the sales and afford them a private viewing of the babies. This is evidence of how resilient we are as an industry. I hope that many of you are taking advantage of such options. Doing so will help the sale companies abide by their governing entity’s mandates to help the public stay safe.
Another thought that has been on my mind as we embark on yearling sale season is the AQHA Racing Challenge. Since the inception of the pro- gram, 85 AQHA Champions count a Challenge race victory among their triumphs in route toward receiving the prestigious honor. In my personal experience, each of the five AQHA Champions I trained participated in AQHA Challenge Stakes as a key component of their campaign when
I mapped out their year. It is a great program,
and I hope you will give special consideration to Challenge-enrolled yearlings when making your selections. If you happen to buy a prospect that
is not enrolled, be sure and put it in the program before the fee goes up at the end of the year.
Speaking of the AQHA Racing Challenge,
I had planned on being in San Antonio for the TQHA Sale and attending the races at Retama Park
for two of our regional Challenge finals, the John Deere Juvenile and the Adequan Derby. But, given their mandate to limit attendance, I felt it more responsible to forego the trip so that my presence there did not keep a buyer, owner or breeder from be able to be admitted into the building. I do intend to travel to Ruidoso Downs on August 15 for their Challenge races, where plans are underway to make this a day showcasing the versatility of
the American Quarter Horse. Demonstrations of different Quarter Horse disciplines will be given, featuring our breed’s unique ability to perfect very different skills. I am proud of our breed for this ability, and glad that Ruidoso Downs is too! Later in August, I will be at the Lazy E for their hosting of the Ruidoso Horse Sale Company’s sale sessions. It is a busy time of year, and I hope that I have a chance to see you at these events.
For those of you interested in having AQHA paperwork done, we will have on-site services at the Ruidoso Horse Sale conducted at the Lazy E Ranch – and don’t forget about our satellite office available five days a week at Heritage Place!
In between airplane trips and long drives, I will be preparing for the Summer Racing Council meeting. This gathering is usually conducted in Ruidoso, but it is looking like this year’s business
will be done by conference call. You can expect a report on the matters discussed in a later article.
After the summer meeting, the next gathering of the Racing Committee and the Racing Coun- cil is anticipated to happen during the AQHA Racing Conference. This event is typically held in conjunction with the AQHA Challenge Champi- onships, which this year is scheduled on October 24 in Albuquerque. Our friends at the Downs at Albuquerque remain excited to host the Cham- pionship races and so are we! I do, however, have concerns about our ability to host a racing confer- ence considering New Mexico’s strict mandates related to COVID-19. I hope that by then the situation will improve, and we can proceed with our event as usual. Last year’s conference was well attended, and the meetings were very engaging.
I sincerely hope we can move forward with this year’s plans. No matter what happens, know that I will keep you posted.
I will close this article in the same fashion as
I have done most of my submissions in recent months: I pray you and your loved ones are stay- ing well. The pandemic may have presented some obstacles to normal life and horseracing, but we horse people are tough by nature and we will bounce back!
20 SPEEDHORSE August 2020
Trained by Janet VanBebber, Streakin Sin Tacha won the 2002 Grade 1 MBNA Texas Challenge Championship, earning a berth into the Finals. Streakin Sin Tacha came back to win the 2002 Grade 1 AQHA Challenge Championship, and was named 2002 Co-World Champion, Aged Champion and Aged Gelding.