Page 12 - October 2015

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by Jennifer K. Hancock
THE CHALLENGE CHAMPIONSHIP
The countdown is on for the 2015 Bank of America Challenge Championships. This year’s Championship event will be held Nov. 6-7 at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie in Texas.
To register for the event, visit aqha.com or call the Bank of America Racing Challenge hotline toll free at (877) 222-7223. Table reservations for Saturday’s din- ner and Championship races must be made directly with Lone Star Park by calling Maria or Cindy at (972) 237-5253.
A Chaplaincy Benefit Golf Tournament will be held Wednesday, Nov. 4 at the Mansfield National Golf Club, and an art contest is also being held in conjunction with the Bank of America Challenge Championships.
Lone Star Park is holding a School Age Artwork/ Drawing Contest celebrating American Quarter Horses. The Grand Prairie track has asked area elementary, middle, junior high and high schools to participate. All artwork received will be put on public display around the facility during the Challenge Championships.
Derby to meet fans and sign cards. Proceeds from the sale of the cards are donated to the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund, a charity near and dear to Harding’s heart.
The 2015 set of jockey trading cards includes Champion riders Joe Badilla Jr. aboard A Delightful Dasher, Tami Purcell aboard World Champion Dashing Folly, and legendary retired rider Donnie Knight aboard World Champion Easy Date. The trading card sets cost $12. If you were not able to attend the signing, you can visit www.ginnyharding. com to purchase the 2015 series as well as previous years’ cards.
GOLDEN FOR LOUISIANA
The Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders’ Association is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2016 and as part of the milestone, the association is seeking nominations for its inaugural Hall of Fame class.
Nominated individuals must be members of the association. Nomination forms are available by call- ing the LQHBA office at (318) 487-9506 or by vising www.lqhba.com, and are due Oct. 30.
The inaugural LQHBA Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place as part of the association’s annual membership meeting and awards banquet at the Evangeline Downs Event Center in Opelousas on March 19, 2016.
“This will definitely be a very special night for our entire association,” said LQHBA executive director Tony Patterson.
TEXAS HALL OF FAME
The Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame broke ground on “The Walk of Fame” paver stone project, which is intended to honor and commemorate past and present stakes and futurity race winners that are owned, bred, raced, or standing in Texas. The bricks are tentatively scheduled to be laid at Retama Park in Oct. of 2016. Bricks can be purchased for $250 each by contacting Ryan Grammer at txhorseracinghof@ gmail.com or (210) 651-7045.
The Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame welcomed its six newest members on Sept. 12 at Retama Park.
Former Texas senator Ken Armbrister, the late Stanley Beard, Lukin Gilliland Sr., Sammy Jackson, and the late Dan Urschel and his wife, Jolene, along
THE MONTH IN REVIEW
Send photos and news items to jennifer_k_hancock@hotmail.com.
JOCKEY TRADING CARDS
Ginny Harding of Horse Heaven Gallery gave fans the opportunity to meet some All American jockeys at Ruidoso on Labor Day weekend, and
her art and generosity benefitted the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund. Harding’s 2015 series of Fine Art Jockey Trading Cards were introduced during All American weekend, and the subjects of the cards – Tami Purcell, Joe Badilla Jr. and Donnie Knight – were on hand before the running of the All American
10 SPEEDHORSE, October 2015
TRACK CHATTER