Page 60 - February 2016 Speedhorse

Val Clark
Mildred N. Vessels Special achievement award
Courtesy AQHA
Val Clark wasn’t born in Texas, but she got there as fast as she could. The Manitoba native always dreamed of Texas, of horses and cowboys. Now she’s living the life as the executive director of the Texas Quarter Horse Association, a position she has held since 2013, and now she has been awarded the Mildred N. Vessels Special Achievement Award presented to a woman for her contributions to the racing industry.
TQHA is AQHA’s largest affiliate, with about 2,500 members, and includes both racing and halter/ performance divisions. As the head of TQHA, Clark oversees the organization’s many contributions to the horse industry and the state of Texas.
The show side approves around 50 AQHA shows per year and also helps its members earn points, awards and world show qualifications.
TQHA runs the Accredited Texas-Bred Program for racehorses, which provides millions of dollars in purse supplements to owners, breeders and stallion owners of ATB horses, while the annual sale for Accredited Texas-Bred yearlings, each July in San Antonio, makes sale graduates eligible for the six-figure purse offered
in the TQHA Sale Futurity. They also oversee their flagship Texas Classic Futurity, a Grade 1 race with a million dollar purse.
TQHA works on legislative issues on behalf of its membership, including legislative processes regarding equine industry issues, and funding a Political Action Committee.
The TQHA Foundation provides scholarships for involved TQHA youth members wishing to further their education.
With her husband, Dave, Clark now lives near the Austin suburb of Elgin, and lives the Texas life. They enjoy trail riding their Quarter Horses and helping promote the American Quarter Horse lifestyle.
“We’re all in this because we love the horse, right?” she asked in an interview. “So no matter what we do – whether it’s showing high level or racing or trail riding or just going out feeding them and hugging their neck every evening – we’re all horse owners and we’re all united and bonded in that. I think that’s unique and very special, and people who don’t have horses don’t have that blessing.
Val Clark
“When I tell people I have horses, I always get a reaction,” she continued. “People love horses. We need to be ambassadors for the horse industry, even for people who will never ever own a horse. My husband and I took our horses to
the Carson National Forest in New Mexico, and do you know how many letters I’ve gotten from Carson National because I let a whole bunch of kids pet my horse in camp? No, they’ll never own a horse – or maybe they will. But in any case, we can all be ambassadors for the horse industry.”
Previous Mildred N. Vessels Special Achievement Award winners:
2014–Jamie Zamora 2013–Susan Hadley 2012–Debbie Schauf 2011–Dawn & Rhonda List 2010–Vel Evans 2009–Mary Kyler 2008–Ann McGovern
2007–Carol Cooper
2006–Ginny Harding
2005–Joan Dale Hubbard
2004–Jean Dillard
2003–Tomey Swan
2002–Sandy Erwin & Janet VanBebber 2001–Debbie Schauf
2000–Amy L. Owens
1999–Mrs. Gwendolyn Eaves 1998–Vessels/Knorpp et al “The Girls” 1997–Donna McArthur
1996–Tami Ann Purcell
1995–Shirley Schvaneveldt 1994–Connie Hall
aQHa EVENt & INduStry rECogNItIoN award
Phillip Stewart, Kirk Gentry and
Dr. Charles Graham accepted the
AQHA Event & Industry Recognition Award presented to Heritage Place
58 SPEEDHORSE, February 2016