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AQHA RACING UPDATE
We are all saddened by the diminished racing opportunity and applaud the tracks that have managed to still allow races, even if closed to the public.
NAVIGATING A PANDEMIC
I hope that by the time this magazine reaches you, we are moving past the worst of COVID-19 and seeing a leveling off in the pandemic. I pray that you and your loved ones have stayed well. No matter what the up-to- the-minute status is of the Coronavirus, we know its effect on our lives will linger. For us, the impact of the pandemic began when the American Quarter Horse Association made
the difficult decision to cancel our annual Convention that was slated for March 13-16
at the South Point in Las Vegas. We were all disappointed. However, keeping our members healthy was our paramount concern, and in hindsight, we are convinced our AQHA leader- ship took the right action.
Cancelling the Convention brought its own set of issues to those of us at AQHA Head- quarters. We still had important business to conduct yet didn’t have our membership con- vened to do so. We set out drafting correspon- dences to the various committees, scheduling conference calls, and took votes on pertinent issues via email to keep things moving forward. I am pleased to tell you I had more response from the Racing Committee members than I have ever experienced before. I truly ap- preciate their engagement. We were able to collect votes naming Mark Brown the Racing Committee Chairman for his third and final term. We completed member appointments
for the Champions Selection Committee, and tallied votes regarding the Racing Committee’s
support of a potential rule change for RAC313 involving Chariot Racing. I am not offering more details at this time because all action items must first be approved by the AQHA Executive Committee, and they plan to address the matters during their meeting in late April.
For all of us horsemen, a significant inter- ruption in our life has been the cancellation of races. We are all saddened by the diminished racing opportunity and applaud the tracks that have managed to still allow races, even if closed to the public. These are extraordinary times calling for extraordinary measures. Hats off to the management teams that went to bat for the horsemen and kept tracks running, and also to those who allowed the horses to remain stabled on the backside and train. We as an industry are indebted to you.
The Racing Department remains concerned about the Bank of America Challenge regional stakes. As of this date, two regions have can- celled or postponed their races indefinitely. The fate of others scheduled in the immedi- ate future has yet to be determined. In the event more races are cancelled, we want you
to know that we are considering solutions to offer opportunities to qualify for the Bank
of America Challenge Championships. Our goal is to support you and the jurisdictions that host our races. However, it is premature to discuss any alternative plan until we have more clarity regarding the end to the restric- tions related to COVID-19. In the meantime,
keep making your nominations and sustaining payments as outlined in the Bank of America Regional Challenge Schedule. If a given meet does not run their originally scheduled regional Challenge races, and the alternative plans do not suit you, we will refund your money for that race. We are here to serve you, now more than ever.
Speaking of service, for our association as
a whole, all of our processes are continuous. We began implementing the necessary steps for staff in all departments to be able to work remotely and have prepared for the potential escalation in the COVID-19 work restrictions. At present, there is a core staff at headquarters, and the rest of us are conducting business re- motely. The point is that we are doing our very best to continue all aspects of AQHA business, and not allow the pandemic to interrupt the improvements we’ve made in our ability to assist you, the member, since the difficulties we experienced last year. If you have a specific problem, know that you can reach out to me and I will do my best to facilitate the resolu- tion of your issue.
In my next submission, look forward to specific reports about racing business, and dis- cussion items that stem from our Convention agendas. I hope to be able to share good news about Regional Challenge stakes, modification to AQHA rules and policies stemming from Convention, and updates on Federal Legisla- tion. In the meantime, please stay well.
April 2020
by Janet VanBebber, AQHA Chief Racing Officer
“We are doing our very best to continue all aspects of AQHA business, and not allow the pandemic to interrupt the improvements we’ve made...”
16 SPEEDHORSE April 2020