FORT WORTH, TEXAS— College students from 20 universities and colleges located across the country participated in the American Paint Horse Association’s (APHA) 2006 Intercollegiate Horse Judging Spring Sweepstakes. The event was held April 25 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center’s John Justin Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

“With the assistance of the contest’s annual sponsor, Hart Trailers, this was the sixth year APHA has hosted this event,” said Trigg Rentfro, APHA’s managing director of the association’s performance, racing and international departments. “We have continued to hold the contest because of the valuable first-hand experience students receive, which complements their classroom knowledge.

“As in years past, competitors had the opportunity to judge some of the top horses in the Paint Horse breed through the generosity of several APHA members who donated the use of their Paints for the event.”

Horses were shown in five halter classes, where they were judged on their physical appearance and structure, and in seven performance classes—hunter under saddle, hunt-seat equitation, hunter hack, Western horsemanship, Western pleasure, Western riding, and trail. Four horses were judged in each class.

Students competed against one another at the event, and were themselves judged by APHA officials on their ability to evaluate the horses they saw. Scores were based on how closely a studentÂ’s placings matched those of an APHA judging officialÂ’s scoring. Students were also critiqued on the oral arguments they presented in support of their placement decisions.

Running concurrently with the collegiate competition was the live-judging portion of the 2006 APHA judgeÂ’s exam. Eighteen horsemen and -women tested in hopes of earning their professional APHA judging cards. This was the third year that professional judging hopefuls were included in the intercollegiate event.

At a dinner reception held later in the evening at APHAÂ’s headquarters in Fort Worth, the studentsÂ’ awards were presented to the top individuals and top junior and senior college teams.

High team and high individual winners
The Senior College High Team Overall winner was Colorado State University, located in Fort Collins. Team members included Megan Grieve, Jillian Polyard, Silvia Ottabachian, Rebecca Brickman, Nathan Canady and coach David Denniston. For their efforts, the team earned a trophy, rosettes, Gist belt buckles and other awards.

The Senior College High Individual winner was Jillian Polyard. She received a trophy; a rosette; a Paint Horse Journal subscription and the coffee table book, The American Paint Horse: A Photographic Portrayal, by former Paint Horse Journal editor and award-winning photojournalist Darrell Dodds and renowned photographer David R. Stoecklein.

The Junior College High Team Overall winner was Black Hawk College East, located in Kewanee, Illinois. Team members included Anna Grabrial, Casey West, Laura Schalliol, Erica Morgan and coach Aaron Callahan. The team won a trophy, rosettes, Gist belt buckles and other awards for their achievements.

The Junior College High Individual winner was Erica Morgan. For her efforts, she won a Paint Horse Journal subscription, a trophy, a rosette and The American Paint Horse: A Photographic Portrayal.

Junior Colleges
Black Hawk College East, Kewanee, Ill.
Laramie County Community College, Cheyenne, Wyo.
Morrisville State College, Morrisville, N.Y.
Nebraska Tech, Curtis, Neb.
North Central Texas College, Gainesville, Texas
Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, Miami, Okla.
Northwest College, Powell, Wyo.
Vernon College, Vernon, Texas

Senior Colleges
Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Clemson University, Clemson, S.C.
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo.
Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan.
Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Miss.
Morrisville State College, Morrisville, N.Y.
North Dakota State University, Fargo, N.D.
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla.
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.

More about APHA and its annual judging event
APHA was founded in 1962 and now has approximately 100,000 members around the world. The association has registered more than 840,000 American Paint Horses.

To learn more about the APHA Intercollegiate Horse Judging Spring Sweepstakes, visit apha.com/judges/contests/index.html, or call (817) 834-2742, ext. 773.
For details on products and services offered by judging contest sponsor Hart Trailers of Chickasha, Oklahoma, visit harttrailer.com.

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