The first-ever  American Quarter Horse Association Ranching Heritage Challenge will be held January 13, 2012, as part of the  Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo in Fort Worth, Texas. The inaugural show will be held as an entry-fee event and will include $10,000 in added money. Open-level exhibitors and non-pros will be able to test their ranch-bred horses against other ranch-bred horses in a class that will show off their reining, roping and cow-handling abilities.

“The Ranching Heritage Challenge is part of AQHA’s push to recognize the solid ranch horses the breed was built on,” said Jim Bret Campbell, AQHA senior director of marketing and publications. “Horses bred by AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeders will be eligible for the contest, whether the owner is a rancher or not. Going forward, eligible ranches will nominate foals to the Ranching Heritage Challenge program, but for the first event in Fort Worth, competitors will only pay an entry fee. We’re excited to partner with Fort Worth on this great addition to their Heritage Weekend. I can’t think of a better place to kick off the Challenge events.”

The 2012 event will not require nominations and will be open to all horses that were bred by an approved Ranching Heritage Breeder if the horses meet age and ownership requirements. The class will consist of open and non-pro ranch horse sweepstakes only. The open ranch horse class is for 4-year-old horses, and amateurs are also eligible for the class. The non-pro class is for 5-year-old and older horses, and the exhibitors must meet specific eligibility requirements, including owning the properly transferred horse. The entry fee for the January event is $285, plus stall fees.

A list of Ranching Heritage Breeders is available at www.aqha.com and is being updated as more ranches are approved for this designation.

A second Ranching Heritage Challenge is being planned for later in 2012.

AQHA news and information is a service of AQHA publications. For more information on The American Quarter Horse Journal, Journal Plus, Q-Racing Journal or America’s Horse, visit  www.aqha.com/magazines.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Please contact Jeannie Blancq at (806) 341-5252 or [email protected]