2008 Hope In The Heartland Wrap Up

Horses Of Hope Kansas & Missouri riders Photo Credit - The Wright Focus Photography	Rosewood Ranch riders Photo Credit - The Wright Focus Photography

The 2008 Hope In The Heartland Circuit was once again a success for KQHA. Although total stalls were down from last year, entries were up averaging about 500 per judge for 2008. KQHA hosted exhibitors from Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska with particularly nice classes in Trail and Western Riding. The youth and amateur classes had nice numbers as well with the Saturday and Sunday shows being the first 2 options for the 2009 AQHYA World Show qualifying. A portion of the proceeds will be used to benefit several of the handicapped riding programs in the state.

On Friday night, Betty Murfin provided all the exhibitors with a wonderful barbecue meal from Hog Wild in Wichita. The menu included brisket, pulled pork, baked beans, potato salad, rolls and various beverages. Before and during the meal everyone had the opportunity to bid on the wonderful selection of items in the silent auction including, jewelry, tack, food,clothing, home decor items and Mary Kay cosmetics. This is the first time in several years that we have had an auction and through the generosity of all participants we raised over $1200. Thank you donors and purchasers. Results are listed in the sponsors article although I misplaced the name of the person who donated the Mary Kay. Please send an email to tpickford@aol.com so I can properly acknowlege your contribution!

After the meal on Friday we had a live auction of some very special items that included a painting by Dana Hassett, drawing by Nancy Richardson, a ducks unlimited poster, sports memorabilia from Roberta and Denny Jaye and a Tex Tan saddle from Tex Tan and AQHA. Our auctioneer for these items was Jeremy Sundgren, a former youth member and thanks to his selling skills and our generous purchasers we raised over $2100. We also had many show and class sponsors that we need to give a big thank you to. All of these people are recognized on the sponsors page with the larger donors listed under the sponsor section as well.

Our EWD classes were huge this year with 10 entries in most of the western classes and 4 in the english. I'm sure Sara Smittle was excited to not be the only english rider this year. The judges commented on the size of the classes and I wouldn't be suprised to see these shows listed as the largest EWD shows in the country for 2008 unless the Congress is offering the classes. Competition was spirited and it was evident that the riders enjoyed displaying their skills to the crowd.

This year Purina again sponsored a special class at our show and provided us with $2500 added money for the event. Due to the lack of 2 year olds being shown at these smaller futurities we changed that class to a green horse, Kansas owned and Kansas shown class. We had 10 entries this year and the class looks to have a bright future as any age or breed horse may enter as long as they meet the green horse class eligibility of AQHA or their respective breed organization.

Also on Saturday night we drew for the two horse gooseneck trailer that the Reeve family graciously donated to KQHA as a fundraiser. The winner of the trailer was Susan Weeks Calenda from Topeka, KS. I understand Susan doesn't even have a truck yet so truck dealers she may be coming your way!

Each circuit award winner was treated to a garment bag courtesy of Sterling Coach LLC and Phil and Sherri Tearney. Sponsoring awards for 100 classes is not a small endeavor so the next time you see Phil or Sherri please thank them for this gesture. With a less than robust economy our sponsors allow us to continue to have a nice show and keep the prices down. Just compare the cost of stalls, shavings and entries at this show with those of other 4 day shows in our surrounding states.

The KQHA board of directors would like to thank all participants and volunteers for their hard work. This event is critical to the long range plans of the organization and we hope it will grow into the future.