400 youth to pack Will Rogers Coliseum for nation's largest horse judging contest

FORT WORTH-Four hundred youth from around the nation will compete in the country's largest horse judging contest on June 29 at Will Rogers Memorial Center. The contest is held in conjunction with the 2001 World Championship Paint Horse Show.

According to the National Horse Judging Team Coaches Association, the event is the largest horse-judging contest for youth in the nation. Contestants between the ages of 9 and 19 involved in 4-H, Future Farmers of America (FFA), and regional American Paint Horse youth clubs nationwide will compete in the event for coveted trophy buckles, plaques and other prizes.

A total of 100 teams, consisting of four contestants to a team, will judge world-class American Paint Horses during the competition.

They will judge four halter and four performance classes, evaluating four horses in each class. Performance classes that may be judged include Hunt Seat Equitation, Horsemanship, Hunter Hack, Hunter Under Saddle, Reining, Showmanship, Western Pleasure and Western Riding.

The young judges compete against one another at the event and are themselves judged by APHA officials on their ability to evaluate the equine classes. Scores given are based on how closely a student's placing of horses matches that of an APHA judging official's scoring. Students will also be critiqued on the oral arguments they must present in support of their placement decisions.

The four-member teams compete in two divisions: Junior, aged 13 years and younger, and Senior, aged 14 to 19, in either the American Junior Paint Horse Association or open divisions.

Following the event, participants are invited to attend the AJPHA Judging Contest Awards Breakfast, held in the Round Up Inn at 7 a.m. on Saturday, June 30. At that time, they will receive their awards and gain valuable instruction from professional horse judges.

For more information on the World Championship Paint Horse Show, visit www.aphaworldshow.com.