Members, horses, programs, payouts at all-time high for progressive organization

New APHA Executive Committee to lead breed organization's 104,000 members

FORT WORTH, Texas-The American Paint Horse Association (APHA), one of the fastest-growing breed registries in the world, recently elected a new slate of officers to its Executive Committee.

APHA's new executive committee includes from left, President Forrest Nelson of Meeker, Colo.; President-Elect Tom Elliott of Benson, Ariz.; Vice President Paul Reinbolt of Woodburn, Ky.; Senior Committee Member Carl Parker of Marriott-Slaterville, Utah; Fifth Committee Member Richard Cox of Knightstown, Ind.; Sixth Committee Member Alice Singleton of Mount Vernon, Ark.; and Immediate Past President Bill Hittle of Hugoton, Kan. Hirez JPEG (390 kb) Hirez TIFF (4.60 mb)

Elected by their peers at the 2002 APHA Annual Convention, held Oct. 2-5 in Omaha, Neb., were:
… President Forrest Nelson of Meeker, Colo.;
… President-Elect Tom Elliott of Benson, Ariz.;
… Vice President Paul Reinbolt of Woodburn, Ky.;
… Senior Committee Member Carl Parker of Marriott-Slaterville, Utah;
… Fifth Committee Member Richard Cox of Knightstown, Ind.;
… Sixth Committee Member Alice Singleton of Mount Vernon, Ark.; and
… Immediate Past President Bill Hittle of Hugoton, Kan.

The new committee will lead APHA at a time when the association is registering American Paint Horses at a rate of about 60,000 per year. Since it was founded 40 years ago, APHA has registered more than 693,000 horses in 43 nations. Approximately 70 percent of those horses have received their registration certificates in the last 10 years alone.

In addition, the association has now reached a record number of members, with more than 104,000 Paint enthusiasts in 36 countries.

Along with its core mission of registering American Paint Horses, APHA also maintains programs that help its members around the world enrich their experiences with their Paint Horses and increase the value of their horses.

To accomplish those goals, last year the association:
… hosted more than 1,100 horse shows around the world,
… processed 421,000 entries for horse show exhibitors,
… paid out more than $711,000 to 1,829 people as part of a special "Breeders Trust" incentive program to reward owners and breeders of competitive Paint Horses, and
… awarded more than $100,000 in bonus money to Paint Horse owners as incentives to compete against other breeds at horse shows.

Also, each year APHA hosts a World Championship Paint Horse Show to showcase the talents of American Paint Horses. That show includes:
… 14 days of continuous horse show events;
… approximately 2,000 competitive horses;
… exhibitors from throughout the United States, Canada and other foreign nations;
… more than 4,600 entries from horse show competitors;
… three different venues on an 85-acre complex;
… more than $264,000 in prize money and prestigious World Championship titles;
… approximately 144,000 visitors over the two-week duration of the show; and
… free educational outreach programs and horsemanship clinics for the public.

For those who do not wish to compete in the show ring, APHA offers its Ride America" saddle log program. In this program, riders set their own pace and earn rewards for doing what comes naturally-riding an American Paint Horse. Riders keep track of the number of hours spent riding or driving their Paint Horses-receiving double-hours for time spent riding in state or national parks-and earn rewards and recognition. More than 3,600 members are currently enrolled in Ride America.

To carry out these and many other programs, APHA employs 155 people at its Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters and has an operating budget of $15 million.