AQHA World

I've gotten really good at "quick trips" over the years, but this quick trip was definitely worth the drive. Yesterday afternoon, Royce and I loaded up in the pickup for the 3-hour drive to Oklahoma City. This afternoon, we made the 3-hour drive back home. What made that 24 hours so worth it? Royce's little sister Tyler was competing at the American Quarter Horse World Show. 

In case you aren't familiar with the horse business, the World Show is kind of a big deal... like one of the biggest shows in the nation. Not just anybody can show there. To compete, you have to win a certain amount of points to qualify at previous shows during the year. Tyler and Hans, the Vonder Horse, qualified this year in amateur boxing. It was their first time at the World Show, and we (as the entire O'Neal clan) were incredibly proud of her. So much so that she had an entire cheering section of about a dozen people. It was pretty fantastic! 

Tyler and Hans showed this morning around 10:45. They had a great run, but unfortunately, didn't score high enough to make it back to the finals on Friday. Either way, Tyler worked really hard for this, and while it's not a trophy, just having competed at the World Show is something a lot of horsemen and women can't say. Good job Tyler! I'm glad we made the trip!

What does this have to do with Texas Panhandle agriculture? Well, Tyler is from the Panhandle and the farm so I think that makes it pretty pertinent. Also, she was competing in a class modeled after working ranch horses so another tie to Panhandle agriculture and ranching. Plus, the American Quarter Horse Association is headquartered in Amarillo, TX. That's my reasoning, and I'm sticking to it! 

Good job, Tyler and Hans!

Hans is a bit of a ham.

This is my 12th day of my 30 Days of Texas Panhandle Agriculture series. To read more, please visit this introduction post. If you have questions or ideas you'd like me to write about concerning Texas Panhandle agriculture, I'd love to hear from you!