President:  Tamara Blaeser
Vice-President:  Derryl Brandt
Secretary:  Ellen Schmickle
Treasurer:  Jan Settles

The Southwest Quarter Horse Amateur Association is dedicated to promoting the amateur rider through clinics, workshops and informative meetings.   

Hello Amateurs,

2010 is half over and we are on the downhill side!  What a busy year so far, monthly shows, Les Vogt Clinic, Patty Campbell clinic and everything in between.  We would like to THANK everyone who participated, audited or worked at the clinics.  Both clinics were successful and greatly appreciated.   Hats off to everyone who made the Border Circuit a huge success!!  Summer shows are underway and the deadline for qualifying for the AQHA Open and Amateur World show is just around the corner, July 31st.

It is time to start thinking about 2011. We want your input!!  Please respond to tdhblaeser@aol.com on which Amateur classes(Select 50+/Non Select 19-49) you would like to see added, deleted, improved etc… or anything else that the amateur association could recommend to the SWQHA Board.  Once we have the input, it would be great to see your faces at the October General Membership meeting(October 4th ) and the Convention on December  14th !!   This is the time to be heard.

The Amateur Association is thinking of having some “Try It Out Showmanship/ Trail” Clinics late September or early October.  The “Try It Out” clinics would be a chance for exhibitors’ to try out a class that they have not done before.  We would start out with Showmanship and Trail.  You would attend the clinic and participate on horses that are trained in either of the classes offered.  This will give people an opportunity to broaden their knowledge of other classes and possibly want to learn more and participate in those classes in the near future.  The clinics would be open to Amateurs and youth at a $25 per person fee per clinic.  So please respond back with your feedback on this to tdhblaeser@aol.com.

Meetings…meetings….meetings….so people are wondering about a meeting.  With modern technology we have been able to put on two successful clinics, increase membership and get select classes added at Border Circuit without having any general membership meeting for the amateurs.  We are not ignoring the general amateur membership! With the busy lives that people lead these days, time is of the essence!!  Let me know if you think it would be a good idea to have an amateur membership meeting sometime during the futurity show or we could look at sometime in the middle of September.  You can email me at tdhblaeser@aol.com or give me a call at 575-649-0898.

If you have not joined the Amateur Association, there is still time.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you,

Tamara Blaeser

SWAQHA President