Courtesy of the IALHA
Qualifying classes will be held Wednesday, Oct. 13 in the Wyatt arena, following Dressage day on Tuesday, Oct. 12. This change in the usual order was made due to arena availability and to accommodate exhibitors returning from the World Equestrian Games. Qualifying classes will be judged by the Honorable Marti Grimes of Petrolia, Texas. Marti grew up on hunter-jumpers in the show ring and the field. She apprenticed on Quarter Horse and Arabian ranches and studied with an English Riding Master, an Olympic Jumping medalist, a Dressage Master, an All-Around Cowboy, and a master Vaquero. Grimes won International, National, Zone, Regional, State, Class A & AA and Year-End awards in numerous Halter, English and Western events, plus Team Penning and speed events. She still trains personal horses in Dressage, Saddle Seat, Western, and Carriage Driving. Her breeding program begun 38 years ago produced winners of over 1000 championships including many World and National awards and she is the Co-founder of four nationally-affiliated breed clubs. She has previously judged the IALHA Nationals, as well as many other regional and National shows in various breeds.
Antonio Vazquez Fernandez of Spain will judge morphology and functionality for Spanish specialty classes. He will officiate at a national show in Guadalajara, Mexico a short time before our show and will stay over for our Spanish Specialty classes. He recently judged the Young Riders National Champion Dressage show in Spain and has judged at SICAB in 2005, 2006 and 2009. Internationally, Sr. Fernandez has judged in Central America, the United States and Mexico. He is an ANCCE judge and is also a veterinarian. The Spanish Specialty classes will be run under IALHA/USEF rules and are not an official ANCCE show. For example, they are open to all IALHA registered S horses, whether or not the horse has a Spanish carta.
Juan Jose del Valle Alvarado will judge our other Specialty classes and all three phases of the Working Equitation competition. Other Specialty classes are open to horses of Portuguese origin (Lusitano) and those of Spanish and Portuguese blood, as well as IALHA registered half Andalusians. We will also offer Working Equitation exhibition class for the first time at our National show. Entrants will participate in three different phases of the class: dressage, an obstacle course where obedience and precision are judged, and a speed trial through the obstacles. Señor del Valle is an internationally recognized competitor and judge in this highly popular sport in South, Central America and Europe. He judged the World Finals in Working Equitation and the European Championships recently. Sr. Alvarado has been a breeder of both P.R.E. and Lusitano horses and has judged in South America, the United States, Europe and Mexico.
Our IALHA halter and rail classes starting Thursday evening through Sunday early afternoon, will be judged by a trio of distinguished show officials. Mr. Wayne Hipsley of Kentucky has been a licensed horse show judge for over 35 years and judges many different breeds and types of horses all over the world. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Husbandry from the University of Tennessee and a Masters of Science from the University of Connecticut, all with an emphasis on equine physiology. He has worked as a university professor teaching equine studies and coaching horse judging teams and has prepared two manuals on the selection and judging of horses.
He participated in the 5 day Spanish judge’s seminar held in Madrid, Spain, on the P.R.E. Horse. He has since served as an instructor for the ILAHA/USEF judge’s seminar and is a current member of the USEF A/L Committee. He has judged the IALHA National Show on two occasions and recently conducted judges and exhibitors seminars in New Zealand, assisting the Andalusian Society of New Zealand to classify and score the horses in their studbook.
Mrs. Helen Hogan of Texas is a USEF carded judge for Andalusians, Arabs, Welsh, Friesians, and Connemara. In addition she is carded by Pinto, AMHA, and AMHR (Classic and Modern Shetlands) and holds certificates in reining, cutting, and working cow. Her personal show experience includes Saddle seat/English pleasure, hunter over fences/ jumper, hunter pleasure, Western pleasure, side saddle, Arabian native costume), reining, driving/combined driving and dressage(studying under Oliveira in Portugal and training her own horse to Fourth Level). She has completed 18 academic hours in biology/animal husbandry/stock breeding, years of training as an artist studying balance, lines, and angles, and over 30 years college teaching designing tests and evaluating student work. She is a published author of multiple novels, involving mystery, murder, abduction, romance, kidnapping, terrorist plots and more, all set in backgrounds involving horses and horse shows.
Patti Felker-Breiner of California will be our third National Show judge. She judged the IALHA National show in 2004 and has judged a number of regional shows such as the Festival of the Andalusian Horse in the Pacific Northwest in 2009. She has been a licensed USEF multi breed judge for 30 years. Patti brings a rich background to our show. She has judged everything from local 4-H shows to huge National breed shows involving 1500 horses; everything from trail to sport horse in hand and under saddle to hunter jumper competitions. She has judged horse shows on 4 continents. Patti is the president of Oro Vista Corp, a real estate firm in Los Angeles and Ventura county, California. She went to school at the University of Redlands.