AQHA AND COWBOY MOUNTED SHOOTING ASSOCIATION FORM ALLIANCE

America’s Horse, July 30, 2008 – The American Quarter Horse Association and the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association have joined forces to promote the exciting sport of mounted shooting and the usefulness of the American Quarter Horse in shooting competitions.

Long known as the world’s most versatile horse, American Quarter Horses are displaying their quickness and dependability in the arena at Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association events. Through their new partnership, AQHA and CMSA will track American Quarter Horses’ achievements and display earnings and awards as part of the horse’s official AQHA record. In addition, AQHA will reward the top-placing American Quarter Horses at the CMSA World Championship. The 2008 championships will be contested in Amarillo November 18-23.

The sport of mounted shooting is one of the fastest growing equine sports and combines the excitement of speed events with the accuracy of marksmanship. Horse and rider navigate one of 50 CMSA patterns while the rider shoots balloons with black powder blank cartridges from a .45 caliber pistol. Riders are scored on accuracy and time. The American Quarter Horses’ easygoing temperament makes them a perfect fit for the sport.

CMSA offers classes for every member of the family – including divisions for men, women, seniors and wranglers age 11 and younger. CMSA stresses safety through proper training of horses and firearms handling.

“The Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association has rekindled interest in our western heritage and the role that American Quarter Horses played in taming the West,” said AQHA Executive Vice President Bill Brewer. “AQHA looks forward to becoming more involved with the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association and being part of this thrilling equine sport.”

“Through our alliance with AQHA we want to bring more opportunities for recognition and education to our CMSA members,” said Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association President Dan Plaster. “Many of our members are first-time horse owners, and AQHA offers many educational opportunities. Recording more information about horses competing in shooting events will also help us to identify bloodlines and heritable traits that will increase competitiveness.”  

For more information on the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association, call (480) 683-0485 or visit www.cowboymountedshooting.com.

AQHA news and information is a service of AQHA publications. For more information on The American Quarter Horse Journal, The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal or America’s Horse, visit www.aqha.com/magazines.