Apha

2017 APHF Hall of Fame Inductees

Elegant April
1991 sorrel overo mare | Robins Scribbler x Rosy Outlook (QH) | Bred by Judith Dantico, West Covina, California |  owned by Jennifer & Margie Chan, Wilton, California

Originally on the hunt for a Western all-around horse, fate led Jennifer Chan and her mother, Margie, to Elegant April—the green, hunter-type mare was not quite what Jennifer was looking for, but the match was kismet and the duo joined forces in 1994.
Under the guidance of Rod Safty and Roger Deromedi, “Ellie” blossomed like a spring flower, going undefeated in hunter under saddle futurities as a 3-year-old. Jennifer mounted up in 1995, and learned for herself that while Ellie looked easy to ride, the quirky, opinionated mare held all the cards. Yet they developed a bond, and the duo won their first world championships in Youth 14–18 hunter under saddle and equitation at the 1995 Youth World Show.
From then on, Ellie was a horse to beat in hunt-seat classes, especially over fences. Jennifer and Ellie won the High-Point English Youth and Reserve All-Around Youth 14–18 awards at the 1998 World Show. In 1999, the mare was nearly unstoppable, helping Jennifer win the All-Around Amateur title and earning world championships in hunter under saddle, equitation, working hunter and hunter hack. In five years, the graceful mare tallied 10 world championships and seven reserve world championships, along with 1,777 points in eight events. She was retired after the 1999 World Show and produced two foals.
Ellie died in 2003, but she is commemorated at the AjPHA Youth World Championship Show through the Elegant April Memorial Award, presented in her honor by Jennifer and Margie. This ascending three-tier award is presented annually at the show to the winner of Youth Working Hunter 14–18 with two additional bonus prize tiers; a testament to Ellie’s extraordinary talent, no horse has ever attained all three tiers in a single year since its inception.


Ronny Stallings
Aubrey, Texas

Ronny Stallings didn’t have to dream of being a cowboy. Instead, he lived as one every day thanks to his family’s ranching heritage. As a teen, Ronny broke cutting horses for National Cowboy Hall of Famer J.D. Tadlock, roped competitively and learned to fit halter horses. He credits time spent with legendary mentors like John Hoyt and Jack Brainard with helping him polish his riding skills.
Throughout his career, Ronny has trained, led and ridden Paints to more than 200 APHA titles in Western pleasure, halter, trail, roping and all-around events. He enjoyed showing horses like Zee Sonny Dee—an APHA Champion who earned multiple world championships in Western pleasure and trail and more than 1,600 lifetime points—and multiple world champion Sorority Star. Ronny also owned and has shown more than 100 horses, including notable Paints like APHA Champion Special Affects and world champion Scotch Agrivation.
Ronny appreciates a horse with good conformation, a willing mind and great movement, and many horses he trained and showed have gone on to establish themselves as leading and lifetime leading sires.
Poco Fisty Bars was Ronny’s first national champion in Junior Western Pleasure and an APHA Champion; the stallion’s grandson, Zippos Sensation, is a lifetime leading sire. Ronny also campaigned APHA Champion and reserve national champion Sockett, whose genetics continue in sires like RH Mr Imprint and RH Stars And Stripes.
Ronny also stepped up into APHA leadership positions at both the regional and national level. He currently serves on the board of the Texas Paint Horse Club and previously served as president. Ronny first became an APHA national director in 1980, and he has since served for 28 years on committees including Rules, General Show & Contest, Breed Integrity and Professional Horsemen.


Zippos Sensation
1993 sorrel over stallion | Zippo Pine Bar (QH) x Satin N Lace | Bred by For Bachmuth, Cullman, Alabama | Owned by Simons Show Horses LLC., Aubrey, Texas

With the name recognition of a celebrity in the world of Paint Horses and pleasure horses alike, Zippos Sensation was always ready to greet visitors with ears pricked and eyes shining bright. More than a horse or a sire, “Zippo” was a legend who created legions of fans around the world for the Paint Horse breed. But to Andrea Simons and her family, Zippo was family.
As young trainers in 1993, Andrea and Lynn Simons bet the farm when they purchased the weanling colt for $25,000. But there was something special about Zippo, and Andrea was convinced the colt was worth the gamble. Zippo won the Yearling Longe Line Sweepstakes at the 1994 APHA World Championship Show and earned a handful of points with limited showing as a 3-year-old—the Simonses knew they were on to something special, and they started promoting Zippo as a stallion.
In the years that followed, Zippo’s foals have shouted testaments to their sire. With nearly 1,000 registered foals to date, almost half have APHA show records, having earned in excess of 188,000 points. Zippo is the No. 1 Lifetime Leading Sire by Performance Points Earned and Performance Point Earners, and is No. 2 for Halter Point Earners. His get have earned 199 APHA world champion titles and 190 reserve world championships.
In 2007, Zippo became the first—and, to date, the only—Paint inducted in the National Snaffle Bit Association Hall of Fame, and his foals have earned more than $1 million in that association. Zippo died in July 2016, leaving behind a lasting legacy as a pinnacle sire for the Paint Horse breed.


Trashadeous
1987 sorrel overo stallion | Be Aech Enterprise (QH) x Miss White Trash | Bred by Bill Horn, Valley View, Texas  | Owned by Lyons Legacy Performance, Cross Plains, Tennessee

Representing the convergance of reining royalty in his pedigree, Trashadeous was a star who helped bring notoriety to horses with chrome who could spin and slide with the best. Bred and trained by National Reining Horse Association legend Bill Horn, Trashadeous harnessed his raw talent to leave an indelible mark on the reining world forever.
With his chrome shining like a hotrod, Trashadeous was a natural, but sometimes so powerful that he scared himself. By age 3, however, he settled in, claiming the reserve championship title at the 1990 NRHA Futurity just one-half point behind the leader, much to the chagrin of the crowd, who was pulling for the flashy colt to win.
Piloted by Bill, Trashadeous earned a string of prestigious NRHA victories, including the 1991 NRHA Derby championship and winning the 1992 NRHA Open world championship. All told, “Trash” earned $131,000 in career earnings before retiring to the breeding shed.
As a stallion, Trash sired 120 registered Paints that have earned $229,094 in lifetime earnings, according to Equi-Stat. Trash was inducted in the NRHA Hall of Fame in 1996, just three years after his dam and one year before his sire. The stallion was purchased by Lyons Legacy Performance in 2013, who proudly owned him until his death in January 2016 at age 28.

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