With the addition of APHA Paint Horse Championship classes at Europe’s largest APHA-approved show, the program now truly has international flavor. The first EuroPaint zone champions were crowned August 24 at the 2015 European Paint Horse Championship, with more classes scheduled throughout the week.
The first Paint Horse Championship class on the docket was Tobiano Color, an open class available to Paints of all sexes, age 1 and older. Clues Lucky Annie and Silke Trenz of Konigsbrunn, Germany, took home dual championship honors, winning both the EuroPaint Zone Championship title as well as the EPHC gold medal for the class.
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| Clues Lucky Annie and Silke Trenz [Photo by the Paint Horse Journal; for official show photographs, visit Figure 8 Photography] |
A 2010 bay tobiano mare by Citas Streken Deal and out of Clues Lucky Belle, “Annie” was bred by Angelika Gallitzendoerfer of Germany and purchased by Silke in 2012. The win represented Annie’s first time to medal at the European Championship.
“She’s a great horse,” Silke said. “She’s 5 years old, mostly a reining and trail horse. She has a foal who is 4 months old, too. She’s super.”
Like all Paint Horse Championship classes, exhibitors and horses had to meet certain eligibility requirements. The European requirements differ a bit from those used in North America; in addition to residing in Zone 12, exhibitors and horses may not have medaled in the same European Championship class within the last three years. APHA provided special awards for the European Zone Championship classes: a Gist Silversmiths championship buckle, along with medallions for second through fifth place.
EuroPaint zone championship classes take place concurrently with European Paint Horse Championship classes, a class within a class. Learn more about the EuroPaint Zone Championship here, and check out more stories about APHA’s new Paint Horse Championship program below.
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About APHA
The American Paint Horse Association is the world’s second-largest international equine breed association, registering more than a million horses in 59 nations and territories since it was founded. APHA creates and maintains programs that increase the value of American Paint Horses and enriches members’ experiences with their horses.