Cow Horses to Conformation: Corina Holman makes her debut at the 2024 Halter Million
Cow horse trainer Corina Holman of Hempstead, Texas, is used to a faster-paced show setting, pitting cattle against cowboys and their horses in a high-octane showdown of man vs. beast. This September, however, the Markel/APHA Professional Horsewoman traded cattle for conformation as she exhibited halter horses for the first time at the 2024 APHA/WCHA Halter Million.
“I’m doing it as a favor—we brought way too many horses,” Corina laughed; the Holman Halter Horses team, led by her husband, Joe, brought 13 to Fort Worth for the Halter Million. “He helps me out in my program, I help him out in his program.”
Competing in the ranch horse events for the last decade, Corina got into cow horses about three years ago. She’s shown at the Halter Million previously, but only in the event’s ranch versatility classes. The horsewoman often helps diversify the Homan fitting program by riding their halter horses under saddle, too.
“It’s crazy — everyone gives these halter horses such a bad rap for not being able to ride. I’m not saying they’re going to lay a 60-foot slide down on the ground or be able to work a cow like a working cow horse — they are specially bred to do that—but it’s so refreshing to them to do something other than pony on a golf cart. It’s not just good for the horses’ minds; it’s good for the industry. These halter horses are the easiest to start under saddle. My favorite part is people walking up to me and saying, ‘I never knew these horses could do that.’ ”
Leading On
Though it’s not her primary discipline, halter isn’t totally foreign to Corina. She’s picked up on training and showing tips from Joe, and she’s also shown in ranch conformation classes, too.
“Everyone says I care too much about ranch conformation. I obviously take it very seriously because this is what we do,” she said. “The only thing different for me personally is where I ask my horse to hold its head and what I’m wearing.”
With several horses competing in the same age-division classes at the Halter Million, Corina made her debut as a traditional halter showman. She presented Golden Diamante Dust in Weanling Mares, where they were Intermediate champion. With Kingston, she won a reserve Intermediate championship in Weanling Stallions and finished seventh overall. And she showed TB French Kissin in Yearling Mares and was reserve Intermediate champion and scored another Top 10.
In between showing duty, Corina kept the barn team rolling while also wrangling daughters Allison and Everly and serving as “chief ponier” with her ranch mare, Holly Gun Gun. Allison and Everly competed, too—they shared Two Hairs, Allison’s aged mare, for the APHA Youth and WCHA pee-wee classes. While it’s a lot to juggle, super-mom Corina took it all in stride.
“Between the kids and the horses, it’s really like five full-time jobs!” she said. “God has blessed us in so many ways. We have the best clients, and they really do make us want to go the extra mile. The fact that we get to wake up every morning and do what we love is the coolest, most fulfilling thing in the entire world.”
Though showing halter was a new adventure this year, it’s the atmosphere that keeps Corina coming back to APHA shows like the Halter Million.
“I think the most fun thing about this show is the fact that it’s like a family reunion,” Corina said. “You get to meet all the people you are friends with on Facebook that you have never met in person, and we always walk away with a few new friends—and a few new horses!”
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The American Paint Horse Association is the world’s second-largest international equine breed association. Since it was founded in 1962, APHA has registered more than a million horses in 59 nations and territories. APHA promotes, preserves and provides meaningful experiences with Paint Horses. Learn more at apha.com.