Meet the Board: Kelly Boles Chapman
Twenty-five years ago, Kelly Boles Chapman judged the APHA World Championship Show for the first time—she loved the people and the horses so much, she quickly made it an annual part of her barn’s show schedule. From trainer and judge, her role in APHA has expanded to include breeder, exhibitor and leader, too. Her children, MacKenzie and Reece, are APHA world champions; Mackenzie also served as AjPHA president. Kelly joined the APHA Board of Directors in 2020 and served as president in 2024. She currently serves as an officer on the board as its immediate past president.
On her path toward presidency:
“I first attended the summer workshop as a parent, then served on the Breeders’ Trust task force, the World Show Committee and Judges Committee. Melanie Cox-Dayhuff first talked to me about getting involved as a candidate for the Board of Directors. At that time, I was the last one to go through the former governance model, where you served for five or six years—working your way up in the Executive Committee until you became president.”
A broad brush to Paint:
“I’d have to say the best part of being on the Board of Directors is meeting so many people around the world and exploring our common interest of our love of the American Paint Horse. I think learning about the breadth of the organization is exciting and fascinating, particularly as we have built a unique concept of being a not-for-profit breed organization with a wholly-owned for-profit subsidiary, Marked For Greatness. That allows us to have a much broader footprint in the industry without experiencing mission creep. Perhaps the biggest misconception is that we, as a board, are out of touch or don’t represent one interest group or another. As board members, we are often in the trenches too: on the farm, at shows, at the racetrack or other events. Only 7–8% of our membership show at APHA-approved events, so there is a large number of our members [elsewhere] who we must represent as well.”
All about the numbers:
“Those who know me know that I am a numbers and data freak. I even do a sudoku puzzle daily for fun. I love digging into the numbers—financial models and pro formas, data models on our programs, and thinking about subsequent baseline evaluations. As we created and launched Paynt Points, I believe it took our financial models and program-impact projections to a new level in how we evaluate success, growth and expansion going forward. This is a program that rewards a high percentage of our members in a much more place-based model—not just those who go to the World Show—and I think it is incredibly exciting to see how this impacts participation. Of course, we won’t necessarily see a measurable impact for a year or two, but this is going to be a financially feasible program. The Color Incentive program is another concept that is very exciting to me. I believe in incentivizing what you want to see more of, and I think we can impact major change that way.”
Kelly’s advice to others about becoming an APHA leader:
“Just do it! You can make a difference in your own region or state and do it in a manner that unites the industry, not cannibalizing another breed or discipline. Collaboration, united growth and positive solutions are much more palatable than driving a divide. Working together in this industry has got to be the future of how we can grow the tent bigger for all.
“We need a way to identify those who would like to be involved further in APHA governance, particularly those whose only agenda is to make this association grow in strength and diversity with a sound financial base. For those who have an interest in doing that, come to the Leadership Gathering or pick up the phone and call any Board member!”
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About APHA
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.