2022 APHF Hall of Fame Inductees
Pat Trebesch
Aubrey, Texas
Pat Trebesch has been a constant in the APHA community for more than 50 years, sharing his vast knowledge of Paints and competition with countless other Youth, Amateurs and professionals.
Originally from Minnesota, Pat got his start in APHA in the late 1960s, campaigning stars like Jacket Bar’s to national championship titles in halter and Western pleasure. In addition to being an APHA owner, breeder and trainer, Pat also was an APHA judge for more than 40 years. He retired from judging in 2019 as a judge emeritus with the association.
One of Pat’s greatest acts of service was serving as the manager/coach of Team USA for the Youth World Games competition, both stateside and abroad. He first took on the volunteer role in 2010, providing instruction to the youth selected to represent their home country in this biannual competition aboard randomly selected horses donated for the event. During that time, Pat’s Team USA were crowned Youth World Games champions five times.
Pat’s served APHA as a state director since 2011, and retired from professional training around the same time. But that hasn’t kept him away from APHA—the horseman is still active in the Paint community and enjoys competing aboard his self-trained Western pleasure prospects at APHA and NSBA shows each year.
“Pat is the definition of longevity in a business where we often see people come and go quickly. Pat has been an amazing ambassador for APHA and has been a true role model for so many of us,” nominator Sandy Jirkovsky wrote. “The Hall of Fame was formed to honor and recognize integrity, longevity and dedication. Pat Trebesch definitely possesses all three of those qualities.”
Craig Wood
Owenton, Kentucky
Growing up in West Texas, Craig Wood was mesmerized by the grace and power of the dirt-track racehorses that galloped through his youth. He never lost that sense of wonder and pursued a career in equine science. After graduating with his doctorate, Craig moved to the Bluegrass State, accepting a job as the University of Kentucky Horse Extension Specialist. There, he’s fostered educational opportunities and innovation through his work at the Cooperative Extension and as a professor. Craig has been honored as an Equine Science Society Distinguished Service Member award winner.
An APHA member since the 1990s, Craig has owned, bred and shown Paints, including Splash Cadillac, a 1993 chestnut overo gelding. Craig first foxhunted the gelding, and later took him into the APHA show ring, earning a Register of Merit in hunter under saddle. Craig has been an APHA judge since 2004, a state director since 2008, and is an APHA Professional Horseman.
In 2009, Craig was tapped to serve on a special APHA advisory panel, charged with taking a critical look at the association and its operating objectives. He subsequently was elected to the Board of Directors in 2012, and served as a two-term president from 2017-2019. Passionate about technology and innovation, Craig helped develop APHA’s interactive HorseIQ learning platform and its international headquarters’ relocation to the Fort Worth Stockyards.
“The biggest challenge is getting people to let go of old ways of doing things that aren’t working. Let go of a little tradition, think differently and take risks; basically, embrace a little change,” Craig said in a March 2018 Paint Horse Journal article. “Change is very hard—it’s painful and difficult—but in the world we live in today, it is constant. So if we are to survive, we must learn how to embrace change turning it into an opportunity and advantage for us.”.
Fred Tabor
Rancho Murieta, California
After establishing a prosperous real estate business in California, Fred acquired his first show horse in 1969. Paints piqued his interest, and in the mid-1970s he purchased Dixie’s War Drum, a 1969 bay tobiano stallion that became a prominent sire and APHA Hall of Fame horse. Fred established Tabor Ranch in California, and later moved his operating headquarters to Aubrey, Texas.
Sensing the industry trend toward specialization in the 1980s, Fred made the decision to focus on top-quality halter horses, and he soon acquired Obsesed to Impress, a 1989 sorrel overo stallion. Obsesed earned reserve world champion titles in 1991, 1992 and 1993, and culminated his show career with a 1994 Aged Stallion world championship title. The stallion sired almost 500 foals, including 11 world champions. They, along with countless other horses who crossed the Tabor Ranch threshold, contributed to Fred’s legacy of champions.
Raised as an orphan, Fred overcame the challenges that accompanied making it on his own since age 13. As a young adult, he decided to embrace a positive outlook that has directed the rest of his adult life.
“My goal every day is to make a positive impact on someone else because that’s what happened to me,” he said in a March 2014 Paint Horse Journal article. “If people think about enough positives, they will become a changed person. It is powerful. I always hoped that what I could contribute would be good for APHA. You get back what you put into it, and the more who give back, the better we’re all going to be.”
An APHA national director and committee member for more than 20 years, Fred also served as president of the Greater Los Angeles Paint Horse Club and Texas Paint Horse Club. He was honored with the APHA Distinguished Service Award in 2017. Fred retired in 2022 and currently resides in California.
Lynn Simons
Aubrey, Texas
Growing up in Iowa, Lynn Simons cultivated a love of horses alongside the crops and cattle that flourished on his family farm. He competed locally as a Youth, and after graduation, he headed south to Fort Worth, Texas, to pursue a degree in Range Management at Texas Christian University. But horses were still calling, so he connected with and began working for legendary APHA horseman R.B. Shield, whom he knew previously from cattle sales between the families.
From R.B., Lynn learned the finer points of breeding and fitting horses to perfection. After graduating from college, Lynn took over full time as manager of Shield’s legendary Paint Horse program. While at an APHA show, Lynn met Andrea Simons, another avid APHA exhibitor, and the couple married in 1977. Lynn and Andrea established Simons Show Horses in Aubrey, Texas, in 1979.
Understanding the importance of form to function, Lynn found success in the halter pen, earning countless national and world championships with Paints like Hot Scotch Man, First Class and Decisive. The couple stood and showed a number of top Paint stallions, including the 1977 sorrel overo Jetalito, a multiple national and world champion.
But it was Zippos Sensation who put an exclamation point on their program. Lynn spotted the 1993 sorrel overo stallion while on a horse buying trip in Alabama, and he knew the colt needed to come back to Texas. The horseman’s instinct was spot on, and in addition to earning a 1994 World Show championship in longe line, “Zippo” blossomed into the breed’s preeminent sire. The sire of 1,050 and counting, Zippo’s foals have earned more than 254,000 APHA points. Despite passing away in 2016, Zippo is an annual fixture on the APHA Leading Sires lists and is currently the Lifetime Leading Sire of Performance Points Earned and Performance Point Winners, and is the No. 2 Lifetime Leading Sire of Halter Point Earners. Lynn and Andrea rank third on the Lifetime Leading Breeders list for Performance Points Earned. Simons Show Horses takes fourth on that list as well.
A dedicated family man, Lynn’s pride and joy were his daughters, Sara and Jana. The girls worked alongside their father in and out of the barn, and both inherited his work ethic and dedication. Sara is a talented professional trainer, and Jana is an attorney and successful Amateur exhibitor. Lynn’s passion and dedication as a horseman was obvious, and he was respected by peers around the world. Lynn died in December 2005 at age 53, but his legacy continues to live on through his family and friends.
“Lynn was a role model for so many young, aspiring horsemen as well as an ambassador to the breed, the horses and the association. He always made time to chat with fellow horsemen and -women. He got such enjoyment out of listening to people in the industry and helping with their concerns,” his family recalled. “He truly loved the horses and was an asset to the equine community.”
Un Zip Me
1987 black overo mare | Zippo Pine Bar (QH) x Miss Tuxedo (QH)
Breeder: Richard Nolan, Chino Hills, California
Owner: Harlene & Russell Rowe, Long Beach, California
She was a sight to behold, a precocious black filly with a bold white blaze and four white socks, carrying herself with a regal aura that commanded attention from anyone in her presence. Un Zip Me was destined to stand out, but she almost didn’t get that chance. Too much white denied the mare registration opportunities with AQHA, but luckily, a white spot on her abdomen secured APHA papers for the mare and her destiny in the Paint show ring.
Trainer Patricia Ann Woodrick raised Un Zip Me and owned the mare when she made her competition debut. The pair was named reserve champion of the 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure Futurity at the 1989 APHA National Show and won the 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure national championship. Un Zip Me went on to win the Solid Gold Futurity in 1989 and 1990, too. Harlene and Russell Rowe were among the crowds that packed the stands at the World Show, and they knew they needed to purchase the talented mare.
“She set the entire show grounds abuzz; not only was she gorgeous, and a beautiful mover, she also performed at a level far above that of the other 2-year-olds,” Harlene told the Paint Horse Journal in 2007.
With guidance from Patricia, Harlene and “Puddles” made a splash, earning four consecutive world championships in Amateur Western Pleasure in the early ’90s. With nothing left to prove there, the duo branched out into other events, too, earning world championships in Amateur Trail and Western riding, plus reserve titles in showmanship and Western riding. All told, Puddles accumulated 2,592 lifetime APHA points.
The mare produced eight foals, including world champions Zip Me and Zip Mes Asset. Un Zip Me died in 2000.
“Un Zip Me was truly unforgettable,” said Patricia, who nominated the mare for the Hall of Fame. “She was the beginning of three generations of NSBA and APHA futurity and world champions. She was a special one.”
RH Mr Imprint
1994 sorrel overo stallion | Socketts Imprint x Pilot Skipadelight (QH)
Breeder: Robert Haas Jr., McCordsville, Indiana
Owner: Susan & Phillip Drawdy, Fort Pierce, Florida
One of the most notable horses to come out of the Robert Haas Paint Horses breeding program, RH Mr Imprint left his mark on APHA as a show horse and a sire.
A cherry red stallion splashed with white, RH Mr Imprint had a modern, form-to-function build that helped revolutionize the halter world at the time. He was the 1995 APHA world champion yearling stallion, and followed that up with back-to-back reserve world championships in 1996 and 1997. He earned nearly 200 APHA points and a Superior at halter.
“This horse represents one of the first great horses to come out of Robert Haas’ breeding program that made such an impact to our breed. He was a horse ahead of his time and a great representative for an APHA stallion,” said trainer and judge Tim Finkenbinder.
Retiring to the breeding barn, “Mister’s” impact continued. He sired 586 foals that have gone on to earn more than 25,000 APHA points, 28 world championships and 22 reserve world championships. Among his most notable offspring are multiple world champions Grandioso, Imprintadator and Multiplicity. Mister still ranks second on APHA’s Lifetime Leading Sires list for Halter Points Earned, and he is also fourth for lifetime halter point-earners.
Seeing investment potential in the stallion, Susan and Phil Drawdy purchased Mister in 2012 and bred him for several years. Mister contracted EPM and was euthanized in January 2016.
“We loved the old horse,” Susan said. “We feel really privileged to have owned him. I think he lived a life of royalty down here. He was a grand old horse.”
