You spin, stop, jump, fly, lope, lead, turn and burn. Whatever you do with your Paint and wherever you do it, we have a program for you—PAC. If you show outside of traditional APHA shows, Paint Alternative Competition makes earning recognition easy for you and your Paint Horse. All you have to do is enroll, do your thing and send APHA the results.
Just ask Fayra Staas of Marysville, California; her family has seven horses enrolled in PAC.
“For me, it’s a huge benefit,” Fayra said. “We belong to the California Gymkhana Association. We can show and promote our Paint Horses every weekend. And everywhere we go, they know us because we are bringing our Paint Horses and we’re bringing our forms, and they’re all rooting for us.”
Last year, Fayra and her daughters Emily, 23, and Natalie, 14, decided to run for the Six PAC Top Five award, which honors the top five horses that earn the most credits in at least six different PAC categories.
“Three of our horses placed in the Six PAC Top Five,” Fayra said. “Feel The Sting led in Games, Timed Events, and Youth Barrel Racing, Games and Timed Events. We won five buckles, three jackets, and Certificates of Recognition and Certificates of Achievement on all our horses.”
Fayra first enrolled in PAC in 2002 because it gave her solid Paint-bred mare more opportunities to shine. Both Regular Registry and Solid Paint-Bred horses are eligible to participate in PAC. With categories ranging from 4-H to disability classes to reining and over-fences classes, there is something for everyone in PAC. And all shows are PAC-approved, so long as they offer all-breed or open classes where you can earn PAC credits.
“We’ve had people sign up because of us going and telling them about it and showing them our buckles and jackets and our winnings,” Fayra said. “We’ve actually had people buy Paint Horses because of PAC. It’s great for the Paint Horses, and it’s great for us. It gives us something else to compete for.”
Enrolling online is easy. The rules are simple. The rest is up to you.
“I tell everybody they should get a Paint Horse so they can join PAC,” Fayra said. “All they’ve got to do is go and show, and it’s just going to be fun!”
To learn more about PAC, visit apha.com/programs/pac or contact PAC Coordinator Karen Utecht at [email protected] or 817-222-6444.
[Reprinting all or part of this news release is permitted, so long as credit is given to the Paint Horse Journal and a link provided back to apha.com.]
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