Inaugural Presentation of ASHA Wing Tempo Award to Take Place at 2011 Saddlebred Convention

Lexington, Kentucky - The American Saddlebred Horse Association (ASHA) will present the newly created ASHA Wing Tempo Award for the first time in 2011, at the Annual Saddlebred Convention and Youth Conference, set to take place beginning Thursday, February 17, through Saturday, February 19, at the Griffin Gate Marriott Resort & Spa, in Lexington, Kentucky.

This newly created award will recognize American Saddlebreds that have achieved excellence of the highest order in disciplines and venues not typically considered within the standard show ring structure. To receive consideration for this award, horses must be registered with the American Saddlebred Registry.

The inaugural recipient of the award will be the award's very namesake, Wing Tempo. Named after his grandsire, the famed CHWing Commander, Wing Tempo is a seven-time winner of the North American Trail Ride Conference's (NATRC) President's Cup, a prestigious national award which was declared retired, and placed on permanent display in the Distance Riding exhibit at the International Museum of the Horse.

Wing Tempo and owner Shirley Sobol of Black Mountain, North Carolina, also won the combined horse and horsemanship award, and a Saddlebred became the first NATRC horse to document 10,000 miles in the log. Wing Tempo was a longtime distance record holder, with a lifetime trail record of 20,710 miles. In fact, this record held up until just last year.

Wing Tempo has received many honors, and played an important role in the ASHA documentary Image of Excellence.