Mike Major will be a featured clinician with a series on ranch horse versatility at this year’s QuarterFest: A Celebration of the American Quarter Horse. QuarterFest will take place at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, April 30 – May 2.

The versatility ranch horse competition promotes the athletic ability and versatility of the horse and is demonstrated in five categories: ranch riding, ranch trail, ranch cutting, working ranch horse and ranch conformation.

These clinics will help you improve in and out of the arena. After receiving some expert advice, you can put your skills to work during the Versatility Ranch Horse Stockmanship Contest on Sunday
afternoon.

• Working Ranch - Held Friday morning, this clinic will help you improve your skills and your score in
  this event. You'll work on aspects of the pattern, working the cow and
  roping. Live cattle will be used for this clinic. Rein work might be
  moved to Saturday afternoon to allow participants more time with cattle
  on Friday.
• Ranch Cutting - Held Friday afternoon, this clinic will help you learn more about what judges are looking for and what the new AQHA rule changes mean to you.
• Ranch Trail - Held Saturday morning, this clinic contains a course with a minimum of six obstacles and is designed to help you teach your horse to improve
  his ability and willingness to perform several tasks that might be asked
  of him during the course of a normal day's ranch work. In this clinic,
  realistic obstacles will be used, and the course will be set outside an
  arena using the natural terrain of the land.
• Ranch Riding - Held Sunday morning, this clinic will help you improve your horse's ability to move at a working speed. Horses will be instructed at three gaits - walk, trot and lope - in each direction of
  the arena. Horses also will be asked to change directions while on the
  rail, stop and back.

Major, who has produced DVDs on training and competing in Ranch Horse Versatility, will demonstrate effective techniques for competing in this event. Major has bred American Quarter Horses for more than 40 years and has won multiple world championships including the 2006 Select Working Cow Horse World Championship and back-to-back world titles in
Open Versatility Ranch Horse. 

Major is one of many clinicians being featured at QuarterFest. Numerous demonstrations and clinics will be held all weekend. Other featured clinicians include: Julie Goodnight of Poncha Springs, Colorado; Christy Landwehr of Aurora, Colorado; Bo Winslow of Clark, Colorado; Ken McNabb of Cody, Wyoming; Curt and Tammy Pate, a husband and wife team from Ryegate, Montana; and Stacy Westfall of Mount Gilead, Ohio.

Since you can’t take notes with reins in your hands, your general admission ticket grants unlimited access to watch and learn from the interactive clinics so you can try the skills with your horse at home. Visit www.aqha.com/quarterfest to see the complete schedule of events and to order your tickets.

QuarterFest is a three-day, education-packed celebration of the American Quarter Horse where AQHA members and horse enthusiasts from around the world will gather for fun, entertainment and festivities to honor the world’s most versatile horse – the American Quarter Horse.

Our sponsors – Tractor Supply, B&W Trailer Hitches, John Deere,
Justin Boots, Professional’s Choice, Bank of America, Farnam, Pfizer,
Tarter Farm and Ranch Equipment, and Wrangler – share our passion for
horses and are an integral part of QuarterFest.