THE AMERICAN QUARTER HORSE JOURNAL — OCT. 23, 2012 — The American Quarter Horse Association has joined forces with the American Polo Horse Association in an industry alliance.

American Quarter Horses have a long, but generally unknown, history in the sport of polo. They and their offspring have competed in some of the world’s most prestigious polo tournaments, including the Argentine Open, U.S. Open and Pacific Coast Open.

Polo horses are some of the most unique equine athletes on the planet; they have to be able to run flat-out like a racehorse, but have the control and agility of a reiner or cutter.

“When you make a list of the qualities needed in a polo horse, the obvious choice for playing and breeding polo horses are American Quarter Horses,” said AQHA Executive Vice President Don Treadway Jr. “AQHA is proud to partner with the American Polo Horse Association and will work to strengthen the industry and explore opportunities that will mutually benefit each association.”

The AQHA industry alliance partner program is designed to increase exposure of American Quarter Horses to millions of current and potential horse owners. This strategic marketing alliance partnership between AQHA and APHA will build a mutually beneficial partnership to identify and expose the individual horses, as well as quantify for the first time in history, the impact the American Quarter Horse has in the sport of polo at all levels.

“There are standout American Quarter Horses at the top levels of polo and we believe as much as 40 percent of the low- to mid-level polo in the United States is played on these horses,” said APHA President Sunny Hale. “The breed is used in domestic and international competition but little was done to keep track of horses and their performance on the polo fields until now. Through this alliance partnership, we want to identify these horses and keep playing records to add even more value and recognition to these equine athletes.”

To learn more about AQHA alliances, visit www.aqha.com/alliances.