A new association has been organized for horseback riders who enjoy competing in patterned speed events.
“The Great Plains Horseshow Association (GPHA) was formed to be a family friendly group,” according to Tammy Clouston of Meriden.
As brainchild of the association, Clouston said, “We’ll have equine competition in an atmosphere of good sportsmanship and good horsemanship. It will promote quality time spent with family and friends.”
Founding members are from several existing associations with a mix of events and rule variations from the different groups.
“The GPHA was developed as a unique organization incorporating ideas of longtime patterned speed event competitors,” Clouston said. “These riders have experienced many competitions and wanted an association with old, different, changed, new, and intentionally improved show philosophies.”
There will be a horse and rider nomination process with points compiled throughout the show season for yearend cash awards.
“A rider can ride more than one horse in each event by paying a separate horse entry fee,” Clouston explained.
Especially important to families with limited horses, youth riders one-to-six and seven-to-11 can use the same horse. “Each rider will be eligible to place and earn points,” Clouston said.
Any person or club in good standing can host a sanctioned GPHA show from January 1 through October 15.
“Shows are not limited to the Kansas borders, so they can be anywhere in the Great Plains,” the official said.
“There will be no membership or showbill fees,” Clouston continued. “Clubs or individuals can host as many shows throughout the year as desired.”
No advance show scheduling is required, although it will be best to plan shows at least a week in advance. That will provide adequate time for promotion so contestants can plan participation accordingly, it was explained.
Age groups are one-to-six, seven-to-11, 12-17, 18-34, 35-54, and 55 and over.
Single events include arena race, barrel racing, figure-eight-barrel race, figure-eight stake race, flag race, half-eight race, jump and weave, keg bending, key race, lane barrels, polo turn, speed barrels, tomahawk race, top-n-turn, two-barrel flag race, and three-pole weave.
“Shows might even include a ‘mystery race’ that can be whatever the show host wants it to be,” Clouston said.
Team events are two-in-line barrels, pair sack race, rescue race, and Western relay.
“Several GPHA shows are already on the 2023 calendar, so clubs and individuals should get their show scheduled now,” Clouston said.
“Come compete at the skill level you feel most comfortable. We welcome all riders,” she insisted.
A GPHA Rulebook and other association information including steps to host shows can be found at www.greatplainshorseshow.com and on Facebook.
“Our entry fees are low, but the experiences are priceless,” welcomed Clouston who can be contacted at 785-393-1922 or [email protected].
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“Bull buying time is here for most cow-calf operators.”
There are literally dozens of opportunities to purchase beef bulls throughout the Midwest.
With so many options in breed, color, pedigree, age, performance, price, and more, it’s a puzzle determining which bull to buy.
Making sense of the thousands of numbers to wade through in a sales catalog is completely mind boggling.
One bull may be very good for calving ease EPD (expected progeny difference) but fail badly on yearling weights. Another may be at the top on carcass grid value but below average in EPD for cow stay ability.
Are all those numbers important? Which one makes the most money?
Jared Decker, beef genetics specialist at the University of Missouri, has offered some assistance.
“Rather than piece together your own system to balance a dozen traits, boil it down to one number and put it in real dollar-per-calf terms,” Decker advised.
It’s called an economic selection index. “It’s an EPD for a single trait: profit,” Decker said. “It’s a combination of each trait weighted by economic importance. It gives multi-trait selection in a simple formula that is profit motivated.”
Selection indexes come in several types, he explained. Some are terminal indexes, in which no replacement females will be kept. So, there’s no need to include such traits as milk or cow stay ability.
For most cattle producers, Decker favors a more all-purpose index that includes important traits from conception to slaughter.
Many breed associations offer their own versions of economic selection indexes and explain them on their websites. If a bull is registered, cowmen can often search for the index by registration number.
The American Angus Association, for instance, offers a system called Angus $Value Index. Angus bulls are indexed by such criteria as weaned calf value ($W), feedlot value ($F), or maternal weaned calf value ($M).
The maternal weaned calf value is a multipurpose index, combining milk, heifer pregnancy rates, docility, and foot scores. “When used over time to make bull selections, it could build a more efficient cowherd,” Decker said.
The Hereford breed offers several indexes, including the Certified Hereford Beef Index (CHB$) and an all-purpose index called Baldy Maternal Index (BMI$).
“Cowmen need to know their own breeding objectives,” Decker said “Is it maternal traits or carcass traits? Find an index that works for those traits and use it. They are the best answer today for making genetic progress in beef herds.”
On its website, American Angus says selection indexes only have meaning when used in comparing the relative merit or ranking of two individuals.
If bull A has a weaned calf value index of +$50, bull B has a value of +$35, and all breeding and environmental conditions are equal, on average, a cowman can expect bull A’s progeny to have a +$15 per head advantage in preweaning value over bull B.
There are economic selection indexes for feed efficiency, performance, stay ability, sustained fertility, and likely most importantly profit ability.
“In the old days, you made decisions based on opinions and sometimes you chased fads,” Decker said.
“Now, you can use data to keep from going the fad route. Indexes will give appropriate weight to what producers want to do in their herds keeping them on the right path,” Decker summarized.
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CUTLINE
University of Missouri Extension beef specialist Jared Decker offers advice for beef bull buyers.