[446] QuarterFest Gallops into Murfreesboro April 30-May 2 with Opportunities for MTSU Horse-Science Students

Release date: April 29, 2010


News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
MTSU Horse Science contact: Anne Brzezicki, 615-904-8481 or abrzezic@mtsu.edu
QuarterFest contact: Kayla Randall, 866-424-7433

QuarterFest Gallops into Murfreesboro April 30-May 2
with Opportunities for MTSU Horse-Science Students


(MURFREESBORO, TN) – After serving as a volunteer for the first QuarterFest at Tennessee Miller Coliseum in 2009, senior Amanda Martin relishes the opportunity to participate in the second one.
“I would love to help out,” said Martin, a nursing major and equestrian- team member from Peachtree City, Ga. “A lot of my friends go to the clinics, and I’ll watch them. I got to be part of a clinic by (professional) Julie Goodnight. It was fabulous. Seeing them ask the horses to do so many things was neat.
“It was neat to see all the different disciplines here. QuarterFest did well with the rain, considering it rained all three days.”
The American Quarter Horse Association is bringing QuarterFest back to Murfreesboro Friday through Sunday, April 30 through May 2, at Miller Coliseum. It’s an event packed with clinics, shopping and fun, AQHA customer service representative Kayla Randall said.
Several clinicians, including Curt Pate, Bo Winslow, Tammy Pate, Stacy Westfall, Mike Major, Christy Landwehr and Ken McNabb, will join Goodnight at this year’s event.
MTSU Equestrian Team Coach Anne Brzezicki said horse-science students like Martin will assist in several areas, including participating in clinics, night watch, seating people and more.
“They can make a lot of connections,” Brzezicki said. “It’s a great opportunity for students to see a piece of the horse industry we normally don’t see. Recreational riding (on quarter horses) is not our focus, but many of our students will find jobs and careers in the recreational riding industry.”
“The industry pros are an example of who these kids could become,” added Dr. David Whitaker, director of the horse science program. “AQHA is the largest breed of horses in the world. The organization is huge with eight million quarter horses registered and 350,000 members around the world. There’s even an international breed.”
Brzezicki said, “(Horse) show people know about us—Dave’s judging teams, my (equestrian) teams and our goal-setting and goal-achieving. The rest of the horse industry can see our facilities and meet our students (at QuarterFest). Our horses are a part of this at all the teaching clinics, especially at the lower levels.”Brzezicki added that the event is conducted in conjunction with the Certified Horsemanship Association.
The event also includes a trade show featuring clothing, riding equipment, books and videos, horse feed and other nutritional and pharmaceutical needs, training videos, riding trips, jewelry, ironwork and leatherwork. Businesses like Tractor Supply Company, trailer and fencing companies and tractor manufacturers will be among the vendors.
Attendees can bring their own horses to participate in the clinics led by the professionals. Children ages 6 to 16 can have their first riding lesson for $15.Visit the AQHA Web site at www.aqha.com/quarterfest or call 866-424-7433 for more information.

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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.


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