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Travel West guide to unique destinations, sight-seeing, history and
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Travel Bargain destination
in Texas
AMERICAN
QUARTER HORSE HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM
Horse Lovers Mecca In Amarillo
For
a brief moment as you drive along Interstate 40 across the Texas Panhandle
in Amarillo, it seems that wild horses are racing along with
you. It is an illusion, and the horse aren’t wild mustangs but,
an illustration on the wall of the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum.
Outside the front door you’ll discover beautiful bronze statues
of famous horse. Inside you’ll have a chance to experience a piece
of the west and a place for horse lovers of all ages to learn more about
the breed which has carried cowboys across the range, wrangled rodeos
and raced into legend.
The quarter horse is the most popular breed in America, gaining its
name from its speed in the quarter mile. Some quarter horses have been
clocked at up to 55 miles an hour. Defined by its short distance sprinting
ability, a short refined head, wide chest and powerful, round hindquarters,
the quarter horse defined the American west, well suited to the speedy
maneuvers of the working cow horse, built for reining and cutting.
The Quarter Horse is the favorite of rodeo and equestrian events from
barrel racing and calf roping to western riding and dressage. The Quarter
Horse gets its American appendage because it originated in Colonial
America, traced back to a horse named Janus born in England, transported
to the Virginia colony in 1756. Other horses from the 18th century
with names like Shiloh and Old Billy were mixes of English thoroughbreds
and the Spanish breeds brought to the American continent by the explorers
and conquistadors.
The
American Quarter Horse Association was first formed in 1940 dedicated
to the preservation, advancement and record-keeping of the breed. The
idea of a hall of fame began with the first human inductee in 1982 and
the first horse in 1989. An exhibition space was first built in 1991
as the American Quarter Horse Heritage Center, renovated and renamed
with additional exhibits in 2007. Step in to the Grand Hall and the towering
high stone parquet walls like a canyon or perhaps more a temple, an equine
Valhalla, with the bronze inlay of the proud Quarter Horse
at
the end seems hushed and
solemn as a house of worship. A wall lined with horseman, the Grand Hall
showcases the legends of American Quarter Horse history, featuring the
people who have paved the way for the breed, and the horses that have
been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Look to the floor and follow the
ancestral bloodlines of the breed to its earliest progenators.
Entering
the museum beyond the hall, the “Stables” educational
gallery offers a varity of interactive exhibits about all things horses.
Educational for kids and adults. Look “inside” the inner
workings of a horse with the x-ray exhibit, discover the inside of a
replica working stable, explore the difference between the English riding
style and Western to decide, cowboy or derby, by sitting astride a choice
of saddle. Check out the horse Docf and the talking horse. Follow
the historical timeline of the quarter horse hall of fame, through interactive
exhibits
of all
things
horses.
Glass
cases
house artifacts, clothing, saddles and tack, as well as photos and interesting
pieces of history of the hall’s more famous inductees. Check out
the real Chuck Wagon in a place of honor. The Champions Gallery, an intimate
theater, features a multimedia presentation of the American Quarter Horse
World Championship Show and Horse Racing action that made for champions.
The Kenneth Banks Theater and Club Room displays artwork of the broad
variety of American Quarter Horses with many paintings by well-known
western artist Orren Mixer.
Visiting the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum
The
Hall of Fame and Museum is located on I40 in Amarillo at Quarter Horse
Drive (exit 72a). Open hours are Monday through Saturday from 9am
to 5pm. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for Seniors (age 55 and up), $2
for Youth (6-18) and Chindren under 5 and association members free. The
Quarter Horse Outfitters gift shop offers a wide variety of horse and
western themed souvenirs and clothing. © Bargain
Travel West
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Quarter Horse Museum
These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel West and WLEV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission.
See these other articles on Bargain Travel West:
TEXAS RANGERS HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM - WACO
NATIONAL COWBOY & WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM - OKC
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