August, 2025
President’s Newsletter:
Where does the summer go? It seems like just last week to me that we were in Springfield for the World Show! Now the kids are either back in school or soon will be. But it seems most of us are still struggling with the intense heat and in south central Illinois where I live, high humidity as well. I don’t want time to go by any faster than it already does, but I am ready for more Fall like weather!
I had a great time at the World Show seeing a lot of old friends and meeting many new people from all over the country and even one lady who’s been coming from Ontario, Canada! The Executive Board thanks all exhibitors, their families and friends who traveled to Springfield and worked so hard getting themselves and their horses prepared; congratulations to all on your achievements!
There are so many people and companies to thank for working so hard and making our 2025 World Show a great success! The Tri-Chairs and the Executive Board prepared for months to make sure the show ran as smoothly as possible. A big thank you to the Amateur and Youth Executive Boards and the Youth Advisors who worked very hard on their fundraisers, team tournaments and special events. There were so many fun events this year; the youth association’s chuck a duck fundraiser was a blast! Our announcer, Russell Fairchild, does a fantastic job for us; he made the chuck a duck such a fun time! Thank you Russell! And thank you to Melinda Mueller of Midwest Rodeos, our Live Stream producer this year! She was amazing to work with and did a great job for us!
Speaking of fun and exciting times, how about that first time special event, the $5,000.00 Added Open Ranch Riding class! Again, Russell entertained the crowd while we waited for a class that ended up having 32 entries and paid out a total of $11,720.00! The competition was steep for sure!
Then there was the $1,000.00 add Western Showmanship Costume Class. I had the honor of judging the costume portion with our General Manager, Shirley Stuart. I was amazed at the creativity of our exhibitors and the tolerance of the horses being all decked out in their 70’s themed costumes! That was truly entertaining!
The Progressive Dinner the Amateur Executive Board organized was a big hit with exhibitors and visitors. Our annual Street Party was a big success this year! The Executive Board truly enjoys the opportunity to give a little back to our exhibitors, guests and staff by providing burgers and dogs and a chance to relax, visit and enjoy some great music. A big thank you to Birdie Young, a rising Nashville artist/songwriter, for entertaining us. She is so talented!
The Executive Board thanks everyone who helped make this show a big success! The Tri-Chairs, office staff, show staff, exhibitors and guests. A huge thank you to all our sponsors! Our World Show would not be possible without you! Our sponsors really stepped up for us this year, with Carmen O’Donnell leading the pack with her $5,000.00 added money sponsorship to the Open Ranch Riding Class. We appreciate each and every one of you! And thank you to the Sponsorship Committee for working so hard to secure all the sponsorship support we had this year!
So now the Executive Board is back to work analyzing the 2025 World Show and thinking ahead to the 2026 World Show. We are gearing up our Sponsorship Committee already and will be meeting with the Marketing Committee to get them more involved in all marketing aspects of PHBA.
2026 will be a big year for PHBA. It marks the 85th anniversary of PHBA; the 40th anniversary of the Amateur Association and the 40th anniversary of our move to Tulsa. We are making big plans to acknowledge these milestones! Don’t forget to save the date of our 2026 National Convention, March 11-15, 2026, in Tulsa, OK.
Warm regards,
Lynn Rohwedder, PHBA President ’25-‘26