The American Quarter Horse Association Is Here To Stay

An Amarillo institution is sticking around. It was announced that the American Quarter Horse Association will keep its headquarters in Amarillo.

If it wasn't for the Amarillo City Council however, they may have been headed to Fort Worth. The city council approved an incentive plan to keep AQHA here, and they have accepted it.

Mayor Ginger Nelson told ABC 7, "For the last several years we've been saying please stay AQHA and today we get to celebrate because we are saying hurray AQHA". The mayor went on to add, "You can never make more than one first impression and so that's what we are for the Quarter Horse Association, we are their home and they are our partner."

The incentive package for AQHA was solid enough to keep them in town. According to Chad Pierce, the interim executive vice president of AQHA, it's a 10 year, $3 million dollar deal that will pay out $300,000 annually over the course of the deal.

The AQHA is the world's largest equine breed registry and also has the Hall of Fame & Museum here in Amarillo. Pierce seemed especially excited about that saying, "I think we have new and exciting things coming for our museum that is not only going to interest the Amarillo community, but visitors to Amarillo."

And with visitors to Amarillo from out of town, that means more revenue flowing into the city. Amarillo businesses knew that, which is why some members of the Amarillo business community ponied up a donation package to cover the incentive package given to AQHA.