AQHA YES CONVENTION PHOTOS

My daughter &  I attended our first Y.E.S./AQHYA Convention in Amarillo this year. My first question when I was encouraged to take my daughter to the Y.E.S. convention was, "what is it and what is it about?" Y.E.S. stands  for "Youth  Excellence Seminar,"  and  excellence is what we saw at the convention.  These young adults are at the top of their class; they are well mannered, gracious, motivated, and goal oriented individuals that work together extremely well. My daughter and I found the young adults as well as the parents to be very warm and welcoming. They were eager to answer any questions and help us to get "settled" into the group/organization.
 
On our first night in Amarillo, there was a welcome buffet with speeches and skits put on by the current officers and delegates. The skits were well rehearsed and very entertaining. I later found out that the participants only had a day or two to prepare. They did a fantastic job.

The next morning the  bus left for the convention center at 7 a.m.  I was surprised to find the lobby full of kids waiting for the buses when I went downstairs.  Here it was summer vacation and this group of young adults were  up, dressed  and ready to go. We would all start in the main hall then we would disperse to the different lecture halls in smaller groups to rotate through an interesting variety of speakers. The topics ranged from motivational speakers, legal issues in the quarter horse world, how to be a good leader and dance instructions.

The young adults were well organized,  courteous,  considerate  and polite at all times. They participated when indicated without hesitation and listened attentively and respectively to the speakers. I have never been more impressed with a group of young people. I thought to myself, this is the kind of young people that I want my daughter to have as role models. They set an awesome example of what goal oriented team work can do.

Elections for regional delegates and AQHYA officers were also held. The candidates gave creative well prepared speeches that I felt held the audience captive. I was very impressed with the magnitude of the speeches that were delivered by these young people.

I am very proud and honored to have attended the Y.E.S./AQHYA Convention. It gave me an indepth look at how the youth organization runs and the goals it has for our young adult. I look forward to many happy years being a part of the American Quarter Horse Association.