American Paint Horse Association

The founding meeting was held in a motel coffee shop. A Western Horseman report on the 2016 marker unveiling says the February 16, 1962 meeting at the Curtwood Motel was led by Rebecca Tyler, later Rebecca Tyler Lockhart, and drew horsemen from North Texas and Oklahoma. Chili's now stands on the site; the marker went up there on February 16, 2016, unveiled by a rider on a Paint gelding. After the 1965 merger, the association moved its headquarters to Fort Worth and has registered over a million horses.

What the plaque says

American Paint Horse Association Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century brought two-toned horses with them, descendants of horses from North Africa and Asia Minor. Over time, these colorful horses became a cherished staple of the western frontier. Throughout the 1800s and early 1900s, these horses were known by a variety of names, including Paint, Pinto, Skewbald and Piebald. In the early 20th century, they were largely excluded from registries in North America. At the Curtwood Motel in Gainesville on February 16, 1962, sixteen dedicated horsemen and horsewomen met to discuss a new association dedicated to colorful stock horses. The group determined a new equine breed registry was needed. Christened the American Paint Stock Horse Association (APSHA), the new organization's directives were to collect, preserve and record the pedigrees of paint stock horses; publish a stud book; maintain a registry; and regulate the breed's exhibition, publicity, sales and racing. The first registered American Paint Horse, Bandit's Pinto, was registered on August 11, 1962. By the end of the year, 250 paint horses were registered and the association counted 150 members. In the 1960s, a second paint horse registry, the American Paint Quarter Horse Association (APQHA), opened its doors. The two associations merged in May 1965; from that point, it was known as the American Paint Horse Association (APHA). The APHA is the world's second-largest equine breed association, registering more than a million horses in 59 nations and territories since it was founded. APHA preserves the history of the American Paint Horse, creates and maintains programs that increase the value of the breed and enriches members' experiences with their horse. (2013)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Great Hanging Memorial — 0.8 mi
  Two granite monuments in a Gainesville park, dedicated in 2014, for the Cooke County men the Confederate militia hanged in October 1862 on suspicion of Unionism.
• Stonewall Saloon Museum — 22 mi
  Saint Jo's first permanent building, a stone saloon of 1873 with rooms upstairs for trail drovers, in a town named, the story goes, as a joke on a founder who did not drink.
• Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge — 24 mi
  A 1946 refuge on the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma, laid over land bought for Denison Dam and the site of the vanished railroad town of Hagerman, now a winter stop for geese.

More markers nearby

• Cooke County — steps away
• Cooke County, C.S.A./2nd Frontier Regiment — steps away
• Moffett Park — steps away
• Gainesville Community Circus — steps away