The Western States Horse Expo Hall of Fame Award was established in 2002 to recognize an individual and/or organization who has made a substantial contribution to the Equine Industry in the United States.

Western States Horse Expo Hall of Fame Perpetual Award pictured right.
(an original by J. Randall Smith)

2008
Richard Shrake Honored with
Induction into Western States Horse Expo Hall of Fame
Richard Shrake is not only a great man, he has also been an icon as a professional in the horse industry for over 40 years. He lives his life with simple and timeless principles, believing in hard work and family values. His dream was to create a balanced, common sense program based on knowledge and wisdom, that would help riders and their horses everywhere realize their potential. Through his uncomplicated formula for success, the Resistance Free® Riding and Training Methods, Richard has achieved this goal. He inspires… He motivates... He cares. His gift of teaching and training has touched and enriched the lives of riders and their horses…. from beginners, to intermediates to professionals.

His reputation as a teacher has always been proven by a barn full of winning students. His capacity for patience and his skill as a communicator made him a hit with youth students from the beginning. As a showman, Richard has shown all over the United States, and as a clinician has taken his experiences and his teaching methods all over the United States and beyond.

Richard Shrake's training method, known as Resistance Free®, has made him one of the best all-around clinicians out there. His base, in Sunriver, Oregon, allows Richard the time needed to write his Bridle Wise column, which appears in major equine magazines throughout the country. He has trained World Champion horses and riders, judged all major breed World Championship shows and has put his lifetime of wisdom into well-written columns, an extensive video series and well-constructed clinics.

In recent years, he has been called the "ultimate coach" by his students. Richard's primary purpose in creating the Resistance Free® methods has been to develop a cooperation between horse and rider, which results in a way of training and riding that is humane and always has respect for the partnership between the horse and rider.

One of the most popular of his programs, called the Graduate Course, is a breakthrough in personalized riding and instruction. It benefits trainers and riders alike, whether for show or pleasure. Richard Shrake has the talent to lead students through step by step instruction to work with all disciplines and levels of ability. His clinics always stress that the first step towards success comes after an evaluation of the potential of the horse. Without that, there can be no success.

2007
Linda Tellington-Jones
Linda Tellington-Jones was completely surprised about the Hall of Fame award, thinking that she was riding in the Saturday Evening Showcase as a clinician. She was loaned a Paint horse mare from one of the California Cowgirls, and she even borrowed a cowgirl hat with glittery tiara attached. When told at the last minute that she won the Hall of Fame award, ever the consummate show person, she smiled, gathered her reins and cantered to the center of the arena to be met by Horse Expo founder and president Miki Cohen and radio and television personality Rick Lamb. Linda said graciously as she was presented with her plaque, "I'm thrilled at the honor of being inducted into the Western States Horse Expo Hall of Fame. To share my work with over 70,000 enthusiastic lovers of horses at this educational expo is a wonderful opportunity to change the world one TTouch at a time."

PAT PARELLI NAMED TO HALL OF FAME 2006
Born in California’s Bay Area, Pat Parelli was obsessed with horses at an early age. When Pat was just 13, a horseman and trapper named Freddie Ferrera of Livermore, California, recognized Pat’s talents with horses and took him under his wing. During the summers he would teach Pat about how to be “natural” with horses, dogs, and cattle, and how to live in parallel with nature.

For more about Pat Parelli go to: www.parelli.com

ROBERT MILLER, DVM NAMED TO HALL OF FAME 2004
Robert M. Miller earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Colorado State University in 1956. It was also at CSU that he met his future wife, Debby, a talented barrel racer on the school's rodeo team.

While in school, Bob spent several summers working as a horse wrangler on cattle ranches, where he developed his own effective but gentle ways of starting and handling horses.

After graduating from CSU, the Millers settled in Thousand Oaks, California, where Bob founded the Conejo Valley Veterinary Clinic. Although he treated animals of all sizes and types, from hummingbirds to whales, his practice eventually became primarily equine.

In 1959, a theory about the learning capabilities of newborn foals slowly began to form in Dr. Miller's mind. Over the next 25 years, he developed a complete training regimen for the first week of a horse's life. He dubbed it Imprint Training. Like many revolutionary ideas, it met with resistance and was slow to catch on among professional horsemen.

But by 1984, Dr. Miller was becoming a recognized expert in equine behavior, and through a series of videos and his landmark Western Horseman book, "Imprint Training of the Newborn Foal," his ideas caught on with the public.

Today, Imprint Training is widely accepted and is practiced around the world by amateur and professional horsemen alike, even in the racing industry. When done correctly, it is the fastest and most profound method of permanently shaping a horse's responses and attitude.

Dr. Miller left his career practice in 1988, after 32 years as a working veterinarian, in order to devote the rest of his life to promoting and explaining not only Imprint Training, but also the revolution in horsemanship that he saw occurring around him.

His newest book, co-authored by Rick Lamb and titled "The Revolution in Horsemanship" was released in late 2004. joined by a number of other books Dr. Miller has penned over the years on horse behavior and care.

Bob Miller has received numerous professional awards for his work. His sense of humor and artistic talent are renowned and are immortalized in nine books of veterinary cartoons. He and Debby enjoy traveling and snow skiing, and still ride regularly on both horses and mules. In fact, their world champion mule, Jordass Jean, was recently inducted into the Bishop Mule Days Hall of Fame.

RAY HUNT NAMED TO HALL OF FAME 2003
The man who inspired a generation of clinicians, Ray Hunt was named to the Horse Expo Hall of Fame in an emotional Friday night ceremony. His life's work has defined attitudes and philosophies about horsemanship for well over thirty years. He often says, "I'm here for the horse, to help him get a better deal," but his focus has been to create a lasting partnership between horse and rider, and his work has influenced thousands.

The Western States Horse Expo Hall of Fame Award was established in 2002 to recognize an individual and/or organization that has made a substantial contribution within the Equine Industry in the United States.

To make a nomination, please contact us via e-mail (letters@horsexpo.com or by calling our main office at (530) 295-1424, or 800-352-2411.

FRANK VESSELS - 2002
FRANK VESSELS, 1ST HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE, 2002
Frank “Scoop” Vessels III is unique in that he ranks simultaneously among the nation’s top breeders in both the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse indutries. The esteem in which both camps hold him is borne out by the fact that he has been president of the American Quarter Horse Association. Know best for the creation and management of the Vessel’s Stallion Farm near San Diego, his farm stands the top racing Quarter horse stallion in the country, First Down Dash, as well as the leading Thoroughbred sire on the West Coast, In Excess (ire). Scoop Vessels is one of the equine industry’s most exemplary entrepreneurs/