Forty miles southwest of Buffalo, NY, nestled in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, lays a facility that has united Dr. Jeffrey Menoff with Kelly Hedges in a way that’s great for Appaloosas. Specifically—promoting Appaloosas in open competition.

Nash Hill Equestrian Center is the new home of Hedges Show Horses and quickly becoming known as ‘the place to be’ for reining derbies and first rate competitions in the North East. The fact that the area averages 260 inches of snow per winter doesn’t slow them down at all. The 40 thousand square foot, state of the art facility has everything necessary to go undaunted in bad weather. The heated arena is a 100 x 200 feet with view room, staff quarters, indoor hot-walker, round pen, wash racks and 41 stalls. Outside are more stalls and paddocks, arenas and so far, 20 RV hook-ups. Grounds engineer, Bob Keyser, constantly works to maximize and add to the versatility of the facility.

As a lifelong lover of Appaloosas, Kelly Hedges has enjoyed many aspects of the industry. He has held an ApHC judges card for 30 years and has traveled around the world, including Isreal and Germany, to judge shows. He has raised and shown Appaloosas to multiple Championships, coached clients to the highest success, and in 2006, was named ApHC Trainer of The Year. What makes him happiest about Nash Hill is the increased ability it gives him to promote Appaloosas to open and new markets. If you ask him what he’s up to these days, he’ll tell you about the amenities and the arena but then he gets a gleam in his eye and that huge genuine smile won’t leave his face when he starts telling you about his horses, family and clients beating quarter horses in open competition on Appaloosas.

Kelly once said, “…the people involved with Appaloosas are just great people. It’s a very family-oriented atmosphere, and that stands out to me.” Hard working and dedicated to the breed, Kelly and his family are definitely part of that very atmosphere. And optimistic too. About the state of the industry Kelly had this to say, “the future is bright! Next year’s gonna be huge.”

Full-text version printed in the September 2010 issue of Appaloosa Journal.
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