Appaloosa News Monthly – May 2022

Appaloosa Heritage

What is the Heritage class?

According to the ApHC rule book, entries in the Heritage class should honor the Appaloosa’s role in history. The rule book states that costumes can depict many eras including “Chinese emperors, kings, nobles, Spanish conquistadors, fur trappers, buffalo hunters, missionaries or other depictions of Appaloosa history.” Entries in the class are expected to ride at a walk and jog in both directions on the rail. Entries in the class are judged on the historical appropriateness of the costume or regalia.

The Heritage Class is unique to the Appaloosa among the stock breeds. The Appaloosa’s history with the Nez Perce Tribe (Nimiipuu people) means that many entries in this class honor that heritage with Native American regalia.

David Beck

David Beck is one of the most recognizable faces in the Heritage class at the National and World show. His interest in the Heritage Class began when he started to show Appaloosas in the late 1990’s. David first entered the class at the National Show in 2015 where he was the Reserve National Champion. Since that time, he has been undefeated at the National and World Show every time he has exhibited in the class.

A key piece of the class is the regalia. David has always had a distinct vision for his regalia. 

“My regalia is a combination of custom-made items and items I’ve found on eBay.”

With the mentorship of Debbie Herzman in California, it took David about a year to put his regalia together, though he continues to fine tune it to this day. David credits Debbie’s knowledge and creative vision for helping him make his regalia vision turn into a reality. 

David says, “Having more pieces allows me to create a better, and more compelling, story.”

“There are two schools of thought when it comes to regalia,” David shared, “One is to have fewer pieces but to make each of those pieces especially important. The second is that more is better.”

David falls into the more is better camp. As a key aspect of the class is the 200-word description of the regalia and the conversation with the judges about the pieces, David says, “Having more pieces allows me to create a better, and more compelling, story.”

Jaimee Snippert

For Jaimee Snippert, showing the Heritage Class has become a family affair. “I’ve always loved watching the class but the thought of obtaining the regalia to enter was daunting,” Jaimee says, “That is, until I met Debbie VanOrd at a Colorado Ranger Bred show.”

Debbie had previously shown in the Heritage class and offered her regalia to Jaimee. Jaimee and her daughter Emily have worked to add personal elements to the Debbie’s regalia. 

“We study old pictures and books on the history of the Nez Perce and try to recreate pieces from those sources.” 

The Snippert’s are slowly creating their own regalia, finding items such as pelts and waterskins at local auctions.