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| The following is quoted from the March 2005 SouthWest Horse Trader magazine. |
While Perlinos and Cremellos have been accepted across various horse associations as a coat color not genetics gone bad, the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) put their foot down when it came to accepting these coat colors into their registry.
With the removal of rule 227(i) from the AQHA handbook in 2003, breeders and owners of Double Dilutes who once were forced to register their horses as Paints, even though they were 100% Quarter Horses, can now relax and enjoy their breeding programs. Where once it seemed only a few existed in the Quarter Horse world, Perlinos and Cremellos are seen advertised in virtually every Equine magazine throughout the United States and for what they truly are, American Quarter Horses.
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Four women, Natalie Nelson, Wendy Bockman, Robin Mitchell Forrest, and Milynda Milam, took on AQHA at the AQHA Convention in March of 2000 to try to get the rule changed. Their mission was to plea for the removal of Rule 227(j) at that time and allow the Double Dilutes into the association for registry. What they learned was that convincing the AQHA that accusations of health issues were false and simply wives tales was going to take a lot of time, hard work and many people for support.
In June 2000, Wendy Bockman established the Cremello and Perlino Educational Association (CPEA) and created the website, www.doubledilute.com. This gave the group an opportunity to educate the public about these horses and as the group continued to grow, so did the support to continue to fight AQHA. Eventually,over 300 members went to the website daily to discuss issues to overcome the registries objections as well as put together ideas to educate the public. The website also did a great job of providing information on color genetics and how they work.
At the 2001 Convention the Committee Chairman recommended that the phrase "commonly called albino" be removed from rule 227(j). However, it was the belief of the Committee that cremello and perlinos have health and eye problems, therefore the rest of the rule would remain intact. AQHA Rule 227(j) was then revised to AQHA rule 227(i) in 2002.
On Monday October 7, 2002, the AQHA Stud Book & Registration Committee had a specially scheduled meeting at the AQHA Headquarters in Amarillo. They met to discuss several issues including rule 227(i). The Committee voted to eliminate Rule 227(i)! The new chairman said they had reviewed the information CPEA had presented and had reviewed the follow-up research done by Gary Griffith. They discussed it and felt there were no longer any valid reasons to continue to exclude cremellos and perlinos from registration. The Committee's recommendation for removal of the rule was put on the agenda for the next convention. At the convention in March of 2003, it went to the Board of Directors and General Membership and was approved.
With two years of registrations in the books, the statistics are showing that there is approximately one Perlino born for every four Cremellos. According to the AQHA registration department, there were 898 Cremellos and 281 Perlinos registered in 2003, the first year they were eligible for registration, and there were 809 Cremellos and 218 Perlinos registered in 2004.
It took several years of hard work and education to change how the public and AQHA perceived Cremellos and Perlinos. The final reward for the hard work of those four women as well as a dedicated group of believers AQHA papers on their Cremello and Perlino horses.
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Quotes from those grateful and appreciative of all these ladies have done in shaping the future of double dilutes... | I've known WendyB and Nat from the Internet for years - and count both of them among my friends. I've also been fortunate to meet Mylinda Milam and Robin Forrester, but WendyB and Nat are the two I'm closest to.
Their dedication to their horses and their desire to see them recognized as the American Quarter Horses their pedigrees said they were was infectious. I remember when they formed the CPEA and the initial members (garnered from many boards across the internet) rallied to their sides.
WendyB and Nat were Leaders, Referees, Ambassadors, Instigators, Councilors and Spokespeople.
They came to understand the workings of the AQHA and they probably understand the rulebooks and methodologies of dealing with AQHA better than most individuals in the organizations. Under their guidance we followed AQHA's procedures to a "T".
When AQHA came back with a negative those two turned it into a positive. When AQHA took a stance those two led the CPEA through dissolving the AQHA's foundation for their stance.
They never looked for the "easy" way through the battle but faced each instance head-on and ready for battle. They never retreated in the face of "AQHA Authority" (Not even when they would receive anonymous phone calls warning them off this challenge) but answered each challenge with grace, wisdom, strength and courage.
They spent seven years of their life (and their families lives), their monies and their dedication in getting this rule changed and without their guidance the CPEA would have never achieved their goal.
During the seven (7) years the CPEA fought for recognition of the double-dilute colors I came to understand just how much of a personal battle this was for them.
For 7 years, members of CPEA researched horse colors, wrote letters to AQHA Members, Directors, Officers, UC-Davis, spent dollars traveling to AQHA Conventions, attending regional AQHA meetings all under the leadership of WendyB and Nat.
I am privileged to be part of this group and I still remember the night I received the phone call that AQHA was granting the Group's petition.
I was on a job assignment and sitting in a hotel room - phone rang and it was a 'conference' call from WendyB and Nat.
WendyB simply said "It's over. AQHA will register the DDs."
I began bawling like an infant, WendyB and Nat told me to stop crying. (Of course, their voices were broken with sobs, however well hidden and controlled) We were crying for sheer joy.
I was also at the 2003 AQHA Convention in Anaheim, California when the final vote of Directors came through and Jim Shoemake came out of the room, walked over to the group of us in attendance and said "Ladies, you all own AQHA Double Dilutes - the change passed unamiously."
WendyB and Nat - if you ever need members for another cause . . pencil in my name at Member number 1.
CPEA Member Texaspam
Are you curious about the horses that inspired these ladies to take on the AQHA? | |
Meet True Blue McCue, 1996 AQHA Cremello Stallion, owned by Wendy Bockman. |  |
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Meet Blue Eyed Paradise, 1996 AQHA Cremello Stallion, bred and owned by Natalie Nelson. R.I.P. Blue. |  |
Meet RFF Starbuck, 1996 AQHA Perlino Dun Stallion, owned by Milynda Milam. |  |
Meet Invest In Rodeo, 1995 AQHA Perlino Stallion, owned by Robin Mitchell Forrest. |  |
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This site is not intended to give the visitor a complete education in the science of equine genetics, but merely to explain the cream gene in layman's terms, and thus help dispel some of the myths associated with it. If you have questions about these horses and their coloration, please visit the Cream Gene Facts page, or our Color Discussion Board.
NEWS FLASH! AQHA Accepts Double Dilutes!
The American Quarter Horse Association had a rule on its books, 227i (formerly known as 227j), that disallowed registration of purebred Quarter Horses with two creme genes. The organization that has gotten the AQHA Rule 227i eliminated has an email list you may join:
If you would like more information about
membership with the CPEA, and what services we provide, click HERE.
Contact Site owner:
Wendy Bockman at wbockman@ptd.net
Please direct all web page problems/questions to the webmaster:
serenitylist@yahoo.com
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