Highpoint Performance Horses in Pilot Point, Texas played host to over 120 AQHA members who attended AQHA’s guided barn tour offered during the AQHA Convention. Although Highpoint is home to some of the most famous horses in AQHA history, the tour was anything but traditional for those expecting to just see a few horses and a nice facility.

Click here to view many more pictures from the barn tour.

As the two tour buses pulled down the perfectly manicured driveway on Sunday morning, they were greeted by Jason Martin, Charlie Cole and the entire Highpoint staff consisting of Beth Case, Adam Wainscott, Christi Christensen, Laura Hastie and Myles McLean. With only 45 minutes allotted for this stop on the barn tour, everyone knew their roles and the Highpoint personel turned into a well-oiled greeting and touring machine.

The 120 people departed the buses and were divided into four separate sections. Each section would spend 10 minutes at four separate areas of Highpoint. Jason Martin greeted his group and escorted them into the newly remodeled office where refreshments and light snacks were served. All were in awe of the walls lined with AQHA World Champion, Super Horse and Congress trophies as well as hundreds of buckles and framed photos.

Once through the office and the breeding area, they were introduced to four great show horses: Acadamosby Award, Harley D Zip, Vital Signs Are Good and Show Diva. Jason opened Harley’s stall and introduced him as one of his all-time favorite horses.

“The entire experience was great but I wish we had more time,” Jason Martin said. “I would have liked to visit more but I really enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones and getting to talk about some of the horses who have played such an important role in Charlie and my careers.”

The spectators also enjoyed seeing one of Highpoint's barrel horses demonstrating their Horse Gym USA treadmill which Jason raved about. "We are able to keep our show horses in shape without having to lounge them which really saves their legs," Jason said. "We love it and plan to take it with us to the Congress to avoid having to lounge there." Jill Townsend was on-hand to answer questions. 

Jason’s ten minutes were up quickly and he welcomed another section as the previous group moved on to the next stop on the tour – Dan’s Mini Farm. Dan Houck is Martin’s partner of the past four years and is passionate about animals, particularly rare miniatures. Dan introduced his group to Rose the people-loving camel as well as Jane Doe the deer and a variety of other animals who live like kings and queens in the comfort of Dan’s Mini Farm. “We only keep animals that are safe and kind around people,” Dan tells the group.



Next stop is Charlie’s Turtle Town, home to Charlie Cole’s beloved turtles. Cole has been a turtle enthusiast for over 20 years and takes great pride in his impressive collection. These exotic turtles will live well over 100 years and it takes the strength of two men (Cole and Wainscott) to move one from one pen to another. “Each of them have their own personalities,” Cole says. “One loves to be pet while another is not very fond of people,” he explains.

As eggs sit quietly in an incubator inside Turtle Town, Cole is eagerly awaiting the birth of babies in a few months.

The fourth and final group found themselves with breeding manager, Christie Christensen. Christie introduced her group to the great stallions standing at Highpoint: VS Code Red (whose dam, Vital Signs Are Good stood one barn over), Hot Ones Only, Hubba Hubba Huntin and The Big Sensation. Additionally, they got to meet World Champions, A Certain Vino and Knowtorious.

As 120 people boarded the buses, they were handed goody bags with different offerings from many of Highpoint's sponsors including Purina, Smart Pak, Good Ride, Paul Taylor, Shorty’s Hattery, D&L Farm and Home, My Fraiche, Blue Ribbon Custom Tack and GoHorseShow.com. The bag also included DVDS of each of the studs standing at Highpoint.

“The racing farm we visited before this one was over-the-top gorgeous,” one of the group members said. “But I really like Highpoint. This is exactly what a true Texas ranch should look like.” 

Click here to view many more pictures from the barn tour.

Click here to view Highpoint Performance Horses website.