“The horse industry has been really good to my family,” Ken T. Smith told The American Quarter Horse Journal in 1999, “and over the years, we have made some accomplishments that we were really proud of at the time. But I feel like my greatest accomplishment is just being a part of the American Quarter Horse Association.”
The South Carolinian bought his first Quarter Horse in 1966, a 2-year-old gelding named Scarlet Heel. The lanky southerner showed the gelding some, but his first real show horse was Jungle Gardenia. Smith bought the mare in 1969 and showed her in western pleasure, cutting and halter.
Smith soon had a passion for cutting. He bought some Doc Bar horses to show, but his first good cutting horse was Hank’s Lasan. As a novice rider, Smith won a three-state competition with Hank’s Lasan.
The cutting enthusiast was involved outside of the show pen, too. Smith joined the South Carolina Quarter Horse Association in 1966 and served on its board of directors for 40 years. He was also president of SCQHA for two years.
Smith was elected an AQHA Director in 1978, and served on the show and contest and judges committees. He chaired the judges committee for three years and was a member of the racing council.
Smith was elected president of AQHA in 1999, and after his year of service, he returned to the judges committee where he still serves. The tall cowboy has been a member of the National Cutting Horse Association for 30 years, and served as an NCHA director for more than 10 years. Smith is also a judge for AQHA and NCHA.
Smith was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2006.
Biography updated as of March 2006.