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WELCOME

We would like to welcome you to the Douglas County Fox Trotting Horse Breeders’ Association’s website. The DCFTHBA is an affiliate of the Missouri Fox Totting Horse Breeders’ Association. Our club is centered in Ava, Missouri, which is the birthplace of the Missouri State Horse the wonderful “Missouri Fox Trotting Horse”.

Our club is very active in promoting the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse, as well as horse ownership, as well as care and enjoyment of all horses in general. The roots of our club go deep into the rocky soil of the Ozarks. Many of our club member can trace their heritage back to the early homesteaders that began the development of the fox trotting horses that would become known as the “Missouri Fox Trotter”. We have several club members that have relatives that were instrumental in getting the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse recognized as a distinct breed. A few of our families were charter members of the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breeders Association.

Being the local representative of our State Horse is a responsibility that our organization takes seriously. We host over fifty organized trail rides each year, the most of any MFTHBA affiliate in the country. We also host the largest gaited club horse show in South Central Missouri. Our group works closely with the Ava Division of the Mark Twain National Forest. We have adopted over fifty miles of trails in the forest that we help clip, clean, and clear for public use. Our club also helps care for several abandoned cemeteries. We serve as deep-woods search and rescue volunteers when called upon. As you view our website you will notice many other activities in which we participate.

Please note the many local businesses that help sponsor the Douglas County Fox Trotters. It is their generous support that makes possible the many services that we provide to the Greater Ava Community. Please support them with your business. Shopping locally makes us all stronger.

Sincerely yours,

Stephen Assenmacher

President DCFTHBA

COME AND RIDE WITH US

Thank you so much for taking the time to look at the Douglas County Fox Trotter web site. The Douglas County Fox Trotting Horse Breeders’ Association is a very active affiliate of the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association. We are centered in Douglas County Missouri but we have members throughout Southwest and South-central Missouri as well as a number of members from other states.

The purpose of our club is to promote the wonderful Missouri Fox Trotting Horse and the beautiful Ozark Mountain area where we live and trail ride. We are very active in all areas of the Douglas Community. Our primary commitment however is to activities involving horses but the Douglas County Fox Trotters are also involved in numerous charitable and civic activities each year in and around Douglas County.

Our club offers fifty organized trail rides each year beginning in March and ending in November. These rides are open to the public and riders of any age and horses of any breed are welcome to ride with us as we explore the beautiful Ozark Mountains in Southwest Missouri. You can find a complete list of our rides on this web site.

We will be hosting our twelfth annual gaited horse show on July 19th of this year. The Douglas County Fox Trotter’s show has been the largest club-sponsored gaited horse show in Southwest Missouri for the last several years. We also help co-sponsor the Tri-County youth show held each August. You will be able to find show bills on both these shows on this web-site in the next few months.

The Douglas County Fox Trotter Club also works closely with the Mark Twain National Forest . Our members volunteer hundreds of hours each year trimming, clearing, and repairing hiking and riding trails in the National Forest. We are also members of the Show-Me-Missouri Back Country Horsemen.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Douglas County Fox Trotting Horse Breeders Association or wish more information please contact me at any time at (417) 796-2912.

Stephen Assenmacher

President DCFTHBA