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AQHA Rescinds Controversial "Two-Year Rule” at 2026 Convention in Las Vegas

A decision has been reached on one of the hottest topics in the Western industry.
Teal Stoll|
AQHA Hall of Fame and Museum
AQHA Hall of Fame and Museum | Brianna Maestas / Amarillo Globe-News / USA TODAY NETWORK

On Monday, March 16, 2025, members of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and the Stud Book Committee voted on the hotly contested "Two-Year Rule."

Proposed rule changes were discussed at the Annual Convention in 2025, but the rule remained as it had been since its implementation in 2015. Over the past 365 days, AQHA breeders and key figures in the equine industry have created further discussion and education on the issue.

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The End of the "Two-Year Rule"

A racing horse statue in front of the building
AQHA Hall of Fame and Museum | Brianna Maestas / Amarillo Globe-News / USA TODAY NETWORK

In short, the "Two-Year Rule" impacted only horses born in 2015 or later. For those horses, semen and embryos could only be used to produce AQHA-eligible foals within two years of their death.

Those in favor of the rule cited promoting genetic diversity as a driving factor. Those who opposed it cited concerns that it unfairly impacted horses born after 2015 and would be harmful to the breed overall, as breeding continues to progress and horses with great genetics may be unable to reproduce beyond that two-year window, in the event of their death.

From a social media post made by AQHA:

UPDATE: TWO-YEAR RULE (Reg 111.6 & Reg 112.9)

This week at Convention, AQHA members worked through the association’s governance and rule making process.

After two days of meetings reviewing and discussing the rule, the Stud Book Committee recommended keeping the rule in place while a task force reviewed more data and research and reported back in 2027.

During the General Membership Meeting, members voted not to adopt that recommendation.

A motion was then made from the floor to rescind the rule but still appoint a task force to review the data.

The membership approved that motion.

The motion then went to the AQHA Board of Directors, who backed the membership and approved it without debate.

A task force will now study the issue and present its findings at the 2027 Convention. In the meantime, the “two-year” rule has been rescinded. 

The AQHA Stud Book Committee ultimately sided with the membership, and throughout the next year, a task force will analyze data in preparation for further review at the 2027 Convention.

One of the primary voices behind this movement is Melanie Smith, of Solo Select Horses. On social media, Solo Select shared the following quote from Smith:

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘘𝘏𝘈 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱, 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯—𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥."

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Teal Stoll
TEAL STOLL

Teal Stoll is a lifelong Wyomingite from a working ranch family of several generations. Both sides of her family have deep roots in rodeo, as contestants and stock contractors. Teal grew up horseback and actively competes in rodeos and barrel races. She has degrees in both business and accounting, which she uses operating her own bookkeeping service. Teal enjoys spending time with her horses, training colts, and maintaining her string of athletes. When she isn’t at the barn, she can be found reading, doing yoga, or on her paddle board at the lake. Teal lives with her fiancee and a plethora of animals, because she can’t say no to a displaced critter with a sad story. When she isn’t on the road running barrels, she spends her time helping with day to day operations on the family ranch.

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